Forensic Focus

Phil Anderson, Senior Lecturer at Northumbria University, returns to the Forensic Focus Podcast to continue unpacking the mental health findings of the Forensic Focus International Well-Being Study. Host Paul Gullon-Scott walks through the clinical picture emerging from a survey of 179 digital forensic investigators, beginning with PTSD symptoms measured by the PCL-5: 47% reported hypervigilance at a moderate level or above, 45% difficulty sleeping, 44% difficulty concentrating, and 43% intrusive thoughts about their casework. Paul and Phil discuss the comorbidity behind those numbers — investigators rarely experience these symptoms in isolation — and how they follow people home, into short tempers, withdrawal from partners, and imagery appearing in dreams. They also examine the most clinically significant finding in the study: 20% of respondents reported active suicidal or self-harm ideation at a clinically meaningful level, roughly four times the estimated general workforce rate.
The conversation then turns to why so few investigators seek help, and what organisations are failing to provide. 49% of respondents receive no clinical or psychological supervision whatsoever, 54% have never taken part in a peer debrief, and 61% did not access support services in the past year — with lack of time, confidentiality concerns, and fear of career consequences cited as the main barriers. Paul and Phil discuss the PHQ-15 physical health data, why resilience is a depletable resource rather than a personal trait, and how coping strategies built around AI-generated CSAM are already breaking down as the material becomes more realistic.
#InvestigatorWellbeing #MentalHealth #PoliceWellbeing #CSAM #AIGeneratedCSAM #DigitalForensics #DFIR
00:00 Welcome and Study Setup
01:18 PTSD Symptoms Breakdown
05:27 Comorbidity and Home Impact
08:16 Case Volume and CSAM Reality
10:16 AI Trauma and Other Content
11:42 Depression and Suicidal Ideation
17:36 Stigma and Support Gaps
24:31 Mandatory Support and Priorities
25:59 Physical Health Effects Begin
26:37 Stress Hits The Body
29:04 No Respite In Casework
31:28 Resilience And Stigma
35:06 AI CSAM Coping Limits
37:20 Supervision Support Gaps
41:42 Peer Debriefs Missing
45:01 Barriers To Seeking Help
49:12 Reach Out And Resources
👉 Visit Forensic Focus: https://www.forensicfocus.com
🎧 Video/Transcript: https://www.forensicfocus.com/podcast/impact-coping-and-support-further-reflections-from-the-dfir-well-being-study/
📝 Show Notes
Forensic Focus International Well-Being Study 2026 Report - https://www.forensicfocus.com/well-being/forensic-focus-international-well-being-study-2026-report/
Forensic Focus Well-Being - https://www.forensicfocus.com/well-being/
If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this episode, these organisations may be of help:
Samaritans – https://www.samaritans.org
Mind – https://www.mind.org.uk
Oscar Kilo – https://www.oscarkilo.org.uk/
Occupational health unit (OHU) – all police forces have access to an OHU providing a range of support services
Employee Assistance Scheme (EAS) – check with your employer to see what specific resources are available to you
GP – your GP can provide access to various local resources and make referrals to psychological support services
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Ben Dimmock, Police Well-Being Lead at Bedfordshire Police, joins the Forensic Focus Podcast to talk about psychological safety, trauma exposure, and the long-term emotional toll of working in policing and digital forensics. Ben shares his own experience of depression 12 years into his service, the stigma that made him hide it, and how opening up eventually led him to build and lead one of the largest full-time police well-being teams in the country. He and host Paul explore why well-being has to be treated as an operational necessity rather than a "pink and fluffy" add-on, and how a culture of stoicism has historically driven burnout, long-term sickness, and unresolved trauma.
The conversation digs into cumulative trauma — the gradual erosion that builds job after job until something small flicks the switch — and what genuinely psychologically safe leadership looks like versus performative box-ticking. Ben explains the day-to-day work of his team, from 80–100 welfare interventions a month and TRiM (Trauma Risk Management) assessments to peer support networks, and two services he believes are unique to Bedfordshire: dedicated welfare support for officers under investigation, and support for their families. Drawing on Paul's own background in online child abuse investigations and his current work as an NHS psychologist, the two discuss supervision, proactive check-ins, and why sometimes people just need to be listened to rather than "fixed."
