Prime Minister accelerates roll out of specialist rape and sexual offence teams to all forces
“We must be laser focused on stamping out these vile crimes”
All police forces in England and Wales will have specialist rape and sexual offence teams in place by December 2027, a year and a half ahead of the original deadline, the Prime Minister has announced.
The specialist teams are dedicated to investigating rape and sexual offences, supporting victims and bringing sex offenders to justice.
Initially announced in the Government's Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy last December, the rollout of specialist rape and sexual offence teams was due to be completed by the end of the Parliament in summer 2029.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham said: “The scale of violence and abuse suffered by women and girls in this country is unacceptable. We must be laser focused on stamping out these vile crimes.
“These measures were going to be introduced in 2029, but I think that’s too slow. So we’re taking action to accelerate the roll out of specialist rape and sexual offence teams, who will 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.”
Minister for Safeguarding and Violence Against Women and Girls, Satvir Kaur, said: “Violence against women and girls is one of the most critical challenges of our time, we must remain ambitious in tackling it and its root causes.
“We are going further and faster to ensure victims and survivors of these devastating crimes get the protection and support they deserve.
“By ensuring every police force has specialist rape and sexual offence teams sooner, and funding for new protection order teams, we are strengthening our response, relentlessly pursuing perpetrators and helping victims live their life without fear.
“This government will continue to use every lever available to drive down violence against women and girls. We will not stop until women and girls can live their lives free from fear, and until this country is safe for everyone.”
As part of the new package, up to 10 police forces across England and Wales will receive a share of a £13.3 million pot for pioneering specialist Protection Order Teams.
Protection orders are imposed on offenders to keep victims safe – with measures including electronic monitoring or tagging, strict exclusion zones and forcing preparators to attend behaviour change programmes. If these rules are broken, they face being sent to prison. They do not depend on a criminal case, and can be issued by courts even if the perpetrator has not been convicted of a criminal offence.
Building on existing orders to protect victims from stalking, sexual harm and forced marriage, the government is also rolling out new Domestic Abuse Protection Orders covering all types of domestic abuse – including physical, controlling or coercive behaviour, economic abuse and stalking - with no maximum duration, meaning victims do not need to repeatedly apply for protection.
The funding will be met from Home Office budgets.
The government is rolling out a programme working directly with perpetrators to stop abusive behaviour and instil long term change, clamping down on issues such as drug misuse and alcohol dependency to break the cycle of abuse.