Senior Investigating Officer (SIO) Course

The SIO course takes you through all the stages inherent to an SIO's role: from management and leadership, decision making, writing policy books to the initial response and crime scene management, conducting searches, applying investigative strategies, managing victims, suspects and witnesses, family liaison and conducting death investigations and sudden infant deaths.

Whether you conduct, review or take a professional interest in major and serious crime investigations, this course will be an invaluable training experience. 

The course will form a guide for any officer conducting a serious, complex or major investigation.

Covers everything from decision making and the initial response, setting up and managing an investigation to forensic and physical searching, communications and core investigative strategies, and managing victims, suspects and witnesses.

Includes key points, case studies and checklists, enabling quick reference at critical times during an investigation.

COURSE STRUCTURE 

INTRODUCTION

• Role of the Joint Management Group
• The role of the SIO
• Investigative mindset and investigation structure
• Decision making and the SIO Policy Book

The course would then follow a case study and the class will each conduct the role of SIO maintaining a decision making policy log. 

INITIAL RESPONSE 

• Initial report of an incident, the role of call takers and the recording of the crime
• Role of the first officers attending
• Debriefing of staff
• Role of other Agencies / emergency services
• Attendance of Crime Scene Examiners and other Specialists
• Community Impact

CRIME SCENE MANAGEMENT

• Identification of scene(s)
• Approach, cordons and Scene Logs
• Exhibit recovery
• Searching and tracking
• Forensic Support
• Forensic Strategy
• Body recovery

WITNESS MANAGEMENT

• Identification and handling of witnesses
• Interview strategy
• Interview Advisors
• Witness protection

MAIN LINES OF ENQUIRY

• All fast track actions to include
• CCTV collection and viewing
• House to house enquiries initial and continued
• Persons of Interest / Suspects
• Risk assessment
• Search Strategy
• Passive data enquiries, e.g. telephone and financial enquiries
• Intelligence Strategy
• Pro-active techniques

VICTIM

• Identification
• Family Liaison
• Background / friends / associates