#PoliceWellbeing #PsychologicalSafety #MentalHealth #TraumaInformedLeadership #Policing #DigitalForensics
00:00 Introducing Ben Dimmock
02:22 Depression and Breaking Stigma
04:46 Speaking Out
06:48 Why Well-Being Is Operational
10:12 Stoicism and Burnout Costs
12:00 Defining Psychological Safety
15:19 Proactive Support Culture
16:44 Building a Well-Being Team
20:57 Cumulative Trauma and Check-Ins
22:09 Supervision and TRiM Tools
26:45 Quick Check Ins
28:02 Cumulative Trauma Explained
30:13 Investigations And Welfare
33:45 Real Versus Performative
36:40 Inside The Well-Being Team
39:34 Supporting Families Too
41:47 Don't Suffer Alone
42:59 Listening Versus Fixing
44:03 Closing Thoughts
👉 Visit Forensic Focus: https://www.forensicfocus.com
🎧 Video/Transcript: https://www.forensicfocus.com/podcast/cumulative-trauma-in-digital-forensics-and-policing-with-ben-dimmock/
📝 Show Notes
Bedfordshire Police – https://www.beds.police.uk/
Oscar Kilo / National Police Well-being Service – https://www.oscarkilo.org.uk/
TRiM (Trauma Risk Management) – https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5a79e5f4e5274a18ba50f9cf/0392-12attachment2of2.pdf
Ben Dimmock on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-dimmock-6325b4316/
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David Shipley, Instructor at Anglia Ruskin University, joins the Forensic Focus Podcast to talk about the human cost of online safeguarding work and his fight to close a gap in UK law. Drawing on 16 years investigating abusive imagery and online child sexual offending, David reflects on what the work actually involves — from the scale of the problem and the relentless build-up of warrants and digital forensic backlogs, to the difficult triage decisions investigators must make when no team can examine every device. He's candid about what "safeguarding" really means in practice, and about the mental toll the role takes on the people who do it.
The conversation then turns to David's final year in policing, when his work on the David Fuller case led him to discover that much of the sexual abuse of corpses he was cataloguing was not actually illegal. David explains how he took that discovery from a Ministry of Justice rejection through a lost bill and a change of government to eventual Royal Assent — a four-year campaign that introduced a new offence and raised the maximum sentence for sexual penetration of a corpse from two to seven years. He closes with frank advice for the next generation of investigators on protecting their own well-being and holding onto an investigative mindset.
#OnlineSafeguarding #InvestigatorWellbeing #LawReform #Policing #MentalHealth #DigitalForensics #DFIR
00:00 Introducing David Shipley
01:20 An Unusual Route Into Safeguarding
03:23 The Scale Of The Problem
06:55 Warrants, Workload And Backlogs
08:40 Triage: You Can't Examine Everything
11:52 What Safeguarding Really Means
14:46 The Hidden Mental Toll
18:21 How Welfare Support Evolved
22:27 Questionnaires And Team Culture
24:58 The Session That Changed My Mind
26:15 The David Fuller Case
29:27 Retiring, Then Returning To Finish The Job
31:51 Continuity And Limiting Exposure
33:50 Discovering The Gap In The Law
36:38 Shock, Duty And Dignity In Death
38:24 Launching The Campaign
41:11 The Ministry Of Justice Says No
44:05 Setbacks, A Lost Bill And A Second Chance
47:00 Royal Assent And Mixed Emotions
50:31 What The New Law Actually Changes
55:32 Advice For The Next Generation
58:08 Closing Reflections
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🎧 Video/Transcript: https://www.forensicfocus.com/podcast/david-shipley-investigating-the-darkest-corners-of-digital-evidence/
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Marcus Rowe, Business Director – Public Safety & Forensics at Leica Geosystems, joins the Forensic Focus Podcast to talk about 3D laser scanning, forensic digital twins, and the role of LiDAR in modern crime and collision investigation. Marcus shares his path from military and civilian policing — including a career in forensic collision investigation with Devon & Cornwall Police — into industry, and explains how Leica Geosystems (part of Hexagon) is empowering investigators with tools that capture entire scenes for analysis, courtroom presentation, and cold case review.
