Rotherham abuse: police need ‘major improvements’

A report by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) has found signs of progress in South Yorkshire Police’s approach to child protection, but there is still important work for the force to do.

This comes after a HMIC report published in September last year raised “serious concerns” about the way South Yorkshire Police dealt with child protection cases.

The watchdog that found 1,400 children had been sexually abused in Rotherham between 1997 and 2013.

In September last year HMIC raised serious concerns about the way the force was approaching this kind of work HM Inspector of Constabulary

Now, following a post-inspection review in April this year, HMIC say there have been “tangible signs” of progress.

The inspectors audited 28 child protection cases which related directly to the areas for improvement and found two were assessed as good, 19 requiring improvement and seven inadequate.

‘Serious Concerns’

HM Inspector of Constabulary Mike Cunningham said: “It is common knowledge that South Yorkshire Police’s approach to protecting children has been severely lacking.

“In September last year HMIC raised serious concerns about the way the force was approaching this kind of work, which was undermining the service it provides to children.

“We carried out this post-inspection review in order to understand what progress South Yorkshire Police had made since our initial inspection, and we found there were still areas that need major improvements.”

Mr Cunningham said: “I am keen to stress, however, that the situation in South Yorkshire is not irretrievable.

“There are tangible signs that the force is improving its service to children in some elements of its service to children, so I am encouraged that the senior leadership of South Yorkshire Police demonstrated the determination to make improvements.

“HMIC will continue to monitor South Yorkshire Police approach to child protection.”

Last year South Yorkshire Police came under fire after a report found 1,400 children had been sexually exploited in Rotherham for over a decade. The report said that this was a “conservative estimate” and admitted “no-one knows the true scale of child sexual exploitation in Rotherham over the years.”

Sex abuse scandal

Professor Alexis Jay, who wrote the report, found that more than a third of the cases the children were involved in were already known to the authorities but they failed to intervene.

The report also found that girls as young as 11 had been raped by large numbers of men. Others were trafficked to towns and cities in the north of England where they were abducted, beaten and intimidated.

Professor Jay said the police “regarded many child victims with contempt”, and the failures of Rotherham Council during the first 12 years the report examined were “blatant”.

The shocking report led to a wave of high-profile resignations, including the South Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner Shaun Wright, who was the councillor overseeing children’s services from 2005 to 2010.

HMIC report

Today’s report found improvement to the force’s initial response when attending incidents involving children at risk. It found that child protection has been prioritised and there is a “strong desire to improve the outcomes of those children at risk”.

The police force has been developing new joint working arrangements with local authorities and increased the number of child abuse investigators from 56 to 81. The report also found that training and guidance for control room staff resulted in a better understanding of children a risk and in need of protection.

However, HMIC also found that there have not been improvements in relation to children in care homes and the police force is still failing to recognise risks to some children. The report added that recording practices remained poor, which “limits the ability of staff to make good decisions about children”.

South Yorkshire Police’s Assistant Chief Constable, Ingrid Lee, said the force had made progress but more needs to be done.

“There has been a considerable increase in the number of police officers and staff in our public protection units, and also staff dedicated to tackling child sexual exploitation,” she said.

“We are absolutely committed to achieving justice, stopping harm and preventing future offending.”

South Yorkshire Police is currently at the centre of two separate investigations as the Independent Police Complaints Commission is looking at how officers dealt with cases in Rotherham.

The National Crime Agency has also started a major inquiry into allegations of child sexual abuse in the town.