Overhaul of rape inquiries threatened by lack of courtroom awareness, says expert

An overhaul of the way police investigate rape is being put at risk by a lack of awareness in courtrooms in England and Wales, the government’s independent adviser on rape has warned.Prof Katrin Hohl said legal experts were concerned progress would stall or reverse if the conviction rate for rape dropped significantly because a new approach for investigating the cases, known as Operation Soteria, was hitting outdated practices in the courts.A vote on the courts and tribunals bill on Tuesday could result in as many as 65 Labour MPs failing to support measures that will remove the right to trial by jury in some cases. Before the vote, the justice secretary, David Lammy, launched a review of how courts deal with rape and sexual assault cases, and promised that rape victims would have access to independent legal advice from later this year.Hohl said that the future of the Soteria approach, which has significantly increased the number of rape charges made by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), could be jeopardised if cases failed in court. The process focuses on the suspect’s behaviour rather than looking for intrusive background information about the victim. The conviction rate for adult rate has dropped slightly, which experts argue is as a result of the CPS charging more complex cases.“The obvious, ultimate risk is if it comes to a point where it is felt that Soteria investigations have lower chances of convictions, that police and CPS could go back to as it was before,” said Hohl. “I think if we can’t change the courts, I would worry about the sustainability of the Soteria approach.”Operation Soteria launched in 2021 after the last government’s rape review following a collapse in the number of rape cases making it to trial.Under the changes, police officers are told to build cases built on suspects’ behaviour rather than relying on an examination of the credibility of witnesses, and limit the amount of intrusive material they ask for, including counselling notes and medical records.But police were facing barriers in courtrooms, said Hohl. “Anecdotally, we know that when officers go into the courtroom, they find that judges and barristers have never heard of Soteria,” she said.The number of rape victims pulling out of prosecutions before trial more than doubled between 2019 and 2024. The government has made changes to the way they are treated in an attempt to stem the exodus.Under new measures promised in the Labour manifesto, rape victims will also get access to independent legal advice from later this year, when the new national independent legal adviser (ILA) service launches with initial funding of £6m over two years, said the Ministry of Justice.“Operation Soteria has already changed how rape cases are investigated by putting the focus where it belongs – on the suspect,” said Lammy. “By introducing independent legal advisers and expanding the principles of Soteria into the courtroom, we are making sure victims have both the protection and support they deserve throughout the justice process.”Ministers have introduced new laws to ban “bad character” evidence related to a victim’s past sexual history or abuse, and since January new Home Office rules have severely restricted police from accessing rape and sexual assault victims’ counselling notes, ending invasive “fishing expeditions” into their past.Nogah Ofer, of the Centre of Women’s Justice, said the organisation had witnessed several trials that had been hampered by a lack of understanding of the new approach.At a recent trial witnessed by the CWJ, a police officer was cross-examined by a defence barrister as to why they had not requested personal records about the victim. The barrister then told the jury that the case had not been adequately investigated and their client had not had a fair trial, she said. “Police are following the law and new guidance, but because that has not filtered through to the courts we fear that it is being used to undermine the prosecution case,” she said. “This is happening already, but we worry it will get worse as more Soteria cases get to trial.”Hohl said that a Soteria pilot in London, which is expected to report in the autumn, will examine the first tranche of cases to uncover if its founding principles were followed at court. Academics will review completed cases and observe live cases while barristers, police and CPS prosecutors will be interviewed and trained to compellingly present Soteria cases.“I don’t think bringing the principles of Soteria into the courtroom is going to be straightforward but that’s why this pilot is so important,” said Hohl. “But I don’t think the police would ever fully go back [to the previous way of operating], because I think once you’ve seen the impact of Soteria, you can’t unlearn the lessons.”