Police-CPS Joint National Rape Action Plan – refresh 2022: Annex on delivery against previous commitments
Contents
- Section 1 - Supporting victims
- Section 2 - casework quality and progression
- Section 3 - digital capability and disclosure
- Section 4 - our people and expertise
- Section 5 - stakeholder engagement
Introduction
We made 32 commitments in the JNAP. We have completed 24 and eight are in progress. As we have developed this refreshed Joint National Action Plan, we have held sessions using the theory of change model to consider where we can go further, building on what we’ve delivered to date. We will be taking forward the JNAP through 20 actions (including the in-progress actions) outlined in the main strategy document.
Supporting victims
Completed actions
| Improve the quality of our communications with victims to ensure they are timely and sensitive to their needs at every stage of the criminal justice process. | Three new letters have been developed; No Further Action letters were published in Dec 21 and two further letters (“Hello” and “at the point of charge”) in March 2022. They are being piloted in Operation Soteria in pathfinder areas. |
| Improve our communication and liaison with ISVAs and equivalent services throughout the investigation and prosecution process to ensure victims receive information and support they need. | Jointly with the police, a National ISVA Framework was published in June 2021, outlining a set of standards around multi-agency partnership working, effective processes and supporting victims in order to improve our communication and liaison with ISVAs and support providers. |
| Take steps to increase awareness of currently under-utilised special measures such as clearance of the public gallery (Section 25(4)(a) YJCEA 1999). | In December 2021, the CPS and National Police Chiefs’ Council published a Section 25 Information sheet for ISVAs and police on increasing awareness to clear the public gallery. |
| Provide victims with clear information about the various stages of the criminal justice process through the production of online and offline information products (e.g. ‘digital walkthrough’). | A new guide for victims of rape and serious sexual assault was published in October 2021. The walkthrough outlines all the steps involved in the prosecution process. |
| Improving our staff's understanding, mainly through joint learning and development, of the neurological impact of trauma to promote improved decision-making and victim care. | CPS has delivered training on proportionality and disclosure and launched a standalone training course for all prosecutors entitled “RASSO: impact of trauma”. |
Actions in progress
| Review and improve special measures meetings in RASSO cases to ensure that victims, and their support, are able to meet key members of the prosecution team at an early stage of the prosecution process. That will enable victims to obtain the information they need to help give their best evidence at court. | Guidance on Special Measures Meetings (renamed Victim Familiarisation Meetings) have been refreshed. This are being piloted and evaluated as part of Operation Soteria. This work will be taken forward under the new action: |
| Evaluate use of psychology-led ABE interviews which acknowledge the impact of trauma and assist victims in providing their best evidence. | This is being undertaken externally by the Lighthouse Project – the pilot was completed in March 2022. Psychology-led video recorded interviews (VRIs) have now begun. Counsel are completing a lessons learnt evaluation of the VRI and the report will be reviewed to identify next steps and learning shared across CPS and Policing. This work will be taken forward under the new action: |
Section 2 – casework quality and progression
Completed actions
| Launch and embed new guidance on early investigative advice to ensure we jointly build strong cases from the outset. | Jointly with the police, an Early Advice Memorandum of Understanding was launched in July 2021, which sets out the approach to obtaining and providing early advice and outlines how the CPS and investigators will work together more closely from the outset of rape and serious sexual assault (RASSO) cases through increased use of Early Advice. |
| Work with local police force and CPS areas to identify best practice models that promote closer joint working during investigation process. This includes the evaluation of ongoing early advice pilots in the South East and London and the increased use of Microsoft Teams to facilitate charging consultations. | Jointly with the police, an Early Advice Memorandum of Understanding was launched in July 2021, which sets out the approach to obtaining and providing early advice and outlines how the CPS and investigators will work together more closely. The EA model promotes closer joint working during the investigation process and further EA models have been tested in the South East and through Operation Soteria. The wider action to improve joint working has passed to the Joint Case Progression working group. The Case Progression Toolkit was developed and launched in November 2021 which sets out several tools to help aid police/CPS communication including optional use of Early Case Planning Conferences and Case Management Panels. |
| Build on existing local RASSO action plans, to ensure that all police force and CPS areas have local action plans tailored to their local area and covering report to prosecution in court. | All CPS and Force areas have RASSO action plans in place. Compliance is monitored on a quarterly basis through provision of the RASSO Quarterly Assurance Report and discussion at Area Performance Reviews (APRs). |
| Identify best practice to ensure that all police force and CPS areas have effective joint monitoring and escalation mechanisms in place for live investigations. | The Joint Case Progression working group developed the case progression toolkit which included a refresh of Prosecution Team Performance Meeting (PTPM) into the Joint Operation Improvement Meetings (JOIM) and updated Joint Case Progression Escalation principles. The JOIM has been developed to replace the PTPM as the primary local operational improvement meeting between CPS and police. These were shared nationally in November 2021. The JOIM guidance recommended a separate RASSO specific JOIM which commended to all Areas and Forces in February 2022. |
