Introduction

When the Victim’s Commissioner for England and Wales, Dame Vera Baird, stated in her annual report in 2020 that “in effect, what we are witnessing is the decriminalisation of rape”, those of us who have been researching rape for many years were left wondering how on earth we had found ourselves in this situation. After decades of research, several government-commissioned reviews, campaigning, strategies, and public commitments to change (the list could go on and on), how did we arrive at the point where the criminal justice response to rape was so poor that rape was essentially legal?

In 2021 we were lucky enough to be invited to join Project Bluestone, an academic-police collaborative programme with the aim of transforming the police response to rape and serious sexual offences (RASSO). Phase 1 of the project ran from January to April 2021 in Avon and Somerset Constabulary and formed the basis of what is going to be a long-term evaluation—including the implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of recommendations—of RASSO investigations across England and Wales over the next three years. The project was designed and is being led and coordinated by Professor Betsy Stanko and Dr. Katrin Hohl, and takes a five- ‘pillar’ approach, each led by a different academic, which encompasses key aspects of the investigative process and the corporate enablers that underpin this work:

  • Pillar 1: Suspect-focused investigations – Professor Miranda Horvath

  • Pillar 2: Targeting repeat suspects – Dr. Kari Davies

  • Pillar 3: Victim engagement – Dr. Katrin Hohl

  • Pillar 4: Offender learning, development, and wellbeing – Dr. Emma Williams

  • Pillar 5: Using data more effectively – Jo Lovett

Our original intention was that we would write one paper from each pillar for inclusion in this special issue. However, while the pillar approach provides a framework from which to explore several aspects of RASSO policing in England and Wales, some of our initial findings from this work have become themes that cut across these pillars and that form points of synergy. Our understanding of officers’ skills and expertise (Pillar 4), for instance, feeds directly into the way in which officers conduct investigations (Pillars 1 and 2) and treat victims (Pillar 3). Understanding officers’ access to and use of data (Pillar 5) is key to assessing the exploration and disruption of repeat offending (Pillar 2). Understanding how a lack of a suspect-focused approach to investigations (Pillar 1) feeds into understanding high levels of victim attrition (Pillar 3). Writing this special issue, therefore, became an opportunity for us to take a step back from our individual pillars and to present some of the key cross-pillar findings from Phase 1 of the project, alongside outlining its history, underpinning framework, and plans for the future, recognising that it would not be possible to include all the aspects of the project in this special issue and that there would be gaps. We also include insights into the academic-police collaboration from one of the original proponents of this project – Avon and Somerset Constabulary’s Chief Constable Sarah Crew – as well as an external perspective on the project from a critical friend, Professor Jennifer Brown.

In the first paper, Hohl and Stanko explain where their ‘theory-based and practice-orientated framework’, which comprises five pillars, came from. In outlining the problems associated with rape investigations, they combine feminist literature and literature on forensic psychology to reframe the question of why it is so challenging to achieve more appropriate outcomes in rape investigations, into what it is about police and policing practice that makes obtaining these outcomes so difficult. They also outline a strategy and a vision for the implementation of the five-pillar framework into practice, establishing how it could be used to promote meaningful change in the policing of RASSO.

The second paper in the special issue comes from researchers Dalton, Barrett, Horvath, and Davies from Pillars 1 and 2. In understanding where the some of the difficulties arise around why police investigations lack a focus on suspects and their potential to repeatedly offend, it became apparent that an absence of specialism is a hindrance to officers’ understanding of the dynamics of RASSO which promotes more appropriate investigative strategies. While it was apparent from our initial work into the area that, although many researchers advocated for the need for specialist knowledge and specialism within policing of RASSO, the existing evidence base had not been reviewed in a way that allowed us to draw robust conclusions and challenge the prevalent belief that investigators should be ‘omnicompetent’ (Stelfox, 2011). One of our priorities, therefore, was to conduct a systematic literature review of specialist policing of RASSO, which paper two provides. The need for specialism is an emerging finding across all five pillars’ research to date.

Paper three in the special issue provides an account of how procedural justice theory (Tyler & Lind, 1992) can be integrated with feminist scholars’ analysis, to address why so many victims of RASSO have poor experiences with the police, and so few investigations result in a charge. Pillar 3 researchers Hohl, Johnson, and Molisso include early evidence from one English police force which suggests that their feminist scholarship-informed procedural justice framework may be a useful tool for improving police practice. Using data from focus groups with police officers and Independent Sexual Violence Advocates, the findings were discussed within the framework of the four elements of procedural fairness – voice, dignity and respect, neutrality, and trustworthy motive. The paper also outlines the changes to practice that have been made in Avon and Somerset Constabulary because of these findings.

