Operation Soteria driving cultural change in police investigations into rape, but progress stalls as cases reach court

City St George’s, University of London

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Operation Soteria has contributed to significant changes in the way rape and serious sexual offence cases are investigated and prosecuted by making them victim-centred, but that progress risks stalling once cases enter the court system, finds a new study.

The report 'End-to-end' Soteria pilot study: Findings and recommendations was led by Professor Katrin Hohl OBE at City St George’s, University of London and is the first study to examine whether and how Operation Soteria's principles are being applied beyond charge and into the later stages of the criminal justice process.

One of the core principles of Operation Soteria was to make investigations victim-centred, by refocusing efforts away from scrutinising victims’ credibility and instead on the actions of the perpetrator.

The report was commissioned by the Ministry of Justice. It examined 25 charged rape and serious sexual offence cases and drew on interviews with police officers, CPS lawyers, barristers and senior criminal justice stakeholders, and tested Soteria training for barristers and barrister-led courtroom training for officers.

Researchers found evidence that Operation Soteria's suspect-focused, context-led approach has become embedded within policing and the Crown Prosecution Service, contributing to changes in the handling of rape cases at a time when the number of rape suspects charged is at its highest level since records began.

However, the study identifies a significant post-charge "cliff edge" in strategic focus, resourcing, training, oversight and accountability. While Operation Soteria has established strong performance management and improvement mechanisms before charge, researchers found comparatively little strategic attention devoted to what happens after cases move towards trial.

The study found differing views among practitioners about whether Soteria has reached the courtroom. Some interviewees felt its impact had yet to be fully realised, while others suggested it is influencing court proceedings "by stealth" through changes in prosecution strategy and decision-making. Researchers also identified considerable variation in attitudes, approaches and practices between individual practitioners, contributing to inconsistency across the criminal justice system.

The report sets out 11 recommendations to strengthen the end-to-end response to rape and serious sexual offences, including the development of a post-charge Soteria strategy, improved trial preparation, stronger learning and feedback mechanisms, and greater engagement with barristers and the judiciary.

Professor Katrin Hohl OBE, Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice at City St George's, University of London and lead author of the report, said:

"Operation Soteria has contributed to a cultural shift in the police and CPS approach to rape cases, and the number of rape suspects charged is now the highest since records began.

"But not everyone in the justice system thinks that Soteria is a good idea. Some feel that the police and CPS have gone too far in centring victims' rights and needs, but know little about what Soteria actually entails.

"We also find a post-charge 'cliff edge' in strategic focus, resourcing, training and oversight. Policing and the CPS must improve trial preparation and not let efforts drop off once a suspect is charged, but the critical next step is to engage barristers and the judiciary in a whole-system approach."

Claire Waxman OBE, the Victims’ Commissioner for England and Wales, called the report “important” and said:

“Whilst I welcome the progress being driven by Operation Soteria, particularly its shift towards a more suspect-focused approach to the investigation and prosecution of rape, I remain concerned that this progress is not being sustained once cases enter the court system.

“This creates a significant cliff edge in the justice process. While improvements in policing and prosecution are encouraging, victims are still paying the price for outdated myths and stereotypes.

“We need a genuinely whole-system approach to tackling rape and serious violence, ensuring that the victim-centred and suspect-focused principles embedded through Operation Soteria are carried through every stage of the justice process, including the courts.

“The newly announced multi-agency rape and serious sexual offenses (RASSO) Taskforce will be critical in driving this system-wide change. Its success should be measured not simply by activity, but by whether victims experience a justice system that is swifter, fairer and more responsive from report through to resolution.”

Chief Constable Sarah Crew, National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) Lead for Adult Sexual Offences, said:

"The first generation of Operation Soteria cases are now reaching the courts in greater numbers. That presents an important opportunity, but also a challenge. The progress made through investigation and charging must now be matched by a shared understanding of Operation Soteria's principles throughout the wider criminal justice system.”

The Leveson Review, an independent review of the criminal courts in England and Wales commissioned by the Government to tackle the severe Crown Court backlog of nearly 80,000 cases, published its recommendations in October with references to the End-to-end project, and called for the implementation of Operation Soteria best practice principles from report to conviction.

