The Huddle – Process: Interactive Discussions & Learning Zone

Emergency services staff - from control rooms to the frontline - carry trauma that often goes unseen. Traditional support models rely heavily on talk-based therapies, but for many, repeatedly revisiting traumatic events can intensify distress rather than relieve it. This session presents alternative, evidence-based approaches that help personnel regulate their nervous systems, release tension and reconnect with resilience in practical, non-verbal ways.

Drawing on work with uniformed responders and control room teams, it showcases embodied practices such as equine-facilitated learning and nature-based recovery, which have produced immediate reductions in stress and improved emotional regulation. These case studies challenge the idea that resilience is simply endurance, instead reframing it as adaptability and recovery.

Attendees will learn why traditional trauma support often falls short, how embodied methods can restore calm more effectively, and how these approaches can be integrated into wellbeing strategies to strengthen retention, performance and long-term mental health. For the critical communications sector, supporting staff in this way directly enhances clarity, decision-making and public safety.

This session provides frontline insight into a staff-centred project designed to identify, assess and manage the root causes of work-related stress in control rooms. Led by psychology and human-factors specialists, the Occupational Stress Risk Assessment (OSRA) offers a proactive approach to reducing workplace stress and absence by addressing psychosocial risks before they escalate.

Drawing on collaborative OSRA projects with Fire and Rescue Services and Humberside Police, the session will share key findings, emerging themes and practical recommendations for any organisation with a control room at its core. It will highlight the most prevalent stressors in control environments, the OSRA methodology, and the operational value delivered through early intervention.

Led by experts from the University of Hull’s Centre for Human Factors, with contributions from frontline Fire and Police representatives, this session will offer tangible insights into improving wellbeing, performance and resilience across control room teams.

As digital evidence grows in volume and complexity, digital forensic teams are increasingly exposed to indecent and traumatic material, placing them on the psychological frontline of public safety. This hidden burden carries risks of secondary trauma, compassion fatigue and burnout, yet the wellbeing of these specialists is often overlooked compared to that of traditional first responders.

This SYTECH case study showcases a proactive approach to supporting staff in high-security, high-pressure digital forensics environments. It highlights initiatives such as enhanced sick pay, structured wellbeing programmes, access to psychological support and embedding wellbeing as a cultural priority rather than a procedural requirement. Early outcomes include stronger engagement, greater openness around mental health and improved morale and retention.

For the BAPCO audience, the session offers practical, transferable lessons: understanding the unique pressures of digital forensics, designing effective wellbeing programmes for sensitive roles, and shifting from reactive to proactive support models. The implications for the critical communications sector are clear - safeguarding the mental health of those behind the screens is essential to sustaining resilience, performance and public trust.

As public safety and emergency services grow more reliant on interconnected digital systems, cybersecurity and digital identity now sit at the core of operational resilience. Modern threats increasingly target the identity layer, where a single breach can expose highly sensitive environments. Biometric and digital identity solutions offer secure, real-time authentication across frontline and command operations, but only when supported by a strong cyber framework.

This discussion is increasingly critical for UK public safety organisations, where identity assurance now underpins secure access, field verification and protection against insider or social-engineering threats. Trust has to be built into the system itself - starting with secure digital identity.

This session shares the development of TapSOS - the UK’s government-accredited, non-verbal 999 solution designed for accessibility and inclusivity. It will show how WCAG-compliant design, user co-creation and accessibility principles enable vulnerable citizens to contact emergency services safely and reliably. Attendees will see how accessible design has been delivered in practice, the results achieved, and why accessibility must be a foundational element of NG999.

TapSOS demonstrates that non-verbal, inclusive design can be embedded seamlessly into emergency workflows, ensuring people who cannot use voice channels are not excluded. For the BAPCO audience, this case study offers practical lessons for future NG999 deployments and highlights why accessibility is essential for trust, equality and operational resilience.

Participants will gain:

• Clear insight into applying WCAG and inclusive design in public safety technology
• Practical guidance on integrating non-verbal reporting into PSAPs and control rooms
• An understanding of why accessibility is not just compliance, but critical to modern emergency communications.