| Ensure all police force and CPS Areas have effective joint performance management meetings to analyse data to identify and address local issues related to investigation and prosecution. | The Joint Operational Improvement Meeting (JOIM) has been developed to replace the Prosecution Team Performance Meeting (PTPM) as the primary local operational improvement meeting between CPS and police. Its purpose is to identify joint priority areas for focussed activity to drive improvement in disclosure, effective case progression and other areas. The JOIM will identify and share good practice and adapt to local casework trends and issues. RASSO JOIMs will be the new forum for monitoring RASSO cases in line with the 28/56/90-day review periods and will be the place for escalation of non-responses. Identifying best practice will continue and be part of the Operation Soteria pathfinder work. |
| Improve effectiveness of action plans, and action plan follow up, with good communication, clear timelines and robust escalation points. | The Joint Case Progression Working Group developed a case progression toolkit which was rolled out in November 2021, this included action plan tracker tools for Areas and Forces to use as part of their agreed JOIM forums. The Action Plan processes continue to be tested by the Pathfinder Areas and will result in strengthening the process for following up and escalating action plans. |
| Significantly enhance collection, sharing and drawing insights from currently available data to support better understanding and monitoring of RASSO throughout the CJS. | The cross-criminal justice system (CJS) rape data tool to collect, share and analyse joined end-to-end rape data tool has been completed. The CPS and police set up a cross-agency RASSO working group in August 2020 to develop a cross-CJS rape data tool to collect, share and analyse joined end-to-end rape data. Data sharing agreements across the CJS were established for the first time. The proof-of-concept tool, developed jointly by CPS and A&S police, links 2016-20 A&S cross-CJS rape data from the point of reporting to completion in court. Avon and Somerset are planning to extend the tool to include 2021 data and input completed data monthly to provide insights across Operation Soteria. The MoJ have set up a cross-CJS project team to manage the roll out of the tool. An 8-week Discovery Phase has been carried out by the Police Digital Service to scope the roll out of the tool across police forces. The analytics tool is the first to enable tracked linked data across the CJS. There has been support across the CJS and with Ministers for its roll out more widely, starting with Operation Soteria areas. |
| Review police and CPS decision making in those Police Force and CPS areas that have seen the sharpest rises in the conviction after contest rate and ensure that decision making is sound. Capture and feedback learning to staff any relevant learning. | The CPS has supported in the development and design of the Government’s scorecards (Delivery Data Dashboards) and reviews and disseminates learning on these. All CPS Areas were included in a national RASSO enhancement programme deployed across the CPS. This rolled out a national ‘baseline’ across all CPS Areas. In addition, through new internal CPS governance this work is being progress through a newly established Performance and Data subgroup. |
Actions in progress
| Evaluate the use of pre-trial witness interviews with the aim of improving prosecutorial decision-making, promoting effective prosecutions and helping witnesses to give their best evidence at court: - Evaluation report - Design learning and development materials - Rollout learning and development | The extent to which PWTIs meet the needs of victims and supports their participation in the criminal justice process will be considered in the development of an enhanced offer for rape victims. Taken forward in the following new actions: - Design and deliver a new and enhanced offer for victims of rape and serious sexual assault. |
| Launch and evaluate pilot on capturing evidence of psychological injury. This will raise awareness of the existence of psychological injury at an early stage of the investigation to inform case-building and decision-making. | The pilot was launched in June 2021. Several victims have agreed to participate, and the progress of cases is being monitored. 10 questions have been identified to ask officers and prosecutors which will assess the impact of psychological injury. |
| Review the administratively finalised terminology and process to significantly reduce the number of administratively finalised cases. | The new terminology for admin finalised was launched as ‘pending response for further investigation’ and updated in CMS. This change was made to reflect that these are not legal decisions and may not be the end of the case. Pending Response Further Investigation means the case has been referred to the CPS – for early advice or for a charging decision, and the case has been returned to the investigating authority (usually police) as further investigation work is needed. With more cases coming to the CPS for early advice further disaggregation is needed to know the volume of PRFI cases that follow a referral for a full charging decision. We will continue to monitor these figures and share good practice in reducing the number of PRFI cases nationally. |
Section 3 – digital capability and disclosure
Completed actions
| Provide additional jointly delivered RASSO specific learning and development to help investigators and prosecutors balance the needs of an investigation with the right to privacy (connected with Action 23 under Our People & Expertise). | Training ‘podcasts’ on Digital Devices and Third-Party Material have been launched. They have been shared on the police Knowledge Hub and across all prosecutors. These resources are mandatory for all CPS prosecutors. |
| Take further steps to help victims understand why digital evidence and third-party material is relevant to investigations and casework, how we decide what data to collect, how we collect it as part of a criminal investigation and prosecution, and how it might be used (Connected with action 7 under Supp Victims). | CPS published a new guide for victims of rape and serious sexual assault in October 2021. The walkthrough outlines all the steps involved in the prosecution process and the reasons why it is collected. A Commitment to rape victims and a CPS Policy Statement on how we charge and prosecute rape cases were published. |
Section 4 – our people and expertise
Completed actions
