Embedding critical reflective practice in policing: reflections from a practitioner–academic collaboration in the context of technology-facilitated human trafficking

This article explores the use of risk assessment tools in police investigations of technology-facilitated human trafficking and argues that such tools can elicit critical reflective practice among police practitioners. Specifically, the article examines the Sexual Trafficking Identification Matrix (STIM), developed by the authors as an aid to practitioners investigating criminality and vulnerability on Adult Service Websites. The article argues that the STIM can foster reflectivity among practitioners, particularly in the complex and constantly evolving terrains of both human trafficking and non-trafficked sex work-mediated online. To evidence this, the article draws on data from focus groups and interviews with police practitioners who have used the STIM. These data demonstrate practitioners’ understandings of the shifting landscape of human trafficking and non-trafficked sex work and the STIM’s role in supporting such reflective learning. This reflectivity ultimately enhances police practices in an extremely challenging domain of offending and victimhood.