Steven Bradley aka "Tech Cowboy"
Amazon Best-Selling Author | International Trainer | Law Enforcement & Legal Technology Consultant
Steven Bradley brings a distinguished career in law enforcement with a specialization in investigating crimes against persons, including sexual assault, child abuse, domestic violence, human trafficking, and crimes against the elderly. His expertise led to a prestigious recruitment by the FBI, where he graduated with honors from the FBI Academy and served in a critical role investigating cyber-enabled crimes—ranging from cyberstalking and network intrusions to financial exploitation and the apprehension of child predators.
Steven later turned his focus toward strengthening collaboration between law enforcement and community-based victim advocacy organizations. Working closely with national and state domestic violence and sexual assault coalitions, he led trainings on offender accountability, trauma-informed investigative practices, and multidisciplinary partnerships to improve outcomes for survivors.
Currently, Steven serves on the professional team at OurFamilyWizard, where he champions healthy, technology-assisted communication between co-parents navigating separation and divorce. He is internationally recognized for his leadership on the intersection of technology and abuse, and is a sought-after expert on topics including stalking, cyberstalking, digital forensics, and law enforcement’s role in addressing intimate partner violence.
A seasoned international trainer with more than 28 years of experience, Steven is known for delivering real-world, practical education to legal professionals, judges, law enforcement, and mental health practitioners around the globe. He is also proud to be an Amazon Best-Selling Author, contributing his expertise to the critically acclaimed book Divorce Amicably, which highlights innovative approaches to supporting families in conflict through technology and legal collaboration.
Day 1 - Steven Bradley | Breakout
Digital Danger: What Professionals Are Missing
Who it will interest
Mediators, family lawyers, judges, CAFCASS professionals, social workers, safeguarding leads, educators and professionals working with post separation communication and risk
What this session is about
Technology is now one of the most under recognised tools for extending coercive control, harassment and surveillance after separation. Steven exposes how digital platforms are used in real cases to monitor, manipulate, impersonate and exert pressure, often being mislabelled as communication difficulties rather than safeguarding concerns.
Drawing on his background in law enforcement and cyber enabled investigations, Steven shows how cyberstalking, monitoring, account misuse and platform based manipulation present in family justice contexts. He also highlights how children and teenagers can be drawn into digital power dynamics through devices, access and online roles without professionals recognising the risk.
Key themes
Tech facilitated abuse and cyberstalking
Post separation digital control and surveillance
Children and adolescents drawn into digital power dynamics
Safeguarding blind spots in professional decision making
Practical red flags and assessment questions
What delegates will gain
A sharper safeguarding lens for digital risk
Clear indicators that distinguish abuse from communication issues
Practical insight into how technology alters power and safety dynamics
Greater confidence addressing digital behaviour in professional processes
How it connects to other sessions
Strengthens the safeguarding thread running through Day One and complements Bill Eddy’s child centred lens by showing how stress and power dynamics operate digitally. It also supports later work on interpretation, participation and child voice.
Day 1 - Steven Bradley & Hannah Hembree Bell | Breakout
Adolescence, Emojis and Online Codes: Interpreting Hidden Risk
Who it will interest
Mediators, family lawyers, judges, CAFCASS professionals, social workers, safeguarding leads, educators and professionals working with adolescents in separated or high conflict family systems
What this session is about
This session focuses on how teenage communication online is frequently misunderstood by adults and professionals. Steven examines how emojis, symbols, shorthand and platform behaviours function as codes within adolescent culture, carrying meanings that may signal vulnerability, pressure, fear or risk.
The session explores how adolescence, identity formation, peer influence and loyalty conflict intersect with digital spaces and why teenage distress is often expressed indirectly through online behaviour rather than verbal disclosure. It challenges professionals to rethink how adolescent voice, behaviour and expressed views are interpreted in safeguarding and family justice contexts.
Key themes
Adolescent development and online communication
Emojis, symbols and digital shorthand as coded language
Peer pressure, loyalty conflict and identity online
Misinterpretation of adolescent behaviour and expressed views
Hidden risk in everyday digital interactions
What delegates will gain
Greater insight into how adolescents communicate distress online
Increased awareness of how emojis and digital codes can be misread
A more developmentally informed lens for interpreting adolescent behaviour
Practical reflection points for safeguarding and assessment
How it connects to other sessions
This deepens the conference focus on child voice and interpretation, aligning closely with Professor Anne Barlow and Dr Jan Ewing’s work on participation and Bill Eddy’s exploration of stress and behaviour.