Vanesa Munro (with Alice King and Lotte Young Andrade) were commissioned by the Crown Prosecution Service to undertake an independent, academic review of pilot initiatives under ‘Operation Soteria’, a programme for improving the investigation and prosecution of adult rape cases in England and Wales that arose from the Ministry of Justice’s ‘End to End Rape Review’. As part of the work, the researchers conducted extensive fieldwork across 5 CPS areas, including a series of interviews with police, prosecutors, Independent Sexual Violence Advisors, barristers and judges.

They also observed a series of ‘early legal advice’ discussions between police and reviewing lawyers and analysed a sample of CPS case files. Through this work, the team explored partnership-working between police and prosecutors, development and determination of reasonable lines of inquiry and disclosure, case progression and charge decision-making, and the role appropriately to be played by the CPS in supporting victims.

Key findings from this research have informed the ongoing development and implementation of a new National Operating Model for Rape across police and the CPS, and findings from the study are now availableLink opens in a new window.