IPCC: no police misconduct found so far in Rotherham abuse probe
The police watchdog has finished 9 of 63 investigations following Rotherham's child grooming scandal
Last updated 9th Mar 2017
The police watchdog says it's so far found no evidence of misconduct from officers dealing with child sex abuse in Rotherham.
The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) is looking at how police handled complaints between the mid 1990s and 2013 and has now concluded nine of its investigations.
It's found "significant failures", but none of which will lead to officers being punished.
The investigation's revealed concerns about intelligence, culture and leadership in South Yorkshire Police during the time of the allegations, which have led to the IPCC issuing a number of 'learning recommendations' to the force.
The IPCC says the failure to keep records has contributed to why it doesn't have enough evidence to make judgement against any officers in the first nine of its investigations.
But it is still looking at over 200 individual allegations in 53 investigations.
Deputy Chair of the IPCC Rachel Cerfontyne says they have identified themes of failure in their work so far:
"Although in the ones that we've completed we haven't found indications of misconduct, we have found indications of things going very wrong and of survivors not being protected in the way we and the police would want them to be protected. We are finding things and we will find more things.
"If there are indications that people have committed either criminal or conduct offences then we will be holding those to account. I don't want to promise something that would be meaningless in terms of what I know we can deliver. What I will promise is robust, thorough, independent, impartial investigations."
The IPCC have confirmed some officers are under criminal investigation, with at least one officer being questioned under criminal caution.
Of the 53 investigations still ongoing, three of them are being carried out by South Yorkshire Police but are managed by the IPCC.
The IPCC has being investigating the police's handling of child sex abuse in Rotherham for over 2 years now, following the Jay Report in 2014 which revealed the scale of the town's grooming scandal.
Rachel says they're hoping to be finished with most of their work by the beginning of next year:
“It is entirely understandable that all those affected, as well as the wider public, want answers quickly and this is something we can all appreciate. However, our priority has to be to ensure all of the investigations are carried out rigorously and thoroughly.
“I want to take this opportunity to offer reassurance that the IPCC has a specialist, dedicated team that is working extremely hard to conclude these complex investigations. This mirrors the approach we have taken with the Hillsborough investigation.
“The IPCC has an important part to play in highlighting how those in the public sector, across the country, dealt with complaints and allegations of child sexual abuse. When the investigations are concluded, we want to share our learning with all police forces to help them improve the way they deal with allegations of child sexual exploitation and abuse.”