Specialist rape and sexual offence investigation teams will be in place across every police force in England and Wales by the end of 2027, the government has announced, as ministers accelerate a scheme first unveiled under the previous administration.
A scheme brought forward by 18 months
The Home Office initially set out plans for dedicated specialist units last year, with a target of having them established by summer 2029. Prime Minister Andy Burnham said on Thursday that the original timetable was “too slow” and that ministers must be “laser focused” on tackling violence against women and girls. The rollout has now been brought forward by around 18 months as part of a wider drive to confront what the government describes as an unacceptable level of abuse suffered by women and girls in this country.
What the government is promising
Burnham said the accelerated teams would “go after perpetrators, enforce strict new protection orders to protect survivors, and invest in programmes to intensively manage offenders to break the cycle of abuse”. Up to ten police forces across England and Wales will also share a £13.3m pot to strengthen the units that manage protection orders, where offenders can be subject to electronic monitoring, exclusion zones and other restrictions. Minister for Safeguarding Satvir Kaur said violence against women and girls was one of the “most critical challenges of our time” and that the government was “relentlessly pursuing perpetrators”.
Reaction from charities
The charity Refuge welcomed the announcement but urged ministers to go further. Ellie Butt, its head of policy and public affairs, said the measures “represent only a small portion of what is needed to ensure all survivors can access timely and effective support”. She warned that protection orders were “highly underutilised” and that enforcement was often inadequate, and stressed that many survivors still avoided reporting abuse for fear of being disbelieved.
Why it matters
The move comes as the prime minister faces mounting pressure over the early release of prisoners, a scheme paused earlier in the summer after eligibility was changed to remove sentence cuts for those convicted of rape, serious child sex offences and grooming. Domestic abuse commissioner Nicole Jacobs has argued that failing to exclude domestic abusers from release puts victims’ lives at risk, underscoring how closely policing, sentencing and victim safety are now linked in government thinking.
What happens next
Justice Secretary Alex Norris is expected to set out the findings of a review into the early release scheme next week, when MPs return from the summer recess. In the meantime, the Home Office will begin funnelling the additional £13.3m to the first tranche of forces, with the full national rollout of specialist teams aimed for completion by the end of 2027.
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Source: Original report. Rewrite for Your News Website.
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