IOPC to investigate senior SYP officers over Rotherham child abuse failings
An investigation has been launched into the response to historic child abuse in Rotherham by South Yorkshire Police’s (SYP’s) senior command team, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) has confirmed.
The decision to investigate – as part of Operation Linden – follows a complaint referred to the IOPC by SYP that senior officers failed in their statutory duty to protect children between 1997 and 2013.
The complaint alleges that reports were shared with senior command team that highlighted child sexual abuse being carried out in Rotherham during the period covered by Operation Linden.
Operation Linden is examining allegations of misconduct by officers in relation to the Rotherham child sexual abuse scandal, and the IOPC estimates it will result in around 84 individual investigation reports.
IOPC Acting Deputy Director for Major Investigations Steve Noonan said: “We have taken our time to carefully consider the complaint referral from South Yorkshire Police, and have made this announcement at the earliest opportunity.
“It’s important to say that we’re in the early stages of this particular strand of the investigation and the next steps will be to draft the terms of reference, which will be vital to bring focus to this complicated case. I’d like to make it clear that no individual officer is under investigation at this stage.
“The force’s strategy to tackle child sexual abuse during the period we are investigating has already been highlighted through Operation Linden. This is an area we feel needs to be fully investigated to give the survivors, and people living in Rotherham, confidence that we have carried out a thorough investigation.”
In 2014, Professor Alexis Jay released a report that revealed at least 1,400 children had been sexually exploited by gangs of men in the city between 1997 and 2013.
South Yorkshire Police was criticised for ignoring a series of reports into child abuse, including by Dr Angie Heal, whose studies presented a “vivid and alarming picture of the links between sexual exploitation, drugs, gangs and violent crime in Rotherham”, according to Ms Jay.
The National Crime Agency launched Operation Stovewood – the largest ever investigation into historical child sexual exploitation – in 2014 following Ms Jay’s report.
As of March, more than 1,500 potential victims of child sexual abuse in Rotherham were identified by the NCA as well as 114 designated suspects.
And four individuals have been convicted and sentenced, while 18 suspects have been charged, ten have been released under investigation and two have been cautioned.
Mr Noonan added: “As we have stated all along our intention is to produce an over-arching report for Operation Linden that pulls together all of our key findings, outcomes and learning from our investigations all in one place.
“Our ultimate aim is to ensure that all those affected can be confident that their complaints have been comprehensively investigated, and for South Yorkshire Police and indeed all forces across the country to learn from our findings.”