Williams and her colleagues from Pillar 4 use the fourth paper of the special issue to argue for a more nuanced approach to understanding the relationship between the organisational support given to officers, the service delivered to victims of RASSO, and officer wellbeing. Through interviews with first response and investigating officers, their initial findings demonstrate the importance of specialist, expert knowledge in the field, with time for officers to critically reflect on their learning rather than learning informally from colleagues with little space for reflection.

Very early on in the pilot work in Avon and Somerset Constabulary, Pillars 1, 2, and 4 realised that policing practice needed to be aligned to use a critically reflective approach to investigating RASSO. Special issue paper five by Norman and colleagues makes the case that, fundamentally, if police officers are going to get better at RASSO investigations, they have to be able to learn from previously conducted investigations and reflect on their practice. Officers need space to learn and develop, something we think is essential across all the pillars in this framework. Initial findings explain and advocate for the embedding of case reviews and ‘reflective practice points’ as vital tools for improving RASSO investigations and supporting staff wellbeing.

Paper six focuses on the timeliness in RASSO investigations using data from two police forces in England. Lovett with researchers from Pillars 1, 2, and 5 focus on providing early insights into the gaps in policing data, highlighting how additional information can be gained from qualitative methodologies such as case file analysis and case reviews. They also provide some recommendations as to how these data gaps can be filled to promote better data collection for performance analysis purposes.

One of the most important aspects of this project is the practitioner-academic collaboration seen, for instance, in the co-authorship of paper five with Detective Inspector Andy Fox, the police lead for Pillar 2 in Avon and Somerset Constabulary. The penultimate paper in the special issue by Stanko and Crew is based on a conversation between the lead academic and policing practitioner in Phase 1 of Project Bluestone, drawing on all five pillars. Stanko and Crew discuss how the project was developed, including the challenges and benefits of taking this collaborative approach, as well as their hopes for the next phase of development of the project. They also provide insights into how it has been possible to work so quickly and implement changes alongside the political ramifications of the project, and constant challenges in relation to funding, capacity, and resourcing.

The special issue concludes with a paper by Brown, a critical friend of the project and leading international policing and sexual violence researcher. Brown’s paper adds a much-needed long view of the recurring problems which led to Project Bluestone and highlights the strengths, limitations, and omissions in the papers presented. Perhaps most importantly, Brown poses the question ‘will the new model work?’ and focuses on three issues (proof of concept, conducive environment, and co-ordination) to try and answer it.

From a research dissemination perspective there is still a lot to be done. We recognise (as Brown also points out) that we have presented little here on the suspect-focused approach or how officers should be better at targeting repeat perpetrators. Pillars 1 and 2 have a paper in production which outlines the new approach to RASSO investigations that has been developed, which shifts the focus onto suspects, suggests mechanisms for routinely disrupting repeat suspects, and outlines taking a team approach to investigations.

Where next for the project? Work is underway to conduct the same initial evaluations into current practice in the four other constabularies—we have already completed work in the Metropolitan Police Service, Durham Constabulary, and the West Midlands Police, and are just finalising work with South Wales Police. Paper six is a good indication of how we are starting to combine our datasets. At the same time, we are working with Avon and Somerset Constabulary to make changes based on our Phase 1 recommendations. We are also moving towards the national implementation of our recommendations. We are all keenly aware (as Brown highlights in her paper) of the importance of implementation; that implementation takes time, and many recommendations from previous reviews lacked implementation strategies and long-term follow-through, which is likely why they have failed. It is also imperative that we consider how these findings could be applied at an international level, given that many of the criticisms to the manner in which RASSO investigations are handled are not particular to England and Wales (Campbell & Fehler-Cabral, 2018; Commonwealth of Australia, 2021; Lapsey et al., 2021; Lorenz & Jacobsen, 2021). As Brown again highlights, rape is an international issue, and thus the learning from this project may be applicable at an international level. We are also aware that this project is focused on policing, but that this is just one element in the system; the knock-on effects for other agencies such as the Crown Prosecution Service, the Courts, and education services must be considered and addressed. Ultimately, we advocate for a whole systems approach. For this to be possible it is essential that there is significant long-term commitment of resourcing, high-level buy in, and willingness from the police, the wider criminal justice system, politicians, and the general public to accept that radical change is needed on every level.