CPS VRR Pilot - June ‘25
What’s changing - and why it matters
In June 2025, the Crown Prosecution Service announced a landmark six-month pilot in the West Midlands, giving survivors of rape and serious sexual assault a new right: the ability to request a review before prosecutors formally drop a case in court.
Under the current system, victims can request a Victims’ Right to Review (VRR) after a case is dropped - but once the CPS offers no evidence in court, the case cannot be reinstated, even if the review finds the decision was wrong. Survivors are left with an apology, but no remedy. This pilot changes that.
If prosecutors intend to stop a rape or serious sexual assault case, survivors will now be:
Notified in advance
Given time to respond
Offered a review by a different prosecutor before the case is closed
If the decision is overturned, the prosecution continues
The CPS says reviews should be completed within 20 working days, providing earlier scrutiny while decisions can still be reversed.
The reform follows years of concern about dropped cases, mounting court backlogs, and the devastating impact on survivors. Ministry of Justice data shows nearly 12,000 rape and sexual offence cases were waiting for Crown Court trials by the end of 2024, with average timelines stretching to two years.
The pilot has been welcomed by victim-advocacy organisations, including the End Violence Against Women Coalition and the Centre for Women’s Justice. Victims’ Commissioner Helen Newlove called it “a first step toward ending a manifestly unfair practice.”
Justice reform campaigner Jade Blue McCrossen-Nethercott, whose own case was dropped after the CPS offered no evidence in court - despite a later review admitting the prosecution should have gone ahead - described the pilot as “a crucial safeguard” that could have completely changed her outcome.
The pilot is backed by the Attorney General and Lucy Rigby, and forms part of the government’s wider pledge to halve violence against women and girls. If successful, the scheme could be rolled out across England and Wales.
This is not the end of reform - but it is a significant shift.
For the first time, survivors are being given a meaningful chance to challenge decisions before justice is made impossible.
