All police forces in England and Wales will have dedicated specialist rape and sexual offence teams in place by December 2027, after the government brought forward the original rollout deadline by more than a year.
The accelerated programme forms part of the government's wider ambition to halve violence against women and girls within a decade, strengthening the criminal justice response to some of the most serious offences affecting communities across the country.
Originally outlined in the government's Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy, published in December last year, the national rollout of the specialist teams had been scheduled for completion by the end of the current Parliament in summer 2029. Ministers have now confirmed the initiative will be fully implemented by December 2027.
These dedicated teams are designed to improve the investigation of rape and sexual offences, provide specialist support to victims and survivors, and increase the successful prosecution of offenders.
Announcing the move, 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.”
The announcement signals a significant increase in focus on tackling sexual violence and protecting victims through a combination of enforcement, intervention and offender management measures.
Alongside the accelerated rollout, up to ten police forces across England and Wales will share a £13.3 million funding package to develop and test specialist protection order teams.
The funding will support new approaches to managing and monitoring perpetrators while strengthening victim safeguarding arrangements.
Protection orders can impose a range of restrictions on offenders, including:
- Electronic monitoring and tagging
- Exclusion zones preventing contact with victims
- Mandatory attendance on behaviour change programmes
Importantly, these orders do not depend on a criminal conviction and can be issued by courts where there is sufficient concern about an individual's behaviour. Breaching the conditions of an order can result in imprisonment.
The government is also expanding the use of Domestic Abuse Protection Orders (DAPOs), which will apply across all forms of domestic abuse.
Unlike some existing measures, the new orders will cover:
- Physical abuse
- Controlling or coercive behaviour
- Economic abuse
- Stalking
A key feature is the removal of any maximum duration, reducing the need for victims to repeatedly seek renewed protection through the courts.
The reforms build on existing legal tools used to address stalking, sexual harm and forced marriage.
Alongside enforcement measures, ministers are expanding programmes aimed at reducing repeat offending by working directly with perpetrators to address underlying causes of abusive behaviour.
This includes targeted interventions focusing on issues such as:
- Drug misuse
- Alcohol dependency
- Behavioural change
- Long-term risk management
One example cited by the government is the Drive Project, which has worked with almost 7,000 high-risk perpetrators over the last decade.
According to programme data, the initiative has helped safeguard nearly 7,750 adult victim-survivors and more than 14,000 children.
The latest figures highlight the continuing scale of violence against women and girls across England and Wales.
Government estimates suggest that during the last year:
- Around 900,000 adults experienced sexual assault
- Approximately 3.8 million people experienced domestic abuse
- Around 1.4 million people experienced stalking
In response, the government says it is pursuing a broad programme of reform that includes specialist rape investigation teams, domestic abuse protection orders, domestic abuse specialists in 999 control rooms and the deployment of dedicated online operatives to identify offenders and tackle abuse in digital spaces.
The accelerated rollout of specialist rape and sexual offence teams is expected to play a central role in improving victim confidence, strengthening investigations and increasing accountability for perpetrators across England and Wales.
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