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Method of Research

Content analysis

Subject of Research

People

Article Title

‘End-to-end’ Soteria pilot study: Findings and recommendations

Article Publication Date

24-Oct-2026

Children who eat more ultra-processed foods show stronger brain responses to appetizing foods

Researchers from the Keck School of Medicine of USC found that these stronger brain responses to food images, which occurred in a brain region linked to reward and motivation, were associated with greater increases in body fat over one year

Keck School of Medicine of USC

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Children who eat more ultra-processed foods (UPFs) show stronger responses in the brain’s reward network when viewing images of appetizing foods—and these brain responses are linked to increases in body fat one year later. The findings, just published in JAMA Network Open, suggest that the brain may become more sensitive to food cues when children consume more UPFs.

UPFs are manufactured food products—such as breakfast cereals, packaged bread and instant soups—that are designed to be highly palatable, convenient and shelf-stable. They often contain artificial sweeteners, colors and other ingredients that people do not typically use when cooking at home. On average, U.S. children get about 67% of their daily calories from UPFs.

Past studies have linked these products to weight gain, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease, but researchers do not yet know how the brain’s reward network may contribute to these risks. The new study, funded in part by the National Institutes of Health, collected magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) brain scans, dietary information and data on children’s body composition to help fill that gap.

“Children’s brains are still developing, habits are still forming and food preferences are still being made. It’s an important period where the brain is very sensitive to food and the food environment,” said the study’s senior author, Kathleen A. Page, MD, professor of medicine and pediatrics and co-chief of the Division of Endocrinology and Diabetes at the Keck School of Medicine of USC. “We’re particularly interested in understanding these processes in children, because we believe that intervening early could make a real difference.”

Linking UPFs to weight gain

The research included 46 children, ages seven to 10, who are part of the long-term BrainChild study of diabetes and obesity risk. All children started the study at a healthy weight, allowing researchers to focus on the early risks of UPFs.

At the beginning of the study, researchers collected MRI scans of each child while they viewed photos of highly appetizing foods (such as cookies or French fries). They also collected data on diet, body mass index (BMI), body fat percentage and waist circumference. One year later, they measured BMI, body fat percentage and waist circumference again.

Children who consumed more UPFs had stronger responses to food images in the dorsal striatum, a brain region involved in reward and motivation. Stronger responses in the dorsal striatum were also associated with increased BMI and body fat percentage one year later.

Overall, children who ate more UPFs had greater waist circumference, BMI and body fat percentage at the end of the study. But when researchers accounted for differences in children’s dorsal striatum responses to food images, the associations with BMI and body fat percentage weakened by 31% and 44%, respectively. That suggests the differences in brain responses may help explain the link between UPF consumption and weight gain.

“This study goes beyond just understanding that UPFs affect weight gain,” Page said. “It actually gives us insight into the neurobiological underpinnings by which these foods may be linked to body composition over time.”

Improving the food environment

The researchers emphasize that the onus should not fall solely on families and children to make dietary changes, because UPFs are often the most accessible, affordable and convenient foods to consume.

“Changing the food environment to help people access healthier, more minimally processed foods is an important part of the solution,” Page said.

Because the study was observational, it cannot establish whether UPF consumption causes changes in brain activity or weight gain. To test cause and effect, Page aims to conduct an intervention study where children who regularly eat UPFs are given more minimally processed foods. Researchers could then track whether their brain responses to food images change over time and whether those changes are associated with less weight gain.

The BrainChild study will also continue to follow children through puberty into young adulthood, documenting brain changes, body composition and links between diet and overall health.

About this research

In addition to Page, the study’s other authors are Jasmin M. Alves, Ella Morgan, Brendan Angelo, Kianna Le and Jared Smith from the Division of Endocrinology and Diabetes, Department of Medicine and the Diabetes and Obesity Research Institute, Keck School of Medicine of USC, University of Southern California; Kay Jann from the USC Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute, Keck School of Medicine of USC, University of Southern California; and Ting Chow and Anny H. Xiang from the Department of Research and Evaluation, Kaiser Permanente Southern California, Pasadena, California.

This research was supported by an American Diabetes Association Pathway Accelerator Award [1-14-ACE-36]; the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) [R01DK116858, R01DK134079]. The REDCap database used for this study was supported by the Southern California Clinical and Translational Science Institute [NIH UL1TR001855].

