Operation Soteria

What is Operation Soteria?

Operation Soteria is a Home Office-funded research and change programme led by the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC), which was launched in 2021 as part of the government’s end-to-end Rape Review.

The collaborative programme brought together 19 police forces and academics to understand and tackle the challenges seen in rape and serious sexual offences investigations.

Together a new National Operating Model (NOM) has been developed that is being implemented by all police forces across England and Wales.

What does this mean for Cambridgeshire?

Since its launch, we've increased the number of specialist officers focused on domestic abuse, rape and serious sexual offences, child abuse, trafficking, and exploitation.

We’re also increasing capacity in cyber and digital media intelligence and investigation, and our new Prevention Hub will focus on designing out high-risk threats before they happen in our communities.

Protecting people from harm is a joint effort and we know we must work closely with partners and communities to achieve this.

The NOM allows our partnership work to continue to strengthen our collective ability to support and protect victims of rape and sexual assault in Cambridgeshire.

Through our involvement in Op Soteria, we come together using new insights and strategies to build more effective investigations and deliver lasting change to improve victims' experiences.

How does Operation Soteria affect me?

It is our aspiration for women and girls who live, work, socialise or study in Cambridgeshire to not only be safe but feel safe - whether that's in public spaces, at home, or online. They should be able to live confidently, without feeling frightened, intimidated, or harassed.

It's a critical mission for policing and for us to prevent violence against women and girls in the first place. We’re also committed to making improvements to our investigations, improving the experiences of victims, and making sure our communities can be confident perpetrators are brought to justice. 

Through Operation Soteria we'll be using the NOM to help our teams improve the quality of service we provide to victims and survivors - allowing them to conduct suspect, rather than victim-focused, investigations and better support victims of these crimes.

What should I do if I've been a victim of rape or sexual assault?

We strongly encourage anyone who is a victim of rape or sexual assault to report it as soon as possible. Even if you’re not 100% sure, we’d sooner hear from you so we can make sure you’re safe.

If you’re not ready to talk to the police, that’s okay. There are a range of places to get confidential support, advice, and medical help.

More details are available on our Rape, sexual assault and other sexual offences webpage.