Victims’ rights and needs at centre of transformative new approach to rape investigations and prosecutions

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All 43 territorial police forces across England and Wales and the 14 Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) Areas will now begin implementing a transformative new approach to rape investigations and prosecutions, improving support for victims and putting the focus on the suspect.

Known as Operation Soteria, and piloted in 19 police forces and 9 CPS Areas already, the programme brings together police forces and prosecutors with academics to use evidence and insight to change the way rape and sexual offences are dealt with.

Working closely with pilot forces , leading academics have developed two new National Operating Models, one for the investigation of rape and one for the prosecution of rape, and all police forces and CPS Areas in England and Wales have committed to implementing them. 

There are early signs of improvements in the police forces already participating in the Operation Soteria programme:

• All five pathfinder forces have seen an increase in the number of cases being referred to the CPS – more than doubling in West Midlands Police and Durham.
• The number of cases being prosecuted by the CPS from Avon and Somerset have more than tripled.
• All pathfinder forces have seen a reduction in the average days taken for a charge outcome to be assigned – with South Wales seeing a reduction of almost 300 days in the latest quarter.

National Police Chiefs’ Council Lead for Rape and Adult Sexual Offences, Chief Constable Sarah Crew, said:

“Rape is one of the most complex and challenging crimes the criminal justice system deals with. The roll out of the National Operating Model is a huge step forward in how we investigate crime and the experience victims receive.

“While we know there is more to do, the national operating model will see all forces adopt new processes, guidance and training to enable more victims to get the justice they so deserve. In order to improve trust and confidence, we have to show victims we are making significant changes and getting results. Operation Soteria offers this.

“We have opened up our doors to academics and to scrutiny. This has not always been a comfortable process. However, it’s an essential step towards achieving our goal of comprehensive and transformational change.”

And to further improve the response to rape, 2,000 extra police investigators will be specially trained in rape and sexual offences by April 2024. It will be compulsory for new recruits to undertake rape and sexual offences training, which will also be rolled out to all existing first responders.

Police and prosecutors will have access to better tools to improve their decision-making processes – such as a step-by-step guide for frontline investigators on conducting suspect focused investigations, and toolkits to ensure victims’ needs and rights are central to all investigations.

This will be backed by over £8 million in dedicated Home Office funding to continue to support police forces to improve their response to rape and the service they provide to victims, as well as to establish a Joint Home Office and NPCC Unit to oversee implementation of the National Operating Model.

The Home Secretary has commissioned His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) to carry out a thematic inspection on forces’ implementation of the Soteria Model, and who will produce a report with findings in due course.

Table 1. Published police recorded adult rape offences, outcomes and timeliness and referrals to the CPS in Soteria Pathfinder Forces.

Data sources:

• CJS data delivery dashboard Home – CJS Dashboard (justice.gov.uk) (for charge rates, rates of victim withdrawal, referrals and average days)
• Adult rape outcomes data Published Adult Rape outcomes data 270423.xlsx. (for charge or  victim withdrawal volumes)