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Journal

JAMA Network Open

DOI

10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2026.40252

Method of Research

Observational study

Subject of Research

People

Article Title

Ultraprocessed Food Intake, Striatal Response to Food Cues, and Adiposity Gain in Children

Article Publication Date

23-Oct-2026

 

JMIR news: GLP-1 ads’ effects on body image; AI initiatives for CPR and gender-based violence screening; patient perspectives; and catching postpartum psychosis early

JMIR Publications

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(Toronto, October 23, 2026) — JMIR Publications released five News and Perspectives features on this week's digital health news, covering everything from AI-driven CPR training to the unknown psychological risks of GLP-1 ads online. 

Brazilian AI Initiative Screening for Gender-Based Violence

Luke Taylor reports on a new initiative to screen for women at risk of femicide in "From Reactive to Proactive Care: Using AI to Detect Gender-Based Violence in Brazil". ClarIA, developed by the global health organization Vital Strategies, “uses AI to search for signs of GBV in a patient’s clinical notes and medical history, flagging possible unreported cases to health care professionals,” writes Taylor. The program, which has so far led to eight formal GBV reports, could connect women with help more often and earlier, potentially saving lives.

 

GLP-1 Advertising’s Psychological Risks

Anna Zucker takes a look at the psychological effects of every-present GLP-1 advertising in "GLP-1 Ads Are Everywhere. What Are They Doing to Our Body Image?". Though the relatively new explosion of GLP-1 ads—particularly online, where users can be easily directed towards telehealth services—means that research is so far limited, “clinicians and patients are already describing a real impact,” according to Zucker. These ads, according to one study, often emphasize emotional transformation and personal growth, linking weight to self-worth and potentially exploiting (or even exacerbating) body image insecurities. 

 

Patient Perspectives on AI Health Care Communication

AI tools can save time for health care professionals, but what effect do they have on patient experiences? Jenna Congdon speaks with professionals and patient advocates in her latest article, "What Patients Think of AI-Assisted Health Care Communication". “Patients may accept AI when it makes health care more responsive and efficient,” writes Congdon, “But acceptance fades when AI creates uncertainty about who is responsible for the communication or whether the clinician meaningfully engaged with the message.”

 

AI May Be Able to Teach You CPR

In "From Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation Training to Guiding Bystanders: The Growing Role of AI in Resuscitation", Michelle Falci discusses two AI-driven tools that could assist in CPR training and instruction: ChatCPR, which actually surpassed human dispatchers in meeting American Heart Association guidelines in a proof of concept study evaluating the model’s generated CPR guidance; and the Elevate SMART Manikin, a technology-enhanced CPR manikin that could allow trainees to practice or learn without an instructor present.
 

Could Smartwatches Catch Early Signs of Postpartum Psychosis?

Postpartum psychosis can produce severe symptoms and even result in tragedy. Can technology aid in catching and addressing it early? In "Catching the “Pink Flags”: Using Smart Devices to Spot Early Signs of Postpartum Psychosis", Benedette Cuffari speaks with experts on how wearable devices could potentially help the wearers’ clinicians identify discrepancies pointing to “subtle shifts in mood and behavior, such as irritability, insomnia, and racing thoughts…early warning signs of PPP.” Postpartum mobile health initiatives—including even therapeutic AI chatbots—could also help new mothers access mental health care.

 

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About JMIR Publications News and Perspectives

JMIR Publications is a leading open access publisher of digital health research. The News and Perspectives section is the newest addition to its portfolio, established to bring the rigor and integrity of academic publishing to scientific journalism. The section features well-researched, expert-driven content from the Scientific News Editor, Kayleigh-Ann Clegg, PhD, and a network of specialist JMIR Publications Correspondents to keep the digital health community informed, inspired, and ahead of the curve.

About JMIR Publications

JMIR Publications is a leading open access publisher of digital health research and a champion of open science. With a focus on author advocacy and research amplification, JMIR Publications partners with researchers to advance their careers and maximize the impact of their work. As a technology organization with publishing at its core, we provide innovative tools and resources that go beyond traditional publishing, supporting researchers at every step of the dissemination process. Our portfolio features a range of peer-reviewed journals, including the renowned Journal of Medical Internet Research. 

To find out more about JMIR Publications, visit jmirpublications.com or connect with them on Bluesky, X, LinkedIn, YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram.

Media Contact:

Dennis O’Brien, Vice President, Communications & Partnerships

JMIR Publications

communications@jmir.org

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The content of this communication is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work, published by JMIR Publications, is properly cited.

