Source · Select Committees · Home Affairs Committee
Recommendation 8
8
Deferred
Paragraph: 69
Ensure long-term, sustainable commissioning and funding models for specialist rape victim support services
Recommendation
The provision of specialist support to victims and survivors of rape is vital, given the devastating impact of sexual violence and the difficulties complainants face during the investigation and prosecution process. The Government’s research into what rape victims need from support services is to be welcomed. This should take into account the different needs of different victims and survivors, for example, those who are deaf and disabled, and Black and minority ethnic victims and survivors, who can be supported more effectively by dedicated by and for services. We look forward to the outcome of the Victims’ Bill consultation and introduction of the legislation in the next parliamentary Session. We urge the Government to ensure that the commissioning principles and funding models set out are truly long-term and sustainable.
Government Response Summary
The government agreed on the importance of specialism in policing rape and sexual offences, highlighting police recruitment, training initiatives, and Operation Soteria to develop a national operating model, but did not address the recommendation on long-term funding and commissioning models for specialist victim support services.
Paragraph Reference:
69
Government Response
Deferred
HM Government
Deferred
The Government agrees that specialism is crucial for the effective policing of rape and sexual offences; we acknowledged this in the Rape Review, and it has been reinforced through Operation Soteria. However, Chief Constables remain best placed to make decisions about the local deployment of resources, which will vary between local areas according to a range of factors. These factors may change over time, and operationally independent Chief Constables need to have the flexibility to adjust their operational structure accordingly. The Government’s Rape Review found that a national shortage of detectives had been contributing to a lack of specialism in the policing of sexual offences, and work is underway to address this. Firstly, we are improving the capacity of the police. Through the Police Uplift Programme, we have supported the recruitment of 13,576 police officers. All forces have met or exceeded the allocations set for them in 2020/21, with nearly 9,000 extra officers already recruited, and we are on track to meet our commitment of supporting the recruitment of 20,000 officers by March 2023. We announced as part of the three-year spending review an additional £550 million to fund the remaining officers in the third year of the programme. Secondly, we are working with partners to improve the capabilities of police officers in relation to issues that are relevant to sexual offences and other crime types. For example, as part of the Policing Education Qualification Framework, all student police officers will receive training in vulnerability and risk; working with the Crown Prosecution Service and Complex Cases Unit as well as sexual offences. Thirdly, funded by the Home Office, the police’s Vulnerability Knowledge and Practice Programme (VKPP) identifies best practice in the police’s response to crimes such as sexual offences and shares it across forces in England and Wales. It supports frontline officers to improve how they recognise and respond to vulnerable victims, builds the evidence base of ‘what works’ across areas such as investigation, training, and victim care, and benchmarks all forces against the National Vulnerability Action Plan to improve their response to vulnerability and improve criminal justice outcomes. Finally, the main programme of work aiming to embed sexual offences specialism in police forces is Operation Soteria. This work has reinforced that it is genuine ‘specialism’ that is important in the policing of sexual offences. Operation Soteria is working to set Chief Constables’ expectations about the resourcing for the national operating model. As it moves into its second year, Operation Soteria continues to test and evaluate the tools and techniques which will form the constituent parts of the new the national operating model for the investigation of rape, which will be made available to forces nationally from June 2023. This will include developing and refining role profiles for officers and piloting a new blended learning programme designed to upskill at pace those officers new to investigating sexual offences.