The Impact of Trauma: A Trauma-Informed Lens and Response Webinar

This webinar, “The Impact of Trauma: A Trauma-Informed Lens and Response”, discusses how traumatic experiences can impact victim memory, reactions and behavior, and the implications of this for first responders’ and investigators’ interviews and investigations. While this webinar focuses on the impact of trauma as it relates to the investigation of sexual assault cases, the information is relevant for any incident where a traumatic event has occurred such as a car accident or burglary. The presenter for this webinar is Corporal Angela Weekes (retired) from Nampa Police Department. She recently retired after over twenty-six years at the department. Her most recent position was as a Corporal in the Crimes Against Person’s Unit in the investigations division. 

Target Audience: Law Enforcement 

Objectives: • Explain that people react differently to trauma and no one reaction is “normal.” • Describe how the neurobiology of trauma impacts memory, reactions, and behavior. • Apply their understanding of trauma to conduct interviews that obtain additional information and evidence. • Observe, explain, and document signs of trauma as evidence. 

Project Funding Provided By: Department of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women 

This project was supported by Grant No. 2017-TA-AX-K053 awarded by the Office on Violence Against Women, U.S. Department of Justice. The opinions, findings, conclusions, and recommendations expressed in this publication/program/exhibition are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Department of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women. 

Includes: • Trauma defined • How the body responds during a traumatic event - Freeze, Flight, Fight • How trauma impacts victim behavior • How trauma impacts victim memory • The tenets of trauma-informed interviews • The importance of addressing vicarious trauma that first responders are exposed to