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Journal

Journal of Medical Internet Research

Method of Research

News article

Subject of Research

People

 

FAU study reveals how movement dramatically boosts complex learning

Florida Atlantic University

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Luke Rosedahl, Ph.D., and Isabella Cabaleiro, research lab specialist, participate in a virtual reality experiment examining how movement affects learning.

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Credit: Florida Atlantic University

Punching a virtual response box or swinging a virtual lightsaber can dramatically improve learning on certain tasks, according to new research from Florida Atlantic University’s College of Engineering and Computer Science, which challenges long-standing assumptions about how people learn.

Deciding whether a road is slippery, recognizing a potentially dangerous lesion on a medical scan or determining whether a piece of fruit is ripe may seem like tasks of the mind alone. But in everyday life, categorizing what we see is often closely tied to how we move and interact with the world around us.  

Despite this connection, decades of research have largely treated category learning as a cognitive process, with physical movement serving only to express a decision after it has been made. Surprisingly, little research has examined whether the physical actions people make while categorizing information can actually influence how well they learn.

Now, Florida Atlantic and Brown University researchers have found that larger movements can significantly improve learning. However, the benefit depends on the type of category being learned.

The findings, published in Science Advances, challenge traditional theories of category learning, which generally focus on how people mentally represent and recognize objects, treating movement as the final step in the process. Instead, the research suggests that physical responses may play an active role in shaping what people learn.

To investigate, the researchers developed an immersive virtual reality experiment in which participants learned to categorize visual patterns using either simple button presses or larger arm movements. Participants either swung a virtual lightsaber to hit a target or punched a response box without directly interacting with the visual stimulus. Researchers tested two types of category learning. One relies on explicit rules, such as identifying an object based on specific features. The other requires people to recognize patterns and integrate multiple features to make a judgment, often without being able to articulate exactly how they reach a decision.

The results revealed a striking difference. Participants who used larger arm movements learned the similarity-based categories more effectively and achieved greater accuracy than those who responded with simple button presses. However, larger movements provided no meaningful benefit for learning categories based on explicit rules, even when the researchers made that task more challenging.

“What surprised me most was how selective the effect was,” said Luke Rosedahl, Ph.D., corresponding author, an assistant professor in FAU’s Department of Biomedical Engineering, a faculty fellow of FAU’s Institute for Smarter Cities, Spaces, and Health, and a member of the FAU Stiles-Nicholson Brain Institute. “We found that larger movements substantially improved learning when people had to recognize patterns by integrating multiple features, but provided no meaningful benefit when people learned categories using explicit rules. Even more intriguing, the benefit occurred whether participants swung at the target or punched a separate response box. The movement itself appeared to matter, not whether it directly interacted with what they were learning.”

The researchers conducted additional experiments to determine whether the improvement could be explained by other factors. They controlled the amount of time participants viewed each image, accounted for differences in response speed and made the rule-based task more complex. The advantage for larger movements remained specific to similarity-based learning.

Perhaps most tellingly, participants who trained using larger movements retained their advantage even after switching to simple button presses. This suggests that movement helped strengthen learning itself, rather than simply making it easier to respond correctly in the moment.

“For decades, category learning has been studied largely as a process in which the brain decides what something is and then directs the body how to respond,” said Rosedahl. “Our findings suggest movement can also shape learning itself. By showing that movement benefits some types of learning but not others, we can refine existing theories and better understand how perception, decision-making and motor systems work together. We also need to ask whether traditional button-press tasks have overlooked ways to improve learning.”

The findings could inform training for complex tasks that require people to integrate information and recognize patterns, including medical diagnosis and aviation. These tasks can be difficult to learn and resistant to traditional teaching methods. In earlier research, Rosedahl found that providing written instructions on exactly how to perform a task did not improve performance.

“Incorporating movement could offer a simple way to improve learning in situations where conventional approaches fall short,” said Rosedahl.

The findings also challenge traditional training designs that minimize movement, suggesting that doing so may inadvertently limit performance. Immersive virtual reality could offer a way to incorporate purposeful movement into training, though further research is needed to determine whether the benefits extend to real-world settings.

“This study challenges us to rethink something fundamental about learning: the relationship between thought and action,” said Stella Batalama, Ph.D., dean of FAU’s College of Engineering and Computer Science. “Understanding how movement shapes learning could lead to new approaches for teaching complex skills and preparing people to make decisions in demanding, real-world situations.”

