All police forces to get specialist sexual offence teams, Mahmood pledges

by | Dec 14, 2025 | Politics

Specialist rape and sexual offence investigation teams will be introduced to every police force in England and Wales by 2029, the government has pledged.It is part of a long-delayed plan aimed at halving violence against women and girls within a decade.The strategy – which will include funding for undercover units operating online, and a roll out of domestic abuse protection orders – is due to be unveiled on Thursday, after being pushed back three times this year.Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said the measures will help to “bear down on abusers, stopping them in their tracks. Rapists, sex offenders and abusers will have nowhere to hide.”The government says the new teams will have officers with specialist investigation skills for working on rape and sexual offence cases.More than 50% of police forces already have these teams in place, but the government says every force will have dedicated officers by 2029.It says staff will have the right training to understand the mindset of abusers and victims.Announcing the move, the home secretary said: “This government has declared violence against women and girls a national emergency.”For too long, these crimes have been considered a fact of life. That’s not good enough. We will halve it in a decade.”Also announced is a roll out of domestic abuse protection orders, which have been trialled over the last year, across England and Wales.They can ban individuals from contacting a victim, visiting their home or posting harmful content online, and can also be used in cases involving coercive or controlling behaviour. Breaching an order is a criminal offence.There will also be almost £2m i …

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[mwai_chat context=”Let’s have a discussion about this article:nnSpecialist rape and sexual offence investigation teams will be introduced to every police force in England and Wales by 2029, the government has pledged.It is part of a long-delayed plan aimed at halving violence against women and girls within a decade.The strategy – which will include funding for undercover units operating online, and a roll out of domestic abuse protection orders – is due to be unveiled on Thursday, after being pushed back three times this year.Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said the measures will help to “bear down on abusers, stopping them in their tracks. Rapists, sex offenders and abusers will have nowhere to hide.”The government says the new teams will have officers with specialist investigation skills for working on rape and sexual offence cases.More than 50% of police forces already have these teams in place, but the government says every force will have dedicated officers by 2029.It says staff will have the right training to understand the mindset of abusers and victims.Announcing the move, the home secretary said: “This government has declared violence against women and girls a national emergency.”For too long, these crimes have been considered a fact of life. That’s not good enough. We will halve it in a decade.”Also announced is a roll out of domestic abuse protection orders, which have been trialled over the last year, across England and Wales.They can ban individuals from contacting a victim, visiting their home or posting harmful content online, and can also be used in cases involving coercive or controlling behaviour. Breaching an order is a criminal offence.There will also be almost £2m i …nnDiscussion:nn” ai_name=”RocketNews AI: ” start_sentence=”Can I tell you more about this article?” text_input_placeholder=”Type ‘Yes'”]