Rotherham CSE scandal: This is when a major report police handling of abuse allegations will be published

A full report investigating the conduct of 47 South Yorkshire Police officers concerning their handling of allegations made during the Rotherham child sexual exploitation scandal is to be published this year.
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Police watchdog, The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), launched a major investigation into the force’s handling of reports of child sexual exploitation (CSE) in the town between 1997 and 2013, following the publication of the explosive Jay report in 2014.

The report from Professor Alexis Jay concluded that failures of the police and politicians contributed to the sexual exploitation of 1,400 girls by groups of men in the town.

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Named ‘Operation Linden,’ the IOPC’s probe has seen them look into 265 allegations made by 51 complainants, 44 of whom are abuse surviviors, and investigate the conduct of 47 South Yorkshire Police (SYP) officers.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct is set to release a major report detailing investigations into the conduct of 47 South Yorkshire Police officers, concerning their handling of allegations of child sexual exploitation made in Rotherham between 1997 and 2013The Independent Office for Police Conduct is set to release a major report detailing investigations into the conduct of 47 South Yorkshire Police officers, concerning their handling of allegations of child sexual exploitation made in Rotherham between 1997 and 2013
The Independent Office for Police Conduct is set to release a major report detailing investigations into the conduct of 47 South Yorkshire Police officers, concerning their handling of allegations of child sexual exploitation made in Rotherham between 1997 and 2013

The IOPC says its full Operation Linden report, detailing the investigations into the 47 SYP officers and the subsequent outcomes, cannot be published until the final misconduct hearing has been heard.

The final hearing concerns former Detective Sergeant David Walker and is set to conclude mid-April.

An IOPC spokesman said today the watchdog expects to publish the report straight after, meaning it is likely to be available from the middle of next month.

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DS Walker was in charge of a unit tasked with investigating child abuse in Rotherham, and is accused of failing to investigate a number of CSE allegations including one involving two sisters who were allegedly being abused by workers at a Rotherham car wash.

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DS Walker’s misconduct hearing was opened on February 28, and is expected to resume on March 21.

Of the 46 other SYP officers whose cases have already been heard, none have lost their jobs as a result of the allegations made against them.

Eight were found to have a case to answer for misconduct, and six had a case to answer for gross misconduct.

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Five have faced sanctions from management action, up to a final written warning.

In many cases, the officer had retired and due to legislation in place at the time, could not face disciplinary proceedings.

Last November, the IOPC published a ‘Learning and Recommendations’ report which said that police must listen to the survivors of the Rotherham CSE scandal if they are to learn from the past.