UK Edition
The Government’s rape review will tell police and prosecutors to shift the focus of investigations onto the actions and past behaviour of suspects, rather than victims, after a pioneering Home Office-backed trial by police.
The review, to be published next week, will recommend an offender-centric approach that focuses more on suspects’ patterns of behaviour before, during and after reported attacks.
It will shift the spotlight from investigating the credibility of victims, which has been blamed for an increase in the numbers withdrawing from cases and falling conviction rates.
“We are trying to shift the focus to investigating a suspect’s pattern of behaviour and previous offending, if there is any, that can lead to there being less of an undue focus on a victim’s credibility,” said a Government source.
The Government review, led by Robert Buckland, the Justice Secretary, and Priti Patel, the Home Secretary, aims to reverse a fall in rape charging rates to just 1.6 per cent of offences. Ms Patel will write to all chief constables urging them to consider the new approaches to investigation.
The proportion of victims withdrawing from prosecutions has doubled to more than 40 per cent in five years largely due to intrusive police investigations into their digital communications, lengthy court delays, and the trauma of reliving their attack in court.
The move to a “suspect-focused” investigations has been pioneered by Avon and Somerset police, and headed by its deputy chief constable Sarah Crew, who also leads for the National Police Chiefs’ Council on adult sex offences.
Police investigators in the Home Office-backed scheme, called Project Bluestone, focus on factors such as whether a suspect deliberately targeted an alleged victim, how they interacted with them if they were intoxicated, or exerted control or coercion.
Such evidence can then be used in court to build a case.
Any links to past offences uncovered through investigation or forensic evidence can lead to further prosecutions if a victim backs a complaint. One of the aims of the scheme is to “disrupt and challenge repeat offenders.”
Ms Crew said: “It’s no secret that historically our criminal justice system has failed victims of rape and serious sexual offences.
“But, I’m confident that initiatives such as Project Bluestone will start to not only improve the way we investigate these types of offences, but will also improve victims' experiences from the moment they report to us, all the way through to prosecution.”
The scheme has been audited by academics, led by Prof Betsy Stanko, who said: “The buzzword in addressing rape is about being victim focused but what we really need to be is suspect-focused.
“We need to ask why a suspect would rape. There will be seeds of evidence based in the way in which they account for their behaviour that have been missed.
“They have been missed because [police] have been frontloading the victim first and deciding whether or not the victim was credible enough for them to talk to the suspect.”
The review will also limit digital searches of victims' phones to only relevant information. Victims will have to have their phones returned within 24 hours and to have a replacement with the same number for that period.
Under a series of pilot schemes to be rolled out nationally, victims will be able to pre-record their evidence, including cross-examination by lawyers, which would then be played during a trial sparing them the trauma of appearing in court.
The review is expected to propose a public education campaign to combat rape myths and more specialist support for victims through having independent sexual assault advisers (IVSAs) who can guide them every step of the way to court.