Laura was a Detective in Greater Manchester Police for 23 years before taking up the post of the National Vulnerable Witness Adviser (National Crime Agency and Ministry of Justice). In this role she has several responsibilities, leading the Witness Intermediary Team, supporting the NPCC lead for Investigative Interviewing regarding the development and maintenance of the National Interview Strategy, providing advice to the College of Policing regarding investigative interviewing curriculum and syllabus, and as a single point of contact to all Force/LEA strategic interview leads throughout the UK and Northern Ireland.

As part of the NCA’s Major Crime Investigative Support team (MCIS), Laura will deploy to live investigations in order to provide strategic and tactical interview advice to Senior Investigating Officers, Force/LEA Interview Advisers and interviewers, regarding the development of witness interview strategies in the most complex of cases.

Laura has worked for many years on developing a Pre-interview Planning and Preparation Assessment (PIPPA) Framework, aimed at formalising an approach to preparing child witnesses for the forensic interview, she is currently evaluating this approach as part of her PhD at the University of Portsmouth. She holds a Master’s Degree in Management of Investigations.