Lawyers representing victims of sexual abuse in Rotherham have welcomed a climbdown that means South Yorkshire police will no longer lead an investigation into alleged crimes of former officers.
The force came under fire last month after it emerged that it was to lead an investigation into the actions of its own officers, to be overseen by the police watchdog, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).
On Friday it was announced that the National Crime Agency (NCA) would carry out the investigation under the “direction and control” of the IOPC.
Five women who were abused as children by Rotherham grooming gangs have claimed they were also raped by police officers when they were as young as 12. Three former police officers have been arrested and a fourth former officer who was accused has died.
The IOPC said it was responding to “concerns about SYP’s involvement and a perception of a conflict of interest”. It said it was a joint decision with South Yorkshire police (SYP) to ask the NCA to take over.
Alexis Jay, who chaired the independent inquiry into grooming gangs, had expressed shock that SYP were leading the investigation. She told the BBC there were “many, many legitimate causes for victims and survivors at the time to feel a total lack of trust in SYP”.
The law firm Switalskis, which represents survivors of abuse in Rotherham, had said victims had “no faith that SYP will do a thorough job of investigating alleged abuse by their own officers”.
In 2022, Operation Linden concluded that SYP fundamentally failed in its duty to protect vulnerable children and young people during the period under investigation.
After the U-turn, Switalskis said in a fresh statement: “We are pleased that South Yorkshire police have decided to hand the investigation into allegations of child sexual abuse, corruption, and the facilitation of abuse by former SYP officers to the National Crime Agency.
“However, we remain concerned that the investigation is still being directed by the Independent Office for Police Conduct, given the concerns raised by whistleblowers in relation to Operation Linden earlier this year. Nevertheless, we view this as a step in the right direction and hope that more survivors will now feel able to come forward to the NCA.”
Five women told the BBC how they were exploited by grooming gangs in Rotherham when they were children and also allegedly sexually abused by officers.
According to a special report by the BBC, one of the women said she was raped from the age of 12 in a marked police car and that the officer threatened to hand her back to the groomers if she did not do as he said.
The investigation shake-up was also welcomed by the South Yorkshire mayor, Oliver Coppard. He said: “I’m pleased that SYP, the IOPC and the NCA have listened to the concerns of those young women who have come forward to talk about their experiences.”
