ACPO

RAPE

SUPPORT

PROGRAMME

USE OF DEDICATED TEAMS

September 2010 – January 2011

OVERVIEW

The Association of Chief Police Officers, in partnership with the Home Office, remains committed to improving the police service performance in rape investigation. As a means of developing service quality, the Home Office sponsored Rape Support Programme has been actively supporting forces and disseminating good practice over the last four years. To their credit, all forces have demonstrated a willingness and desire to improve their response with a number of forces implementing a form of dedicated team approach. This is of particular note when considered against the current landscape of a climate whereby competing demands on resources and budgets has never been so intense. In this regard, it is therefore imperative that the investment is a sound one.

Drivers for improvement

The focus of attention on adult rape remains intense. There has been further high level activity, most notably the review conducted by the Victims Champion, Sara Payne and by Baroness Stern. Indeed Baroness Stern made the following specific comments and recommendations:

2.5 “The work that the Association of Chief Police Officers has been doing in partnership with the Crown Prosecution Service and National Policing Improvement Agency is designed to improve the approach taken by all forces in responding to and investigating rape complaints. We have therefore based our recommendations on the assumption that all forces aspire to provide a high-quality service to everyone who reports a rape. The Guidance on Investigating and Prosecuting Rape seems to us to reflect the very best that a police service can achieve and we would make no suggestions for improvements to it. We recommend that the Association of Chief Police Officers should continue the work of seeing the guidance implemented in every police force.”

2.6 “We were very impressed with the specialist police units. It may be that the combination of high-level investigation, victim care and a focus on vulnerable people provided for by specialist units is the best way forward. We therefore recommend that the Association of Chief Police Officers works with the National Policing Improvement Agency to assess the benefits of this specialisation in terms of its cost effectiveness, the number of victims reporting, the level of victim satisfaction and the opportunities it provides for a more strategic approach to protecting the vulnerable.”

In order to assess the merits of such an approach and in response to this recommendation eight forces have been selected as a representative sample for review.

Terms of reference

The purpose of the Association of Chief Police Officers review process is to assess the benefits of the specialist team and evaluate the effect of these tactics on investigative outcomes benchmarked against current available data. In addition, where appropriate, identify good practice for wider dissemination and make suggestions which might assist forces to improve.

Methodology

The review took place between September 2010 and January 2011 inclusive and was carried out by Carol Ashworth (retired police officer and member of the Association of Chief Police Officers Rape Support Programme) and supported by Dave Gee MBE (retired police officer).

A cross-section of officers and police staff were interviewed using a diagnostic model including semi-structured interviews with key personnel, focus groups of practitioners and on-site informal visits in eight forces.For the purposes of this report they have been anonymised and are referred to as Force A through to Force H.

In addition to the in-force visit, the reviewing officer undertook a paper review of 32 case files relating to investigations that were undertaken by the dedicated teams (four in each force). All cases had been assessed as having sufficient evidence to support the threshold test for prosecution. The files were selected by the force and were representative of those cases whereby the decision not to proceed was made by either the Force or Crown Prosecution Service.

A review was not conducted of any investigations undertaken by officers outside of the dedicated team.

DATA SOURCES

This report was written using information from the following sources:

  • The Association of Chief Police Officers/Crown Prosecution Service/National Policing Improvement Agency Guidance on Investigating and Prosecuting Rape 2009;
  • Rape Support Programme Questionnaire completed by each Force;
  • CPS Area Questionnaire completed by the Area Rape Co coordinator;
  • Rape Investigations and Prosecutions Summary - Home Office statistics;
  • Relevant force documentation;
  • One to one structured and semi structured interviews with the persons listed above;
  • Previous Association of Chief Police Officers Rape support programme visit reports 2009;
  • Case files selected for review.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Many forces across England and Wales have introduced a form of dedicated investigative team approach to carry out rape investigations.

The profiles of the eight forces reviewed differ in respect of their geography, demographics, establishment and prevalence of rape. The command structures, although similar at executive level, are disparate in the accountability structure for the delivery of rape investigation. Ownership principally lies with either the Serious Crime or Public Protection directorates. Well established partnerships, so necessary in rape investigation, provide a sound framework to follow. In this regard a number of forces have included rape investigation within the Public Protection domain.

Irrespective of where the ownership lies, the key requirement is that the importance of rape investigation is afforded a high and visible profile within the force priorities.

The review revealed that teams introduced thus far have evolved separately under the local direction of the force in question, leading to significant differences in the way in which they are resourced and managed. No two forces have established the same structure which compounds the difficulty in establishing 'what works'.

In a number of forces, the driving factor for the implementation of a team, is to improve the detection rate. Although a laudable overall objective, there is a mistaken belief in some forces that the sole remedy lies merely in the implementation of an investigative team. It is important for the force to understand that the investigation of rape commences at the point of first call through to the court process and beyond. An investigative team should not operate in isolation, rather more it is just oneof the key components of a whole end to end process that needs to be in place to achieve improvement.

