Bedfordshire Police’s RASSO intern, Eloise Taylor, shares her experience developing Bedfordshire Police’s Victim Attrition and Repeat Victimisation Dashboard, funded by a SPRITE+ safer streets grant.

The Case for Change

Across England and Wales, Police forces have struggled with high rates of victim disengagement in RASSO (Rape and serious sexual offence) cases. The most recent national figure recorded 58% of victims withdraw. Parallel to this, national patterns show more than half of RASSO victims endure repeated abuse. The intersection of high attrition and repeated harm reveals a critical need for structural transformation when investigating RASSO cases.

In response, the Bedfordshire Police RASSO leadership team is implementing a refreshed victim‑focused operating model to strengthen supervisory governance and reduce victim attrition and repeat victimisation. A priority of the refreshed operating model was to implement a victim attrition and repeat victimisation data dashboard. The dashboard will collate key operational and safeguarding data into a central, user-friendly interface that provides early alerts to practitioners and supervisors, enabling earlier intervention and more coordinated safeguarding responses.

To build an effective dashboard, Detective Inspector Bianca Lazar and I sought researchers to apply to the Rise accelerator grant, led by SPRITE+ in collaboration with SALIENT and the Network for Security Excellence & Collaboration (NSEC). It was calling for any short projects tackling violence against women and girls. I advertised Bedfordshire Police’s project proposal to a multitude of forums, including through the N8 PRP HEI leads group. Through the N8 PRP leads we were able to then partner with Dr Kate Whitfield, Dr Oliver Merry and Hannah Bradshaw from Sheffield Hallam University. Therefore, Bedfordshire Police thanks the N8 PRP for their quick and effective support.

For the project bid we also secured partnership with CEMET, who are a technological company at the University of South Wales, supporting businesses across the UK to create innovative digital products. William Warren (CEMET’s Senior Programmer) and Clayton Jones’s (Programme Manager) role in the project was to create the dashboard model based off the research informed categories and share this with Bedfordshire Police for implementation and linking to our cases. We are pleased that the project bid was one out of nine overall that was successful! With nearly £50,000 funding granted by SPRITE+, SAILENT and NSEC for this project. The work officially began on 13^th April 2026 and will finalise on 30^th September 2026. Bedfordshire Police, Sheffield Hallam University and CEMET would like to thank SPRITE+, SALIENT and NSEC for funding this important initiative.

Creating an effective socio-technical tool through Police-Academic collaboration

There are certain metrics for the dashboard that were already proposed by Bedfordshire Police, such as measuring the suspect-victim relationship, multiple victimisation reports, and the offence type. However, crucial research on RASSO cases and consultation with relevant parties needed to be undertaken to determine if these categories were appropriate and to identify if these categories were related to victim attrition and/or repeat victimisation. This would enable RASSO supervisors to then use the dashboard effectively.

Some of the strands of research Sheffield Hallam have conducted to meet these needs includes an analysis of Bedfordshire Police’s data and RASSO cases to identify patterns associated with victim attrition and repeat victimisation. Given the tight time frame of the project early findings and initial proposed metrics from this research were shared with CEMET for early implementation. Secondly, qualitative interviews were conducted with RASSO practitioners, including a RASSO Detective Chief Inspector, Detective Inspector, Sergeants, STOs (Specially trained RASSO Officers), VEOs (Victim Liaison Officers), DCs and an ISVA (Independent Sexual Violence Advisor). This helped to understand operational challenges and other factors for victim disengagement, that may not be recorded in official data. Together, these strands will identify which variables should inform Bedfordshire Police’s dashboard and which are specifically causing victim attrition and/or repeat victimisation. The final report will be produced on 30^th September 2026.

Impact and Long-term Value

 The current national levels of RASSO attrition and repeat victimisation require not simply improvement but transformation. Operation Soteria emphasises that victims remain engaged when they feel heard, respected, and supported throughout the investigative process. Bedfordshire’s victim‑focused strategy acknowledges the current need for structured supervisory oversight, proactive contact plans, and procedural justice embedded from first contact to disposal. Victims who understand what is happening, why delays occur, and what their options are experience reduced anxiety and greater willingness to remain engaged.

Therefore, Bedfordshire Police is at a pivotal moment, and this digital early‑warning tool offers a credible, innovative, and sustainable solution to the current national figures.

 For victims, the dashboard will improve safety, trust, and procedural justice, reducing repeated harm and disengagement.

For practitioners, it introduces clarity of roles, improved oversight, and predictive tools to prevent attrition.

For organisations, it strengthens partnerships, standardises safeguarding, and embeds accountability.

For the VAWG system, by producing guidance on key data indicators, design principles, and operational use, the project has the potential for national replication to support UK-wide policing and academic efforts to improve victim engagement across the CJS.

What’s Next?

CEMET have finished the creation of the dashboard. Moving forward, the dashboard will be embedded into daily supervision, monthly governance meetings and repeat victim reviews. Supervisors will use the data to target interventions, challenge delays, improve victim engagement and identify learning opportunities. However, the aim is not simply to monitor performance, but to create a proactive, evidence-based approach to reducing victim attrition, improving victim experience and embedding the principles of Operation Soteria across Bedfordshire RASSO investigations.

The dashboard was shared in an online showcase event on Monday 14^th September and Sprite+ will upload a recording of this to their YouTube channel. Once Bedfordshire Police’s national position has improved on victim attrition, we plan to share the dashboard with other forces for replication and organisational learning. We aim to also conduct a long-term evaluation into the dashboard’s effectiveness. However, this will be dependent on funding opportunities.

Eloise and Bianca are happy for you to contact them for further information on the project.

Eloise Taylor: eloise2.taylor2@gmail.com

DI Bianca Walter: bianca.walter@beds.police.uk

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