Telford CSE failures 'will not happen again', police chief says

Pippa Mills joined West Mercia Police on 17 September last year

Failures by police to protect the victims of child sexual exploitation (CSE) in Telford will not happen again, the force's chief constable says.

Pippa Mills, of West Mercia Police, made the promise as she reflected on her first year leading the force.

The findings of an inquiry in July said CSE went unchecked over fears investigating Asian offenders would inflame racial tensions.

The force has previously apologised.

The inquiry report stated obvious evidence of child sex crimes in the town was ignored for generations leading to more than 1,000 girls being abused.

Agencies blamed children for the abuse they suffered, not the perpetrators, and exploitation was not investigated because of "nervousness about race".

Seven men were jailed in 2012 following Operation Chalice, an investigation into child sexual exploitation

Seven men were jailed in 2012 following Operation Chalice, an investigation into child sexual exploitation in Telford.

Ms Mills said she was "saddened and disheartened" to learn the extent to which victims had been let down and an apology from the force was the right thing to do.

"I want to add to the apology my personal promise and commitment to ensuring that the force will not fail in this way again," she said.

"The teams dedicated to preventing and tackling child exploitation tirelessly pursue offenders and we are working with our partners to prevent such abhorrent crimes."

A "determined pursuit of offenders" was evident in recent murder investigations, Ms Mills said in her message.

She cited the jailing of Nezam Salangy, who murdered his wife Zobaidah in 2020 and buried her body near Bromsgrove and retired farmer David Venables also who murdered his wife before concealing her remains in a septic tank.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Reflecting on the death of the Queen and the country emerging from the pandemic, Ms Mills said it had been "a year marked by momentous change for our communities".

She said she looked forward to the next 12 months supporting communities across Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin, Worcestershire and Herefordshire.