Rotherham abuse: Police should 'do more' for survivors

The police watchdog has been examining South Yorkshire Police's response to complaints of child sexual abuse in Rotherham

Police must do more to support and listen to the survivors of child sexual abuse, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) has said.

It has undertaken 91 investigations into police responses during the Rotherham child abuse scandal.

The watchdog found eight officers had a case to answer for misconduct and six for gross misconduct, but none have been sacked.

South Yorkshire Police said it fully accepted the IOPC's findings.

Operation Linden was launched in 2014 by the IOPC to examine how South Yorkshire Police had responded to complaints of child sexual abuse, after the Jay report found 1,400 children had been abused in Rotherham between 1997 and 2013.

It found "many instances where crimes were not recorded when they should have been, including reports of sexual assault or sexual activity with a child".

The conduct of 47 officers was investigated and of the 13 officers facing misconduct and gross misconduct hearings, five have faced sanction from management action to a final written warning, while one hearing is still to take place.

The IOPC said in many cases, the officer had retired and, due to legislation in place at the time, could not face disciplinary action.

South Yorkshire Police said it fully accepted the IOPC's findings

Steve Noonan, from the IOPC, said their priority had been the welfare of the survivors who, by coming forward, had enabled them to "shine a light on the failings of the past".

The watchdog has published a series of recommendations to South Yorkshire Police, though Mr Noonan acknowledged there had been improvements.

"However, there is still work to do and we have issued these recommendations to make sure lessons are learned and mistakes of the past are not repeated."

Deputy Chief Constable of South Yorkshire, Tim Forber, said the force fully accepted the IOPC findings.

He said the survivors had "shone a light" on the force's failings and said it was on a "journey of continuous improvement".

"There will always be more to do and we have a determined focus on this complex area of crime," he said.

Police and Crime Commissioner Dr Alan Billings said he expected the force to "accept all the recommendations in this report and implement them appropriately".

Sarah Champion, the Labour MP for Rotherham, said it was clear from the report there was "much more to do" to ensure the survivors of abuse received the "service, care and support" they should get.

'It is deeply concerning that the report suggests improvements made following inspections of South Yorkshire Police in 2014 may have stalled, or even deteriorated in some areas," she said.

The report said the voices of survivors should be included in police training

The IOPC has recommended the voices of survivors of abuse should also be included in training for officers dealing with child sexual abuse.

"I hope South Yorkshire Police will act to ensure that their voices, silenced for so many years, are at the heart of their approach moving forward," Ms Champion said.

The IOPC also called for a review of the law relating to offences committed by young people who are being groomed or exploited.

"It is a tragedy that so many of the survivors we spoke to now have criminal records as a result of their actions while being exploited," Mr Noonan said.

Ms Champion said she had long campaigned for action to address the issue of the criminalisation of victims of child sexual exploitation.

"These convictions have a severe and lasting impact upon their future life prospects," she said.

A full report on all the investigations conducted by the IOPC is due to be published in 2022 after the final misconduct hearing has been conducted.

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