Marcus and Si also discuss the upcoming Forensics Europe Expo at Olympia on 1–2 July, which is set to bring together senior leaders, practitioners and solution providers from across the forensic community. To learn more and secure a free visitor pass, visit: https://www.forensicseuropeexpo.com.
The conversation also turns to Marcus's involvement in the world's largest crash test, featured in the Channel 4 documentary Pile Up. Working blind to the staged scenario, Marcus reconstructed the multi-vehicle collision from post-event scene capture and 3D modelling — at times surfacing detail that the 90 cameras filming the event had missed.
#LiDAR #3DScanning #CrashInvestigation #ForensicDigitalTwins #LeicaGeosystems #DigitalForensics #DFIR
⏱️ Timestamps
00:00 Welcome Marcus Rowe
02:44 From Policing to Leica Geosystems
05:35 Leica Conference Highlights
08:43 Forensic Digital Twins Talk
17:55 What to Expect at FEE
22:29 Students and Career Pathways
26:08 World's Largest Crash Test
31:07 LiDAR Explained Simply
34:36 Courtroom Storytelling in 3D
36:02 Real Cases and Proof Standards
38:40 TV Production
41:20 Micron Accuracy Use Cases
42:25 Footprints Without Contact
46:56 From Microns to Kilometers
50:35 VR for Juries and Trust
52:04 Holistic Capture Beats Bias
56:02 FEE Event Invitation
01:00:36 Wrap Up
👉 Visit Forensic Focus: https://www.forensicfocus.com
🎧 Video/Transcript: https://www.forensicfocus.com/podcast/leicas-marcus-rowe-on-investigating-the-worlds-largest-crash-test-plus-what-to-expect-at-fee-2026/
📝 Show Notes
Leica Geosystems – https://leica-geosystems.com
Hexagon – https://hexagon.com
Leica DISTO – https://shop.leica-geosystems.com/disto
Forensics Europe Expo (FEE) – https://www.forensicseuropeexpo.com
Channel 4 "Pile Up" documentary – https://www.channel4.com/programmes/pile-up-worlds-biggest-crash-test
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Phil Anderson, Senior Lecturer at Northumbria University, joins the Forensic Focus Podcast to talk about the Forensic Focus International Well-Being Study. Phil and host Paul Gullon-Scott unpack the findings from a survey of 179 digital forensic investigators across the UK, US, Australia, Canada, Germany, South Africa, India, and beyond. The study used validated psychometric instruments to put hard numbers behind what the profession has been hearing anecdotally for years.
Paul and Phil dig into the emerging impact of AI-generated CSAM, where 60% of respondents reported finding it slightly more distressing than real material — and where victim identification is beginning to break down as the realism of generated imagery improves. They also examine the most clinically significant finding in the study: 20% of digital forensic investigators reported active suicidal or self-harm ideation at a clinically significant frequency, roughly four times the general population rate. Set against 61% of respondents lacking access to good-quality support services, alongside hypervigilance, sleep disturbance, retention risk, and physical health symptoms, the picture is one Forensic Focus is taking directly to the UK Home Office.
#DigitalForensics #DFIR #MentalHealth #InvestigatorWellbeing #CSAM #AIGeneratedCSAM #LawEnforcement
00:00 Welcome and Study Intro
00:38 Meet Phil and Motivation
03:23 Survey Scope and Global Reach
07:53 Who Responded and Why It Matters
09:38 Methodology and Validated Measures
11:38 Workload Pressures and AI Factor
15:21 Top Stressors and Management Levers
20:29 Burnout Risk and Retention Crisis
25:56 AI Generated CSAM Findings
31:36 AI Victim Misidentification
32:42 Investigator Stress Burden
 33:27 Tech Outpacing Regulation
36:28 PTSD Symptom Findings
38:06 Judgment Under Trauma
40:14 Suicidal Ideation Data
45:16 Support Services Crisis
46:42 Physical Health Impacts
50:03 Report Next Steps
👉 Visit Forensic Focus: https://www.forensicfocus.com
🎧 Video/Transcript: https://www.forensicfocus.com/podcast/burnout-ptsd-suicidal-thoughts-the-dfir-well-being-study-results-are-in/
📝 Show Notes
Northumbria University – https://www.northumbria.ac.uk
Paul Gullon-Scott on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-g-0090605/
Phil Anderson on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/philip-anderson-a555377/
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