More than 400 child sexual exploitation crimes recorded in South Yorkshire last year – including historical crimes

Last year. 409 CSE crimes were recorded by South Yorkshire Police, including 78 as a result of Operation Stovewood – the National Crime Agency’s investigation into abuse in Rotherham between 1997 and 2013.

In 2021, there were a total of 561 intelligence reports submitted to police that related to CSE – an increase of 48 from the 513 that were submitted in 2020.

A report to Dr Billings, South Yorkshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner, states that since 2013, there has been a “year-on-year increase in recorded crimes with a peak in 2018”.

Since then, however, the numbers have fluctuated, with a reduction in 2019, before a rise in 2020 and then a reduction in 2021.

The report adds that of the cases in 2021, 199 were committed during thesame month as being reported, leaving 210 reports that would be termedhistoric or non-recent reports.

Around 56 per cent – or 106 crimes – had an online element.

This is down from 2020, where 59 per cent of the 216 reported crimes had an online element.

The report, to be discussed at tomorrow’s public accountability board meeting, adds that obtaining successful prosecutions for CSE can be a challenge, with victims believing they are in a loving relationship, due to being groomed.

“Some victims report offences a period of time later, when they realisethey have been subjected to exploitation, whilst others never feel able to report the abuse they suffered,” adds the report.

“This aspect is understood to be one of the reasons why historic reporting remains so high.

“To tackle this, police and partners must make determined efforts to build up the trust and confidence with victims, without prejudicing any subsequent attempts for prosecution.”

The report explains a number of measures SYP is taking to tackle CSE, including training for student officers; hiring a dedicated CSE analyst; holding monthly tactical meetings; conducting regular victim surveys; providing an online reporting portal; implementing a new missing persons reporting system: and setting up dedicated CSE and CCE teams in Sheffield and Rotherham.

SYP has also rolled out Operation Makesafe to businesses across the region, who are given training on the warning signs of child sexual exploitation, how to spot potential perpetrators and how to report suspicions to police.

The report adds: “SYP is committed to do everything possible in conjunction with our partners to tackle CSE offending, to identify emerging issues as they arise and to continue to learn and improve our response so that children are safeguarded.

“SYP are developing a trauma informed approach to victims, placing trauma at the centre of how we deliver a compassionate and engaged service.”