CPS to give all domestic abuse victims a dedicated liaison officer nationwide

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) will make its Universal Service for victims and Enhanced Service for survivors of domestic abuse permanent across every CPS Area in England and Wales. 

This enhanced level of support will see for the first-time, victim liaison officers being provided to all victims of domestic abuse. Following successful pilots, including in Mersey-Cheshire, victim liaison officers will provide better support for victims of domestic abuse from charge to trial – a service previously only available to victims of rape and sexual offences.  

This national rollout is part of the CPS’ Victim Transformation Programme (VTP).  

The announcement was marked by a visit to Liverpool by the Attorney General, Ellie Reeves KC MP, who met senior leaders from JUSTICE North before joining a roundtable discussion with local and national charities and campaign groups working with victims of crime, including survivors of domestic abuse.  

The Attorney General said trust in the justice system depends on victims being able to see and feel that it works for them, wherever they live. Today’s visit was part of her ongoing work to hear directly from front line charities and services to restore public trust in the criminal justice system. 

The Attorney General, Ellie Reeves KC MP, said: 

The criminal justice system only works if victims’ voices are at its heart. They need to be heard, supported and treated with dignity throughout the process, not just at trial. I’ve heard time and again from victims and frontline organisations about what good communication looks like, and where the system still falls short.  

That is why I was recently pleased to announce an enhanced service for victims of domestic abuse, where for the first time survivors will be provided with a dedicated victim liaison officer.   

These liaison officers will provide survivors with better support from charge to trial and is a key part of the Crown Prosecution Service’s national rollout of its Victim Transformation Programme.

As Attorney General, tackling violence against women and girls is my number one priority.

The Universal Service will give all victims more frequent and better-quality communication from the CPS. The Enhanced Service will provide additional support to victims of domestic abuse with communication provided from the point of charge through to trial. For the first time the CPS will follow victims preferred method of contact, whether that’s over the phone, by email or by post. 

Both pilots have been tested since 2023, including in Mersey-Cheshire, where the Attorney General also visited today to meet the CPS frontline teams who have helped deliver them. 

The Attorney General said the decision to roll out both services nationally reflected what victims had consistently told her around the importance of good communication and the need to provide a clearer understanding of their case.   

She also pointed to the value of hearing directly from communities outside Westminster in shaping that work. 

“What works for victims in one part of the country won’t always look the same elsewhere, which is why it’s so important to get out of Westminster and hear directly from people about what justice and accountability looks like for them.”

“Today’s conversations with people who have lived experience of the justice system, frontline and legal experts, as well as the CPS teams who have delivered these pilots on the ground, will help shape my ongoing work to put victims first, including our mission to halve violence against women and girls within a decade.” 

Fiona Rutherford, Chief Executive of JUSTICE North, said: 

We were delighted to welcome the Attorney General to JUSTICE North to discuss the experiences of victims. 

JUSTICE North exists to bridge the gap between Westminster and the region. The North is at the forefront of justice innovation – as shown by the decision to make the successful Mersey-Cheshire pilots permanent. Expanding these initiatives should help ensure victims across the country receive badly needed additional support. 

We look forward to working with the government to build on this success through its devolution agenda.

Ayla Nasuh, Chief Executive of Merseyside Domestic Violence Service, said: 

We were pleased to meet with the Attorney General to share the experiences of victims/survivors across Liverpool. When survivors of domestic abuse reach out for help, it is vital that they are believed and given support urgently.  

Too often, survivors face the exhausting burden of repeatedly reporting and evidencing abuse without seeing meaningful action to disrupt the behaviour causing the harm.  

We hope the Government will work alongside us to ensure the justice system recognises cumulative harm and acts swiftly to protect them.

Notes to editors:

• The Victim Transformation Programme was launched by the CPS in 2022 to improve victims’ experience of the criminal justice system, in response to evidence that victims wanted clearer, more timely and more empathetic communication from the CPS. 

• The Universal Service was piloted in Yorkshire and Humberside, Mersey-Cheshire and Wessex. The Enhanced Service for victims of domestic abuse was piloted in Mersey-Cheshire, Wessex (Hampshire only), Yorkshire and Humberside, and the London boroughs of Hackney, Tower Hamlets, Lambeth and Westminster. Both will now be rolled out to all CPS Areas. The Enhanced Service will build on the service the CPS already provides to families bereaved by crime and victims of rape and serious sexual offences. 

• The government’s Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) strategy sets out its mission to halve VAWG within a decade. Related measures include Raneem’s Law, which embeds domestic abuse specialists in 999 control rooms and has been rolled out across 17 police forces including Merseyside Police. An additional, £5 million in funding was also secured earlier this year, which included a pilot of pre-trial meetings at the Crown Court for adult victims of domestic abuse, in three CPS areas including Mersey-Cheshire. 

• JUSTICE North, hosted by Liverpool law firm Broudie Jackson Canter, is a regional initiative of JUSTICE, the independent law reform charity, established in 2025 to ensure justice policy reflects the specific challenges and opportunities of the North of England, and to support closer collaboration between local and national decision-makers on justice devolution. Its inaugural report on justice devolution, Closer to Home: Principles for a Justice System shaped by Communities, was published in April 2026.