This course is only available to  prosecutors working in criminal justice systems. If you would like to enrol on the course please contact us using your work email address and we will send you the sign-up information. The course costs £78 (inc VAT) for one-year of access and comes with a 8-hour CPD certificate. If you would like to buy bulk-access for your team then get in touch.

Course curriculum

  • 1

    Introduction to the course

    • How to use this course

    • Frequently asked questions

    • For international prosecutors - How to use this course if you do not work in England or Wales

    • About Dr Burrowes
  • 2

    Why you need to think about juries

    • The psychology of jurors

    • A jury deliberating on victim resistance

    • A jury deliberating on victim reactions

    • Responding to the challenge of rape myths in court.

  • 3

    Understanding sex offenders

    • Introduction

    • Paul the psychopath

    • Simon the sadist

    • Kate the paedophile

    • Daryl the denier

    • Tariq the coper

    • What's it got to do with sex?

    • Pulling it all together

    • Handout - The psychology of sex offenders

    • Resources
  • 4

    Understanding victims

    • Why didn't Tessa fight?

    • Why isn't Jake's memory very good?

    • Why didn't Beth tell anyone?

    • Guest expert interview: Dr Jim Hopper on memory and trauma

    • Resources
  • 5

    What are these cases about?

    • What is crucial evidence in these cases?
  • 6

    Investigations - Victim interviews

    • When to interview victims

    • The trauma memory interview for recent or traumatised victims

    • Setting up an effective victim interview

    • Interview tactics - treat every case as a stranger assault

    • Interview tactics - the suspect focused victim interview

    • Interview tactics - covering consent with victims

    • Interview tactics - using trauma as evidence of a lack of consent

    • Interview tactics - asking challenging questions

    • Interview tactics - dealing with rape myths

    • Interview tactics - making sense of the things that don't make sense

    • Handout - Misconceptions about sexual violence

    • Resources
  • 7

    Investigations - Suspect interviews

    • Setting up an effective suspect interview

    • Interview tactics - be the right audience

    • Interview tactics - victim selection

    • Interview tactics - victim isolation

    • Interview tactics - the offence and consent

    • Interview tactics - after the offence

    • Setting up your case theory

    • Resources

    • Handout - Thinking about suspect interviews
  • 8

    False reports

    • Putting false reports into perspective

    • Why might someone make a false report?

    • Resources
  • 9

    Prosecutions - Case theory

    • Prosecutions - Establishing your case theory

    • Prosecutions - Presenting the case to the jury
  • 10

    Prosecutions - Getting to know the jury

    • Getting to know the jury
  • 11

    Prosecutions - Complainant evidence in court

    • Prosecutions - The complainant as a witness

    • Prosecutions - Dealing with challenges and misconceptions

    • Handout - Misconceptions about sexual violence

  • 12

    Prosecutions - Questioning the defendant in court

    • Questioning the defendant in court

    • Handout - How sex offenders may present in court
  • 13

    The complainant's journey

    • Introducing this series of videos

    • Behind the scenes: Making the complainant videos

    • Complainant 1

    • Complainant 2

    • Complainant 3

    • Complainant 4
  • 14

    Looking after yourself

    • Looking after yourself when your work is about sexual offences

    • Resources
  • 15

    Admin

    • How to contact Dr Burrowes

    • The (not) small print

    • Privacy Policy

    • Course completion certificate