Course Details

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New technologies are having a profound impact on the sexual exploitation of children.

Forensic behavioural analysis offers a fascinating insight into internet and technology-facilitated child sexual exploitation. This course explains how some individuals use technology, enabling us to develop more informed risk assessment and law enforcement strategies and to provide more effective safeguarding.

Participants explore key issues, including whether possessing indecent images of children indicates a risk of contact offending and the similarities between online and offline offending. Child sexual exploitation can occur in varying forms and front line professionals increasingly need to understand how technology can be used. Whilst the course deals with issues around technology, participants do not need advanced technological knowledge.

Topics covered include:

• Up-to-date research findings about technology-facilitated exploitation of children
• Indecent images and stories – understanding their role
• Collecting and distributing indecent images of children – the risk significance
• Producers of indecent images of children – who are they?
• Online grooming – web cam technology as an exploitative tool
• Convergence – the role of mobile phone technology
• How offenders exploit children engaged in risky behaviour
• How women offenders use the internet
• Networking behaviours and organised groups

What Participants Gain

This course is essential for all those who work with children, have a safeguarding responsibility and want to develop a culture of safety within their organisation. It provides core knowledge and skills for those who work either directly or indirectly with offenders and their families.

It is relevant to law enforcement as it provides skills for investigative strategies as well as the management of offenders in the community. Feedback has shown us that those who work with victims and their families have benefitted hugely from this training.

By the end of the course, participants are able to:

• Understand the potential applications of behaviour analysis in working with offenders who use technology to facilitate offending
• Identify the key issues in ‘image based child sexual exploitation’.
• Use behaviour analysis tools in analysing evidence in child sexual exploitation cases
• Identify the key risk factors in cases involving indecent images of children.
• Recognise ‘chat based child exploitation’ and online grooming behaviours
• Understand how women use technology and internet to facilitate the sexual exploitation of children
• Know what questions to ask when working in the area of child exploitation via technology
• Understand how individuals can use different technologies to exploit children/vulnerable adults

Dr Sullivan is a Registered Forensic Psychologist, holding a PhD in Forensic Psychology, a Masters Degree in Criminology, a Diploma in Psychology, a Degree in applied Social Sciences, and a Certificate of Qualification in Social Work. Dr Sullivan is an honorary lecturer in Forensic Psychology at the University of Birmingham, UK.

Dr Sullivan has worked with police officers, social workers, probation officers, faith groups and educationalists to provide insights into the motivations, thoughts and behaviours of child sex offenders. He undertakes assessments for Social Service Departments, Probation, Churches and Education bodies and is an expert witness in the criminal, civil and family courts.

Dr Sullivan has worked extensively in law enforcement, assisting police forces with investigations into the sexually motivated abduction, murder and assault of children. Dr Sullivan was the Chief Forensic Psychologist in the Behaviour Analysis Unit at CEOP, receiving a Chief Constable's Commendation for his contribution to the investigation of the sexually motivated abduction and murder of a child in 2001.

Dr Sullivan has also undertaken assessment and therapeutic intervention work with women who sexually abuse children and adults accused or suspected of professional sexual misconduct. Part of his work also includes the assessment and treatment of adult survivors of child sexual abuse.

Dr Sullivan has published and presented papers to national and international conferences on the techniques he uses for engaging, assessing and interviewing sexual offenders.

Currently available courses and events can be found here