Study co-authors are Yuka Sasaki, Ph.D., and Takeo Watanabe, Ph.D., both with Brown University.

The research was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation.

- FAU -

About Florida Atlantic University:

Florida Atlantic University is one of the nation’s fastest-rising public research universities, serving more than 32,000 students in South Florida. Ranked among the Top 100 Public Universities by U.S. News & World Report, Florida Atlantic is also one of only 13 institutions nationwide to hold Carnegie Foundation designations for R1 research, opportunity and community engagement. Guided by its strategic plan, “2031FAU: Where Tomorrow Begins,” the university is focused on delivering career-ready education and experiential learning, driving scholarly inquiry that creates healthier, safer and more prosperous communities, strengthening institutional excellence, and elevating its impact across South Florida and beyond. Florida Atlantic continues to advance its position as Florida’s first quantum university, integrating research, education and industry partnerships around next-generation computing technologies. Through other signature strengths in neuroscience and healthy aging, environmental, ocean and coastal innovation, and national defense and autonomous systems, Florida Atlantic expands knowledge, fuels economic opportunity and fulfills its mission as South Florida’s hometown university.

 

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Journal

Science Advances

Method of Research

Observational study

Subject of Research

People

Article Title

Learning by moving: Physical motion accelerates category learning

Article Publication Date

23-Oct-2026

Isabella Cabaleiro, research lab specialist, participates in a virtual reality experiment examining how movement affects learning with Luke Rosedahl, Ph.D

Luke Rosedahl, Ph.D., corresponding author and an assistant professor in FAU’s Department of Biomedical Engineering. 

Virtual Reality [VIDEO] 

Luke Rosedahl, Ph.D., and Isabella Cabaleiro, research lab specialist, participate in a virtual reality experiment examining how movement affects learning. Participants learned to categorize visual patterns by either swinging a virtual lightsaber at a target or pressing a button.

Credit

Florida Atlantic University

 

A third of young adults turn to artificial intelligence for substance-use information

Rutgers researchers examine trends in people using chatbots for medical advice

Rutgers University

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More than 32% of participants in a Rutgers study reported using ChatGPT and similar chatbots for substance-use information.

Rutgers Health researchers used survey data from nearly 1,000 participants to examine the frequency and characteristics of people turning to generative artificial intelligence (AI), a subfield of AI that creates synthetic content in response to user prompts, for substance-related information and their perceptions around the results produced by AI.

Recent survey data shows that 66% of young adults use AI to search for information and to get medical advice, among other purposes. Rutgers investigators aimed to better understand how young adults use AI specifically to get information about substances and substance use.

The study, published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research Formative Research, found that 1 in 3 people ages 18 to 29 use AI for substance use–related information, primarily seeking information on risks and consequences. Researchers said their findings were concerning, considering AI chatbots can reproduce misinformation.

“Using these tools can lead to misinformed or otherwise risky substance-use behavior among young people, who are the age group most affected by adverse effects of substance use,” said Mireia Triguero Roura, a postdoctoral researcher with the Center for Pharmacoepidemiology and Treatment Science at Rutgers Institute for Health, Health Care Policy and Aging Research and lead author of the study.

About half of the respondents who use AI for substance use-related information reported doing so on at least a monthly basis. The study, coauthored by Pia M. Mauro, an associate professor at the Center for Pharmacoepidemiology and Treatment Science and Rutgers School of Public Health, also found that Black and male participants were more likely to use AI for substance use–related purposes.

“The observed disparities in who chooses to use AI for drug-related inquiries could reflect differences in healthcare access, stigma, trust, and health information-seeking behaviors,” said Triguero Roura.

Researchers also analyzed respondents’ feelings toward AI, reporting that young adults in the study perceived high levels of trust, reliability and helpfulness of AI tools.

As AI continues to shape the substance-use information available to young adults, Triguero Roura and Mauro suggest additional research should explore how young adults interpret and understand the outputs of AI when it relates to drugs and alcohol as well as the implications of this new source of information on public health.

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Journal

JMIR Formative Research

DOI

10.2196/100667

Method of Research

Survey

Subject of Research

People

Article Title

Use of Generative AI for Substance-Related Information Among Young Adults (Aged 18-29 Years) in the United States: Cross-Sectional Survey

Article Publication Date

19-Oct-2026