The notion of success varies amongst victims, criminal justice agencies, voluntary sector and the wider community. What constitutes success to one individual may be having the opportunity to move on with their lives irrespective of any criminal justice outcomes. For others, success is measured by the number of cases resulting in sanction detection and subsequent conviction. It can be argued, therefore, that the notion of success is a subjective issue. However, whilst significant efforts are being made to introduce ‘softer’ performance measures the fact remains that for statutory agencies such as the police and the Crown Prosecution Service, success is measured in terms of statistical outcome.

Command team decisions to allocate a dedicated resource to respond to victims of rape and serious sexual assault represents a significant investment in resources. The structure, establishment, terms of reference and operating framework will determine the level of that investment. There are numerous options for a force to consider when deciding upon the most effective model which could differ dependent on geography of the region and demographics but should be driven predominantly by the intelligence emanating from a comprehensive problem profile. In some forces resources were allocated without real understanding or appreciation of the actual demand or requirement of the role.The Department of Health will shortly be publishing a ‘Response to Sexual Violence Needs Assessment’, this document should be considered along with a problem profile to assist any future allocation of resources.

All forces visited expressed a desire to improve and achieve a better quality investigation and level of service to the victim but there was a palpable feeling of the threat posed to resources in the current economic climate. All forces however were keen to highlight that not only had staffing levels been retained in the response to rape investigation it was one of only a couple of business areas of the whole policing spectrum that has been assigned growth whereas many areasare facing reduction in staff. In the context of competing demands on resources and shrinking budgets this sends out a significant positive message both internal to the workforce and external to partner organisations and the pubic of the commitment and priority affordedto this area of business which is commendable. Each force has a policy on rape investigation reflecting the National Guidance which is a matter of good practice.

Of the eight forces reviewed the scope of the team ranged from a single police only team in a Basic Command Unit which was present in two forces to a joint Police/Crown Prosecution Service team covering the whole of the Police Force. Of the remaining five forces reviewed the scope of the team sits somewhere between the two extremes.

Differences are evident ateach phase of the process particularly in the areas of:

  • Whether the investigation team is a force -wide resource or confined to local area;
  • Inclusion of victim care/suspect management elements;
  • Skills set of officers, recruitment and retention policies;
  • Terms of reference,roles and responsibilities of the team;
  • Location, ownership, operating hours, resources of the team;
  • Whether the force works in partnership with a Sexual Assault Referral Centre;
  • Availability/use of Independent Sexual Violence Advisors;
  • Partnership Arrangement with the Crown Prosecution Service.

Variation in approach perhaps reflects the lack of empirical data to support the notion that the introduction of dedicated resources to rape investigation actually improves performance in terms of statistical outcomes.

Performance

In terms of assessing the impact of the dedicated team approach on statistical performance the picture is varied. Some forces have added to their range of performance indicators with the introduction of more rounded measures including:

  • Confidence and satisfaction;
  • Independent Sexual Violence Advisor feedback;
  • Increase in reporting rates;
  • Increased detection rates;
  • Crown Prosecution Services discontinued cases;
  • Unsuccessful prosecutions.

It is important to stress that for many of the forces reviewed the impact of the dedicated team approach has yet to be maximised. However increased reporting rates were experienced in each force following the launch of the team approach. This increase has been maintained in some of the forces whilst in others the reporting rate has now stabilised.

The lack of relevant data collection in some forces compounds the inability to provide a clear, definitive 'before and after' statistical picture of the impact of a dedicated team approach. All forces recognise the need to become more sophisticated in data collection and are actively adopting or developing case tracking processes which should prove helpful in the future.

Cost benefit analysis

None of the eight forces reviewed had undertaken a cost benefit analysis of their respective business model. Given the significant investment in resources it may be beneficial to undertake such an exercise in order to establish the cost of service delivery which in turn may realise opportunities to increase effectiveness.

On the evidence provided by forces to date, there is insufficient empirical data available on which to base any firm conclusions as to the benefits of adopting dedicated investigation team approach. In terms of statistical performance, all of the forces have experienced peaks and troughs in sanction detection and conviction rates. It is clear, however, that from anecdotal evidence and some more reliable local surveys, softer impact measures including victim satisfaction and confidence amongst partner agencies are real positive outcomes. Before any firm conclusions can be drawn, existing practice will need to become fully embedded and comparisons between existing and future performance data made to support any adjudication as to their effectiveness.

REVIEW FINDINGS

Influencing factors on Dedicated Team effectiveness

The adoption of a quality end to end process in line with the principles of the NPIA/CPS Guidance on Investigating and Prosecuting Rape 2009is key to improving the effectiveness of the dedicated team approach. All forces should ensure that they are compliant with the Guidance in relation to:

  • Initial Contact
  • First Response
  • Investigative Grip

To be less effective at the point of interface with the victim and the wider investigative requirements at this stage can diminish the effectiveness of the dedicated team following their engagement with the crime.

