Casey Report: South Yorkshire leaders respond to government audit into 'vile' grooming gangs

The Government called on Baroness Louise Casey to review data regarding grooming gangs and child abuse in areas across the country earlier this year, as victims continue to seek justice years after they suffered some of the most horrific crimes imaginable.

Baroness Casey had previously done a similar report into the incidents which led to the infamous Rotherham child grooming scandal ten years ago, and was called back to give her expert advice on a wider scale.

Specifically, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper asked for this latest audit to examine data around ethnicity, exploring the social and cultural drivers of this type of crime, which she claims ‘had never previously been done despite years of concerns’.

In an address to Parliament yesterday (June 16), she went on to explain that data on the ethnicity of perpetrators was not recorded in two thirds of the situations, and slams previous Governments’ data collection as ‘completely inadequate’.

However, with what data is available - which included examinations of South Yorkshire Police (SYP) - the Home Secretary states that offenders were ‘disproportionately likely’ to be Asian men.

She went on to say: “Baroness Casey’s audit examined local level data in three police force areas - Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire and South Yorkshire where high profile cases involving Pakistani-heritage men have long been investigated and reported – and there they found the suspects of group-based child sexual offences were disproportionately likely to be Asian men.

“The vast majority of people in our British Asian and Pakistani heritage communities continue to be appalled by these terrible crimes and they agree that the criminal minority of sick predators and perpetrators in every community must be dealt with robustly by the criminal law.

“Baroness Casey’s review also identifies prosecutions and investigations into perpetrators who are White British, European, African or Middle Eastern, just as Alexis Jay’s Inquiry concluded that all ethnicities and communities were involved in appalling child abuse crimes.

“So to provide accurate information to help tackle serious crimes we will make it a formal requirement for the first time to collect both ethnicity and nationality data for all cases of child sexual abuse and exploitation.”

Beyond new regulations on recording ethnicity, the Home Secretary went on to announce a new national inquiry and national police operation to review historic cases not properly handled, as recommended by Baroness Casey.

She also announced that new laws will be put in place to protect children, particularly online, and action will be taken across children’s services to identify the most at risk.

Local leaders, including representatives from SYP, have taken time to respond to the Home Secretary’s latest announcements, as they begin to analyse Baroness Casey’s full report.

South Yorkshire’s Mayor Oliver Coppard said: “We will of course look thoroughly at Louise Casey’s report and the government’s response, but I know Louise will have been fearless and unwavering in her commitment to justice. That was our experience of her work here in South Yorkshire, which challenged the systems in place at the time and the complacency that had governed the oversight and approach to child sexual exploitation.

“Since Louise’s intervention, the leadership, culture and approach to CSE in Rotherham has been fundamentally transformed. I am grateful to Louise for revisiting Rotherham as part of her work on this review, and continuing to reassure herself and us that those improvements continue.

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“But while we may have radically improved our approach here, I am determined we will continue to take a ‘no complacency’ approach that puts victims first. South Yorkshire has learned the hard way that transparency, accountability and a fearless victim-centred approach are the only way in which to properly tackle any instances of horrific sexual abuse perpetrated against children. I fully support the government in their efforts to make that a national endeavour, including the proper resourcing of both the Inquiry and its implementation."

Assistant Chief Constable Hayley Barnett, SYP portfolio holder for Crime and Criminal Justice, added: “We commit to continue doing whatever it takes to enable victims and survivors to trust and have confidence in the South Yorkshire Police of today, and to ensuring history cannot repeat itself. This is the approach we have taken throughout the previous independent reviews and the ongoing investigations into incidents in Rotherham in the early 2000’s and the force’s response.

“As soon as we receive the report, we will make a start on reviewing the contents to assure ourselves that our development and service to victims/survivors is as is, rightly, expected and offenders are brought to justice.”

Louise Haigh, MP for Sheffield Heeley, said: “It is very welcome news that the PM has commissioned a national inquiry into grooming gangs.

“We know children are being subjected to the most appalling violence and sexual abuse in communities across the country.

“It is high time we took measures needed to crack down on this heinous crime.”

Rotherham MP Sarah Champion said: “The Casey Report confirms what most of us have feared for years; the appalling abuse of children that occurred in Rotherham was by no means unique.

“No one can say they are shocked by this report. Child sexual exploitation by gangs, at scale and following a near identical pattern, has been exposed across the country for years. Had those in authority listened to the victims, this vile crime may have been dealt with before it became a national epidemic.

“The fact victims and survivors were ignored, belittled and event criminalised should be to all of our eternal shame.

“Missed cases need re-opening, motivations and links between gangs explored. We need reassurance that cover-ups did not occur, and if they did, that those responsible will be held to account. Nothing less will enable us to stamp out this crime, secure justice and restore confidence in those in authority.

“We can’t change the failings of the past, but my goodness we must finally learn from them.”