Home AffairsWritten evidence from Shaun Wright, South Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner [LCG 23]
Regarding your letter received by my office 27 March. I have addressed the questions contained in your letter separately below. In addition to this I have provided additional information regarding current activity in South Yorkshire with relevance to the questions raised in the letter.
When you first became aware that there were cases of localised child grooming in Rotherham?
As stated in your letter my tenure as cabinet member for Children and Young People’s services began in May 2005 and ended in May 2010. From the outset of my tenure I was aware, in broad terms, of child sexual exploitation. For example, at my delegated powers meetings reports were received on the work conducted by Risky Business and other agencies.
Whether the race of those who were responsible for grooming the victims, or indeed the race of the victims, was ever presented as being an obstacle to the investigation of offences?
Race was never presented to me by staff or agencies as an obstacle to investigating offences.
Whether the concerns raised through “Risky Business” and other frontline practitioners were taken sufficiently seriously by statutory agencies?
As previously stated, regular update reports were presented to my delegated powers meetings and to the Rotherham multi agency Safeguarding Children Board covering partner responsibilities which included action plans for responding to the sexual exploitation of children and young people. It is my belief that the content and recommendations of these reports were taken seriously and acted upon by the council in conjunction with partner agencies which included South Yorkshire Police. Indeed such was the support for the work of Risky Business that when, in 2008, a funding pressure was identified I took action to double its funding allocation.
Throughout the period there was an increasing awareness of Child Sexual Exploitation among professionals, parents, young people and other members of the community and this was acted upon by statutory agencies.
Whether these matters were raised with you by members of the public in your role as a local councillor, either during surgeries or other meetings with your constituents?
I was a councillor for 13 years, during that time I held regular surgeries and attended a variety of other public meetings. I do not recall an occasion where issues of child sexual exploitation or localised child grooming were raised by a member of the public. Obviously as councillor, indeed as a parent, had a specific case been raised by an individual then I would have taken action to ensure that the appropriate professional services were informed immediately.
Have you met with victims of localised child grooming from Rotherham in order to hear their experiences?
During the course of my tenure as cabinet member for Children and Young People’s services and as a local councillor I met many young people who were experiencing a broad range of vulnerabilities. Whilst I was aware that some of the vulnerable young people I saw could have suffered sexual abuse I was not informed of individual circumstances. I do not believe it would have been appropriate for me to request to meet victims of child sexual exploitation as this would have been an invasion of the privacy of these vulnerable young victims.
As Policing and Crime Commissioner, are you monitoring the investigations carried out by South Yorkshire Police into localised child grooming which have not resulted in prosecutions?
I hold weekly meetings with Chief Constable David Crompton who informs me of any new investigations relating to localised child grooming. Additionally I hold regular meetings with the Force lead for Child Sexual Exploitation who provides me with information relating to on going investigations and the various stages these are at, progress against the Force action plan is also discussed at these meetings.
Whilst prosecution is important it is not the only successful outcome for the victim. It is worthy of note that more is being done to prevent Child Sexual Exploitation from happening by increasing public awareness and confidence to encourage reporting thus protecting those most at risk.
I have established a Strategic Child Sexual Exploitation Panel which brings together a number of key organisations and individuals from across the county, including: Lead members and Directors of Children’s Services, Local Children’s Safeguarding Board Chairs, Police Commanders, Crown Prosecution Service and Health representatives. And together we are looking at developing joint protocols, sharing information and good practice to ensure more can be done to prevent child sexual exploitation, protect victims and pursue offenders (including prosecution).
In addition to this I have also committed additional investment to provide the following:
62 identified Children and Young Person’s Police Officers who have received a higher level of training in Child Sexual Exploitation, one in each Safer Neighbourhood Area.
Training in Child Sexual Exploitation for all police officers and PCSOs to identify the warning signs and what safeguarding actions they can take.
Five specialist officers co-located with multi-agency Public Protection Units to specifically address Child Sexual Exploitation.
A dedicated central team of specialist officers (increasing the number of specialist officers from three to 13) to undertake specific investigations across the county.
A dedicated data analyst, who will work across the county to enable the Police and partners to develop an understanding of the full extent of the issue and assist with problem solving which will ultimately lead to the safeguarding of greater numbers of children.
Provision of a dedicated young witness service commissioned from Victim Support. This will support victims of child sexual exploitation to help them through the difficult process of going to court. This will ensure the child victim and their family’s progress in the judicial system will be more supported than it has been in the past, which will further help us to achieve a higher number of successful prosecutions.
Grants awarded to voluntary and community sector organisations which help prevent Child Sexual Exploitation or provide support to children, young people and families who have already been affected by it.
Have you liaised with the Crown Prosecution Service to determine why there have been no prosecutions since the convictions which followed Operation Central in 2010?
I have met with the Chief Crown Prosecutor and his deputy and as mentioned earlier have invited the Crown Prosecution Service to be represented on the South Yorkshire Strategic Child Sexual Exploitation Panel. It is my intention that this forum will be a vehicle for discussing matters around prosecution of offenders. As part of my regular discussions with the Force I am aware that the Force and Crown Prosecution Service have monthly meetings to address new and on-going cases. A further area in which the Strategic Child Sexual Exploitation Panel could assist is in developing the Crown Prosecution Service processes to review historic cases of child sexual exploitation as suggested in the Saville enquiry recommendations.
In addition to the above South Yorkshire Police has negotiated with the Crown Prosecution Service to secure a dedicated CSE solicitor. The solicitor’s diary will be controlled by the Police thus ensuring that CSE cases can be properly prioritised to protect victims and lead to more prosecutions.
Are victims of localised child grooming able to contact and/or meet with you if they feel that their cases are not being taken forward by South Yorkshire Police or the Crown Prosecution Service?
From coming into office as Police and Crime Commissioner it has been my intention to be as accessible as possible to the people of South Yorkshire. To that end, I hold fortnightly surgeries rotated across all four local authority areas. Members of the public can book an appointment to see me at any of these. In addition to this I am endeavouring to meet representatives from a range of voluntary and community sector groups as part of my communication and engagement activity which provides another avenue of communication. Acknowledging that face to face meetings are not everyone’s preferred method of communication I can also be contacted in writing, via my website thepcc@southyorkshire-pcc.gov.uk, via Facebook and Twitter or by calling my office.
I hope this information is useful to your inquiry and demonstrates my commitment to protecting vulnerable children both as Cabinet Member for Children and Young People’s services and Police and Crime Commissioner. This is a priority issue in my inaugural police and crime plan and I firmly believe that the Force and partners are signed up to this priority and to tackle this heinous crime taking both a preventative and investigative approach. In conclusion I trust my response provides the necessary information and gives additional details to outline the current activity in South Yorkshire.
April 2013