The University of Illinois Police Department is introducing a ‘soft’ interview room to make it easier for victims to report sensitive crimes. 

The soft interview room includes comfortable chairs, wall decorations and soft lighting. The room is in contrast to a traditional police interview room that would have only a few chairs and a table.

“Trauma is tough on anybody, but for survivors of sexual assault or domestic violence, it’s especially tough,” said Sgt. Gene Moore, a UIPD detective and member of the special victims unit, in a press release. “We want to really try to make it a little more comfortable, a little more conducive to telling their story.”

The special victims unit is a group of detectives and officers who are trained in interviewing victims of trauma. The room’s purpose is to make victims of traumatic crimes feel more comfortable sharing details of the crime with police detectives conducting an investigation.

The new interview room is part of a department remodel that has been in the works for nearly a year.

“The SVU members and the soft interview room, all the training we go through hopefully helps make it a little easier on them to go through the process,” Moore said.