New tool to help police improve rape investigations

A new tool for police forces to improve rape investigations has been created by University of Glasgow academics as part of the UK Home Office funded Operation Soteria. Highlighted in the UK Government's update to the Rape Review, the tool has been developed by University of Glasgow academics Dr Ruth Friskney and Dr Kelly Johnson, together with Professor Clare McGlynn from Durham University, to help police forces to better protect victims' rights. The new Rape Victim Impact Assessment (RVIA) tool will help police forces improve services to victims by providing a clear process to support officers and staff to systematically review how police policies and procedures could impact victims. It is developed from similar processes such as Equalities or Environmental Impact Assessments which are now routine in many sectors. The tool is part of the new National Operating Model (NOM) for the investigation of rape and serious sexual offences for police forces. Dr Friskney, Professor McGlynn and Dr Johnson continue to work with police forces across England and Wales to explore how the tool is used in practice and how it can be improved to increase its value to forces and victims. While the Rape Victim Impact Assessment was developed in the specific context of police investigations of rape, it has the potential to be applied across all'areas of the criminal justice system.