| Identify, share and encourage adoption of best practice in respect of the elements of investigative teams and CPS units handling RASSO cases. | We conducted an analysis of each CPS Area’s RASSO Unit workload, examining how they are managed and work with their police counterparts to make sure all Areas are meeting the same high standards. As a result of that analysis, elements of best practice were identified that are supporting national improvements to ensure consistency of casework quality and approach in handling RASSO cases. The work continues to be tested through Operation Soteria and through the RASSO enhancement activities within CPS. |
| Convene a RASSO advocacy round table meeting to discuss best practice and ensure good practice is captured and reflected in relevant learning and development products. | Extensive insights were captured through RASSO advocacy questionnaires which were distributed to approximately 800 members of the external RASSO advocates list and CPS in-house RASSO advocates. A high number of responses contained substantial feedback which were analysed and recommendations shared with thematic leads. A roundtable with legal stakeholders was held in August 2022, and the feedback from this stakeholder event and the advocacy survey has been used in the development of this JNAP 2022 update. |
| Pilot an offender-centric investigation model, commencing with pathfinder in Avon and Somerset working with CPS South West and pilot extending to a further four police forces and CPS areas. | A perpetrator-centric model was launched in January 2021 with the South West as a pathfinder area. Further CPS and police force areas have been identified under Operation Soteria for rollout. Operation Soteria has been rolled out in nine CPS areas and 19 police force areas. |
| Develop an online RASSO platform “Knowledge Hub” for both Police and CPS to share learning, training, discussion forums and best practice. | The Police Knowledge Hub is accessible to both CPS and Policing colleagues. It has been agreed that CPS and Police will both have their separate hubs due to the logistics of developing a joint hub which will be kept up to date with links to facilitate users accessing each other’s hubs. |
Actions in progress
| Update the joint police and CPS National Protocol on the investigation and prosecution of rape cases and test it aligns with the relevant file standard guidance in order to promote consistency of approach to RASSO investigations and prosecution across England and Wales. | The police and CPS are currently developing new national operating models for the investigation and prosecution of rape based on best practice emerging from the Operation Soteria pilots. Work between the CPS and police to update the joint protocol is ongoing and will be completed following the finalisation of these new national operating models. |
| Develop and deliver joint RASSO learning and development in key areas including the impact of trauma, decision-making, the offender-centric approach, reasonable lines of enquiry, and the changing nature of sexual behaviours and encounters to promote consistency of approach and effective joint working. | Work continues in respect of developing joint learning. Learning need analysis is being conducted for both the Police and CPS to identify current training and identify any gaps. Findings from Operation Soteria pilots will feed into the development of future training alongside consideration of currently produced localised training. CPS has delivered training on proportionality and disclosure and launched a standalone training course for all prosecutors entitled “RASSO: impact of trauma”. Training ‘podcasts’ on Digital Devices and Third-Party Material have been launched. They have been shared on the police Knowledge Hub and across all prosecutors. This action is to be taken forward under the following new action: |
| Improve understanding and use of forensic evidence in RASSO cases including through the development of a forensic evidence toolkit and increased prosecution team engagement with forensic medical examiners. | Jointly with the police, we have established a project group comprising of experts and front-line practitioners. Work is progressing on the development of a forensic evidence toolkit covering issues relating to forensic science and forensic medicine. The product is currently being finalised for circulation for content quality assurance amongst practitioners. |
Section 5 – stakeholder engagement
Completed actions
| Consult with the police’s National Rape Working Group and the CPS’s external consultation group at key stages of the development process. | A regular pattern of quarterly meetings with the Police National Rape Working Group and the CPS External Consultation Group takes place. Their expertise and insight have informed important areas of the JNAP and RASSO work. |
| Convene an annual joint national RASSO conference to showcase best practice. | Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, it was not possible to hold a national in-person conference in 2021. However, the police and CPS jointly held a series of national webinars in summer 2021 providing updates and delivering training and learning for frontline investigators and prosecutors to support the RASSO work. The range of webinars supported ongoing learning for police and prosecutors including on the working with ISVAs, special measures and casework quality. The webinar programme had over 830 registrations. A national face-to-face conference was held on 15 June 2022. This was attended by over 250 delegates, including our partners from the third sector. |
| Convene a joint parliamentary roundtable to launch the Joint Action Plan. | A Parliamentary roundtable was hosted in July 2021 to improve transparency and understanding of the Joint National Action Plan. |
| Hold quarterly meetings with members of the JNAP Senior Steering Group including the Victims’ Commissioner, Domestic Abuse Commissioner and London Victims’ Commissioners - so that senior stakeholders can inform and scrutinise our work. | Bi-monthly meetings take pace with the Joint National Action Plan Steering Group to discuss, agree and progress the JNAP work. Regular meetings with the Victims’ Commissioner, London’s Victims’ Commissioner and the Domestic Abuse Commissioner take place to consult and inform on work taking place in the RASSO area. |
| Convene a roundtable of legal professionals to learn from their experience and to inform our work particularly on Digital Capability and Disclosure and Casework Quality and Progression sections. | A legal Professionals roundtable meeting took place to consult on the JNAP and gain insight from their experience to help shape the Joint National Action Plan. A further legal roundtable was held in the development of this JNAP refresh. |