VICTORIA WILDE – OWNER / TRAINER
Meet the founders
VICTORIA WILDE BIO
Victoria is a passionate advocate and expert in Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking with over 10 years in the field and 26 years in law enforcement. Her career started in 1997 as a police officer in Staffordshire Police. Her desire to work with victims developed early on and took her on a path of advanced specialist investigative interviewing. She has been a National Interview Advisor for the National Crime Agency and is an area of her career she continues to advocate as being key, supporting and strengthening the narratives that go on to secure strong justice outcomes.
She is experienced in developing practices end -to- end both nationally and internationally working with stakeholders to consistently meet targets to a high standard. She has successfully led using communication that gives commitment and understanding. With her Open University Level 4 Learning and Development qualification, using training needs analysis, she has been able to support organisational goals through development, delivery and evaluation.
She has been influential at a high level in ensuring the application of effective tactics and strategies to bring about successful change or positive outcomes whether in the prevent, protect, prepare, or pursue space of Modern Slavery and exploitation. She has advocated on several high profile Modern Slavery cases.
In 2015 she was the victim coordinator and interview advisor and managed the victim engagement team as part of Operation Stovewood – the largest child sexual exploitation investigation of its kind in Rotherham South Yorkshire. She provided direction and support to senior management in developing what became the survivor pathway and was instrumental from conception to delivery in creating the survivor engagement plan, survivor risk assessments and safeguarding management. She assessed capability looking at opportunities to build capacity with partners, influencing buy in to provide a support network for those survivors who required bespoke support. This was an ever evolving and complex landscape where she led a large team engaged in working with the survivor’s. She was responsible for negotiating timely partnerships, projects and support for officers within allocated budgets. She also worked with a small number of survivors which is something she will forever feel privelidged to have done.
In 2019 she was successful to be part of the National Crime Agencys Modern Slavery Human Trafficking Tactical Advisor Team. Here she was able to deliver timely immediate to long term advice into the effective investigation of Modern Slavery.
Having experience in covert tactics from her time with an operational team this was a skill set that also added value to the investigation toolbox. She also delivered on the upstream international capabilities, risk identification and management and dealing with vulnerable victims and witnesses.
She developed and lead outreach between NCA assets and internal and external Senior Officers, Non Government Organisations and other multidisciplinary partners; demonstrating impact against the threat as well as the value of the NCA in this unique role. A valuable part of her role was in deploying operationally both in the UK and overseas supporting recovery, rescue and engagement of victims, crime scene management and detention of offenders.
She remains part of the European Law Enforcement Training Agencies Expert (CEPOL) Database. She has designed and delivered project work, written national guidance and assisted national and international agencies in their capacity to deliver against European Multidisciplinary Platform Against Criminal Threats (EMPACT) objectives. She was a key contributor to the EMPACT PAYDAY group led by the BKA Federal Criminal Police of Germany focusing on Vietnamese Trafficking and Exploitation and wrote the UK’s contribution to the their European Handbook.
In 2019 she was successful to be selected from the UK to participate in the OSCE Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe ‘Trafficking for Migration’ simulation exercise. She was selected for the role of Chief of Police taking the lead in the strategic and operational delivery of a developing large scale human trafficking exercise with participants from across 48 countries.
In 2022 she worked alongside the UK Mission Team in Vienna representing the UK delegation at the United Nations On Drugs and Crime ‘Trafficking in Persons’ Working Group around the negotiation and resolution of the draft 2022 Trafficking in Persons Report. She was then present at the 2022 Conference of Parties where she spoke to a global audience on best practices for victim engagement. This led to several Middle East Countries adopting good practice methodology around interviewing of victims.
Victoria has spoken at numerous national and international conferences focusing on the themes of victim engagement and best practice.
HELEN GORDOS BIO
Helen has 28 years’ experience in law enforcement, starting her career with the West Midlands and West Mercia police forces. For much of her service, she has specialised in the field of managing vulnerability and investigating serious and complex crimes involving vulnerable people. Helen has extensive experience in public protection work including managing/investigating crimes of child sexual exploitation (CSE) and trafficking, child abuse, child neglect, child death (including murder), sex offenders, domestic abuse and honour-based violence.
She has experience in managing risk in a multi-agency environment including CSE risk panels, chairing multi–agency risk assessment conferences (MARACs) and partnering with local authorities to write safeguarding and risk management pathways for CSE.
From 2014 to 2024 Helen worked nationally and internationally as a modern slavery and human trafficking tactical advisor with the National Crime Agency’s (NCA’s) modern slavery and human trafficking unit (MSHTU).
Her MSHTU role formed part of a multi-agency approach to combating modern slavery and trafficking in human beings. The MSHTU was a central point for the development of expertise and operational and strategic coordination. The role had national and international reach and provided a bespoke advisory service to law enforcement agencies and partners in every aspect of human trafficking and modern slavery. The role involved, coordinating work with key stakeholders and partners, advising on the identification and rescue of victims, advising on the most effective investigative methods to safeguard victims and bringing positive criminal justice outcomes, prevention and risk management, deploying operationally and advising and interviewing vulnerable victims.
Helen’s knowledge and understanding of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 legislation is unrivalled. She has advised on a number of high-profile cases, one such case, Operation Redroot, was arguably the most successful cross border sexual exploitation human trafficking investigation since the inception of the Modern Slavery Act 2015. The case involved control methods of Ju Ju and the first use of extra territorial jurisdiction provisions within the act. She supported investigations in West Africa, Germany and the UK which ultimately saw the main perpetrator receive an 18-year custodial sentence.
Helen holds a level 4 qualification in learning and development and has 10 years’ experience in producing bespoke training which she has delivered nationally and internationally. Helen has been a keynote speaker at a number of conferences and events within the UK and across Europe.
Helen has appeared and been interviewed on national television programmes including the BBC’s The One Show and the Victoria Derbyshire show, outlining modern slavery and its impact to raise general public awareness. She has also advised on modern slavery story lines on TV dramas such as Coronation Street.
Victoria and Helen’s commitment to tackling exploitation and best practice for victims is tenacious & unwavering. They continue to strive for better processes and outcomes for victims through planned approaches that give commitment to those who have been at the hands of those who perpetrate these monstrous crimes