Domestic-abuse victims whose cases are prosecuted by the Crown Prosecution Service will receive a dedicated victim liaison officer from charge to trial under a service made permanent across England and Wales on Sunday 27 September. Victims will also be able to choose whether the CPS contacts them by phone, email or post, with a promise of faster and better correspondence.
The national rollout follows pilots operating since 2023. It combines a universal service for victims with an enhanced service for domestic-abuse cases in every CPS area. That is a meaningful change to how prosecutors communicate. It does not give a liaison officer control over police investigations, court listings, verdicts or sentencing, and it should not be sold as if one named contact repairs every weakness in the justice system.
For a victim, fragmented communication can be more than annoying administration. Repeating information to unfamiliar people, receiving legal language without explanation or learning late about a change can deepen anxiety and undermine confidence. A consistent contact can explain what the CPS is doing, pass on updates and reduce the feeling that a case has disappeared behind a secure door.
What the service is — and is not
The CPS prosecutes cases after police investigation and charging decisions under the relevant arrangements. Its liaison officer supports communication through the prosecution. Independent domestic violence advisers, police victim-care teams, witness services, solicitors and specialist charities perform different roles. Good support joins those functions without pretending they are interchangeable.
A liaison officer should not coach evidence, guarantee an outcome or pressure somebody to continue. Prosecutorial decisions must follow evidence and the public interest. The value lies in clear, trauma-aware contact: what has happened, what comes next, who is responsible and where additional help exists.
Contact choice is a small detail with large practical meaning. A phone call may be unsafe if an abuser monitors a device or is nearby. Paper post may expose a new address or be intercepted. Email may be preferable for one person and dangerous for another. Recording the chosen channel, safe times and fallback arrangements should be treated as security information, not an ordinary marketing preference.
The CPS says every victim will be able to choose how it contacts them, while domestic-abuse victims receive the enhanced named-officer service. “Every victim” in that statement refers to people served by the CPS programme, not every person experiencing abuse regardless of whether a case reaches charge. Many incidents never reach the prosecution stage. The wider support gap therefore remains.
How success should be measured
The national scheme needs more than a count of allocated officers. The important measures include whether victims knew who their contact was, received accurate updates promptly, understood decisions and could change unsafe contact preferences. Complaints, missed communications and staff caseloads should be examined alongside satisfaction.
Caseload matters because a dedicated name can become a shared inbox wearing a lanyard if one officer has too many cases. The CPS career description says liaison officers deliver a high-quality service within its Victim Transformation Programme. National coverage requires enough trained people, supervision and resilience when staff are absent.
Continuity needs a plan as well. Cases can last months, officers change jobs and trials move. Victims should know who takes over during leave or staff turnover, without being required to retell avoidable details. Secure notes, careful handovers and a named backup are unglamorous features that determine whether the word “dedicated” survives contact with an ordinary working week.
Privacy is equally important. Records may contain addresses, safe contact instructions and sensitive personal circumstances. Access should be limited, audit trails maintained and accidental disclosure treated as a safeguarding incident. A service designed to reduce anxiety must not create a new channel through which an alleged abuser can locate or monitor somebody.
Quality also depends on language access, disability access and cultural competence. A communication service that works only for confident English speakers using a standard telephone is not universal. Interpreters, accessible formats and understanding of coercive control should be built into the operating model.
There is a boundary worth protecting. Victims deserve honesty when a case is delayed, evidence changes or prosecutors decide they cannot continue. A good liaison service cannot make bad news good, but it can ensure it is not delivered late, coldly or without explanation. Trust grows from clarity, not perpetual optimism.
OutOut's UK reporting distinguishes an announced service from its eventual results. The Attorney General says the pilot has now become the standard offer, but the brief announcement does not publish evaluation data, staffing totals, response-time standards or a budget. Those details should follow so the public can assess the national promise.
Anyone in immediate danger should call 999. People unable to speak on a mobile can use the Silent Solution by pressing 55 when prompted. That practical information belongs in responsible coverage, but this article is not a substitute for individual legal or safety advice.
The OutOut verdict
Nobody navigating a domestic-abuse prosecution should have to start every conversation by explaining who they are and why the case matters. A named CPS contact, safe communication choice and consistent updates are basic dignity dressed as reform — and basic dignity is still worth delivering.
The national rollout deserves support and scrutiny in equal measure. Give officers manageable caseloads, publish service standards and ask victims whether it worked. A dedicated liaison officer must be a person with time and authority to help, not an automated signature beneath an unread message.
