Increased support for the victims of crime and specialist Rape and Serious Sexual Offence units has been promised in the Autumn budget as part of the increased funding awarded to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).

The CPS has been given £49 million in additional funding to help them address the enormous pressure the criminal justice system us currently under, including court backlogs and capacity issues in prisons. The budget states that this initial step will be followed by increased funding of £1.1 billion for the Law Officers’ Department, which includes the CPS, in 2025-26, an increase of 7.5% over this and the next financial year.

How will the additional finding help victims of crime?

One of the key objectives of the funding is to cover the cost of appointing specialist prosecutors to work on rape and serious sexual offence cases and increase staff in levels in the CPS’ specialist Rape and Serious Sexual Offence units. Another is to boost transformation programmes by hiring more staff to deliver the programmes and start to improve the technology in a bid to improve the productivity, efficiency, and quality of victim support services.

The funding is a visible move to further the Government’s pledge to halve violence against women and girls in the next decade, a key element in their mission to make our streets safer.

What has been the response to Autumn budget’s promise to increase support?

After the budget was announced, the UK’s Solicitor General Sarah Sackman KC MP said:

“Tackling crime, supporting victims, and strengthening public confidence in the criminal justice system are priorities for me as Solicitor General. I know that prosecutors will play a vital role in our ambitious missions to halve violence against women and girls in a decade, deliver swifter justice for victims, and double down on knife crime as we make our streets safer for everyone. That’s why I welcome this budget, which is not only fixing the foundations of our economy but is focused on rebuilding trust in the criminal justice system too.”

Director of Public Prosecutions Stephen Parkinson was also supportive:

“I am pleased with the increase in our funding, which will help us begin to tackle the significant challenges we face and build on our work to make the public safer. This investment will help us to achieve better outcomes, particularly in cases involving rape and serious sexual offence and domestic abuse, while supporting us to improve the experience of victims in the justice system. It will also support investment in technology to help us increase productivity and efficiency.”

While the government and public services’ backing is expected, Victim Support, an independent charity that provides free support to people affected by crime in England and Wales, was measured if not cautiously optimistic.

They have underlined the fact the budget may have the potential to drive positive change for victims, but the proof will be in the way victim’s needs are prioritised in the spending plans the CPS draws up now. In a statement on their website, the charity said:

“The additional funding allocated to the Ministry of Justice in today’s budget is desperately needed to rebuild a criminal justice system on its knees. This uplift must now translate into meaningful improvements for all victims of crime. As a first step, we urge the Government to deliver consistent, long term funding for victims’ services, ensuring anyone who experiences crime gets the help and support they need, regardless of whether or not they report to the police. Victims who do encounter the criminal justice system deserve a radically better service – which means cutting wait times from report to court and putting an end to adjournments.”

We await to see how this much needed additional funding will be used to support the victims of crime, most specifically the victims of rape and serious sexual offences.