Police must do more to listen to survivors of Rotherham child abuse, says IOPC

It says police must do more to support survivors of child sexual abuse and listen to their experiences after it carried out a series of investigations into South Yorkshire Police’s actions in the town.

The IOPC said it is “deeply concerned” that problems still exist and said it was a “tragedy” that many survivors now have criminal records as a result of their actions while being exploited.

It has now made 12 national and local recommendations to tackle systemic issues identified and help improve the treatment of those who come forward to report abuse.

The report, released on Tuesday (November 23), said it recognised that understanding and awareness of child sexual exploitation (CSE) has developed and improved over time, but found a number of areas that needed improvement.

It said inspectors “remain worried” that, despite multiple reports and recommendations, there are still areas of concern at South Yorkshire Police and said there had been a “deterioration” since improvements made in 2015/16.

The IOPC said its investigations found that officers and staff without the right skills or training were often expected to lead on CSE investigations and recommended that South Yorkshire Police ensured training was up-to-date.

It said the voices and experiences of survivors should be included in training sessions and recommended the College of Policing incorporated the voices of survivors in training.

“Listening to and understanding survivor experiences can be a powerful way to raise awareness of CSE-related issues in training sessions and develop empathy,” said the IOPC.

The report also said the IOPC found many instances where crimes were not recorded when they should have been, including reports of sexual assault or sexual activity with a child.

Inspectors found “significant” under-recording of crimes committed against vulnerable children reported to South Yorkshire Police’s public protection department and said the force should take steps to ensure it is complying with Home Office rules around crime recording.

Investigations also highlighted many issues with how police officers and staff dealt with CSE victims and survivors, including victims regularly complaining they had not been kept updated.

The IOPC said many survivors have criminal records because of their actions while being exploited, with their futures being adversely impacted as a result.

It recommended that the Law Commission looks to identify whether any changes to legislation would be appropriate in order to reduce the impact of the abuse of their future life prospects, including defences to crimes carried out during exploitation and the potential to filter convictions in such circumstances.

The report added that one of the key findings of its investigations was that the issues around CSE were not recognised quickly enough and officers were not equipped with the skills or experience they needed to deal with the problems they were faced with, and recommended a national multi-agency approach to identify the major issues for policing and priorities for learning.

Steve Noonan, IOPC director of major investigations, said: “Survivors of abuse will no doubt be deeply concerned, as are we, that some of these problems still exist today and we urge the police to act on these recommendations urgently to provide much-needed reassurance to the public.

“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 and there must be action across the judicial system to protect vulnerable young people and safeguard their futures.”

He added: “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.”

The learning and recommendations have been published as part of Operation Linden, the IOPC investigation into the police response to non-recent CSE in the Rotherham area.

Operation Linden, which began in 2014 after the Jay Report concluded that more than 1,400 children were targeted in the town, has involved 91 separate investigations and is the second largest operation carried out by the IOPC after Hillsborough, investigating complaints by 51 people into 256 separate allegations between 1997 and 2013.

The last investigation concluded in 2020 and the full report is expected to be published next year, after the conclusion of the final police misconduct hearing.

Five officers out of 47 investigated during Operation Linden have faced sanctions over their conduct – from management action to a final written warning.

David Tucker, crime lead for the College of Policing, said: “Child sexual abuse has a devastating impact on individuals, families and communities across all sections of society and remains one of the biggest challenges facing the police service.

“The Operation Linden investigation and report published today provides a detailed source of information and we will carefully consider how its findings and recommendations can inform our national training and guidance on child sexual abuse and exploitation.

“The College of Policing has developed specialist vulnerability training for officers and staff, recently used by South Yorkshire Police, which is based on video testimony from victims of exploitation and abuse.

“This approach was adopted by the College because, as the IOPC rightly states, the voice of the victim is crucial to building an understanding of the impact this type of appalling offending has on vulnerable people. We will continue to work with the National Police Chiefs’ Council and other partners to develop the best possible responses to these awful crimes and keep people safe.”