Improving rape and serious sex offences investigations.

Abstract

Purpose: This special collection is devoted to some of the academic work underpinning Pillars 1 and 2 of Operation Soteria Bluestone (OSB). OSB was an academic police collaboration whose aim was to construct a co-produced evidence-based framework to improve the investigation of rape and serious sex offences (RASSO). This introductory paper provides a timeline for the phases of OSB collaboration, running from the pilot project through to the start of national implementation in England and Wales. Design/methodology/approach: A mixed method approach was used. Data included: qualitative interviews with more than 100 police officers and prosecutors; the creation of a quantitative dataset, an anonymised, four-year sample of all sex offences (n = 366,346) recorded by five forces between January 2018 and December 2021; and two types of case reviews (312 in total) including qualitative and quantitative data. Findings: We report research findings from phases of the project running from January 2021 to September 2023 involving five police forces. Originality/value: Recommendations arising from this work regarding what investigative best practice in RASSO should look are outlined and a visual summary provided. We conclude with observations about the way forward.