Former South Yorkshire Police officer made force 'proactive' during Rotherham sex abuse scandal lands top job at the Met

Matt Jukes, who used to be District Commander in Rotherham between 2006 to 2010 is to take over the role of Assistant Commissioner at the Metropolitan Police.

The senior office who has now landed a top job with the Greater London force which will start in November, is said to have helped South Yorkshire Police become ‘more proactive’ in dealing with the sexual abuse scandal in Rotherham.

Between 1997 and 2013, more than 1,000 children were exploited in the South Yorkshire town with police and councils part of the wide-ranging organisations that were ineffective in confronting the abuse.

Mr Jukes’ leadership was praised in a report by Professor Alexis Jay which analysed the scandal and identified the former District Commander’s leadership as a definitive point where the force became more proactive in tackling the child exploitation.

After the senior officer left the Rotherham post, he moved to South Wales and joined the force there where he worked his way up and was awarded Chief Constable back in January 2018.

Mr Jukes, who is chairman of Police Sport UK, has also previously held positions in departments such as counter-terrorism and Welsh health.

Commissioner Cressida Dick praised the new Assistant Commander’s appointment.

In a statement she said: “I am delighted that Matt will be joining the Met.

“Matt is a highly successful chief constable and has held a number of important national policing roles.

“I know Matt will make a great addition to the Met’s leadership team.”

Chief Constable Matt Jukes said: “I have thoroughly enjoyed working with the Metropolitan Police over many years, operationally and on several areas of national work.

“I am therefore delighted, and it is a real privilege to join the Met as a member of the Commissioner’s leadership team. I look forward to working alongside colleagues to keep London safe.”

The soon-to-be Met Assistant Commander will initially provide leadership for a limited time to the Greater London’s force transformation portfolio.

It comes after the planned retirement of the current Transformation Director, Peter Fox.

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