Force A / Force B / Force C / Force D / Force E / Force F / Force G / Force H
No of offences Sept 2009 to Sept 2010 / 335 / 200 / 337 / 270 / 347 / 169 / 109 / 602
Force A / Force B / Force C / Force D / Force E / Force F / Force G / Force H
Specially Trained Officers
Not dedicated role / 
Dedicated force-wide resource working remotely from investigative team / 
(outside BCU) / 
Dedicated resource for BCU only / 
Co-located within investigative team /  / 
Combined role of STO and investigator /  /  / 
Force A / Force B / Force C / Force D / Force E / Force F / Force G / Force H
Investigation
Dedicated resource
Split site / 
Dedicated resource within BCU structure / 
Dedicated resource for 1 BCU only /  / 
Dedicated force-wide resource centrally located /  /  /  /  / 
Dedicated central resource co-located with CPS / 
Force A / Force B / Force C / Force D / Force E / Force F / Force G / Force H
Composition of team
Investigative element / 1 x DI
3 x DS
12 x DC / 1 x DI
4 x DS
23 x DC / 1 X DS
3 x DC / 1 x DI
4 x DS
24 x DC / 2 x DI
3 x DS
18 x DC
9 x SOLO
1 x Intel Researcher
1 x Intel Analyst
3 x Rape lawyers
2 x Paralegal case workers / Investigators on each division / 1 x DI
2 x DS
12 x DC / 1 x DI
6 x DS
22 x DC
6 x investigative officers
3 x investigative support officers (police support staff)
Force A / Force B / Force C / Force D / Force E / Force F / Force G / Force H
Training
ACPO standard / ALL / ALL / ALL / ALL / ALL / ALL / ALL / ALL

There are some significant differences which are self-evident. For example:

  • The number of personnel engaged in Force A for 212 offences amounts to 16 whilst the number in Force D for 270 offences is 30. In Force B, there are 200 recorded offences with 28 staff. A simple offences/staff ratio indicates that Force A carry a greater workload than colleagues in Force D whilst Force B has the greatest number of staff to investigate the lowest number of offences. When compared with the sanction detection rate Force B performs the best of the three at 30.5% with Force A BCU based team at 29.2% and Force D at 16.3% for the sample period. (See Figure 2) below. In all three cases staff are trained to national investigative standards although in Force D this wasn’t complete until mid 2010.
  • The highest number of staff/cases ratio is in Force G where 109 offences were recorded with 15 staff available (10 staff pre-June 2010).
  • In Force G, Force H and Force E, the composition of the teams includes some police staff, some of whom are ex-police officers.

Specially Trained Officers

TheGuidance makes reference to the variety of terms used for this role such as SOIT, SOLO and SAIT. For purposes of consistency such officers are referred to as Specially Trained Officer throughout the guidance.

The role, function, skills, responsibilities, operating hours and structure for deployment of officers undertaking such roles vary enormously ranging from those eliciting the initial account and providing support through the forensic medical examination phase to those that incorporate the comprehensive victim account through to those combining the role with being the investigating officer in the case. This element of service delivery provides for the most disparate of practices.

The Guidance outlines that the fundamental principle of the role of the specially trained officer is to ensure that victims of rape receive the appropriate care to meet their needs so that they feel supported and thus less likely to withdraw support for the investigation. The specially trained officer should act as the single point of contact with the victim to advise on the progress of the case acting as a conduit between the investigating officer and victim.

In order to meet this objective, officers must be effectively recruited,trained, deployed and supported in the role. Most crucially they must also be embeddedthough distinct from the investigation process. In addition to avoid a post code lottery of standards for victims the services of a specially trained officer must be delivered throughout the twenty four hours a day across the entire force area. Whilst all of the eight forces reviewed can achieve some of the elements, only the structure adopted within Force E wholly meets this criteria and in this regard should be considered asgood practice.

Investigation

As well ashaving disparate practice within the role of specially trained officer there are also added complexities around the investigator role. A differential exists in respect of the stated terms of reference, skills set, operating hours and structure for supervision and deployment.

Owing to competing demands for resources,a number of units wereestablished with either insufficient numbers of staff to meet demand or staff without the experience or qualifications commensurate with managing the level of responsibility and seriousness associated with the offences of rape. Intwo forces both features prevailed which had the effect of being 'set up to fail'.To their credit both forces have taken remedial action and are making progress.

One of the most crucial elements to improvement in the investigation of rape is addressing cultural attitudes, stereotypes, values, judgements and beliefs. From other visits undertaken throughout the country as part of the wider rape support programme and outside of this study,some evidence of negative attitudes towards the veracity of a victim’s complainthas been encountered. This is contrary to the advocated 'merits based approach'.