Our Victims Programme is dedicated to improving our service to victims of crime. We are working with an independent evaluation partner, Crest Advisory, to measure its impact.

In September 2026, Crest Advisory published its two-year programme evaluation report. We are pleased to share that the contents of the report are positive: it shows that, where they are live, our Victims Programme pilot services are delivering an improved service to victims. Our Enhanced Service for victims of rape and serious sexual offences is also improving trust and confidence for most victims.

This is an ongoing programme and the report represents early findings. We are continuing to gather evidence, including gathering more feedback directly from victims. As we gather more data, we expect to see even stronger results in the future.

You can read the full report on Crest Advisory’s website.

What is our Victims Programme?

We are working hard to transform the service we provide to victims of crime. Through our Victims Programme, we have introduced:

• A Victim Centre of Excellence working nationally to oversee and streamline CPS victim-related standards, communication and guidance.
• A service designed to give a better experience to all victims of crime who interact with us. This is currently running as a pilot scheme in four CPS Areas.
• An enhanced service for victims with the greatest needs, including access to a dedicated victim liaison officer and, where relevant, the offer of a pre-trial meeting with a member of the prosecution team.
  • This service is live in all CPS Areas for victims of rape and serious sexual offences.
  • A pilot version of this service for victims of domestic abuse, stalking and harassment is being tested in four CPS Areas.

What are the key takeaways from the report?

• Initial data suggests that the programme is improving victim wellbeing.
• Most victims who received a service under the Victims Programme experienced a high-quality service from us.
• The report did highlight some areas for improvement, and we will use this feedback to improve our service delivery. We will work to clarify the programme’s purpose, aims and delivery model both to internal teams and external partners.

We will take Crest Advisory’s recommendations forward as we continue to refine and improve our victim service.

Next steps

We are reviewing the evidence and will use this to decide whether to further roll out our pilot services, as we have already done for our service to victims of rape and serious sexual offences. 

This is important work, and we are determined to get it right.