News / Society

Rotherham abuse report revealed

Tuesday, 05 May 2015 5:51 PM [ Last Update: Tuesday, 05 May 2015 5:52 PM ]

Rotherham has become synonymous with failings on an institutional level, with police authorities and council leaders allegedly turning a blind eye to endemic and systematic child sex abuse.

Further evidence suggests that authorities in Rotherham were repeatedly warned about child sexual exploitation in 2003 and in 2006.

Rotherham has become synonymous with failings on an institutional level, with police authorities and council leaders allegedly turning a blind eye to endemic and systematic child sex abuse. Both authorities did nothing when they were told of the grooming and abuse of young girls throughout the community, abuse perpetrated by opportunistic criminal gangs.

Former South Yorkshire Police drugs analyst Dr Angie Heal is in disbelief that her initial reports did not lead to action. She says that she “just cannot fathom why no action, no concerted action, was taken."

"There didn't seem to be a coordinated response from senior police officers to this really, really serious crime."

Dr. Heal has since left the South Yorkshire Police force. She warned back in 2003 in an initial report that there can be no room for complacency on the matter, but her warnings amounted to no action by the authorities.

But South Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner Alan Billings has stated that it wasn’t simply the local authorities that were made aware of the crimes, rather it was known on a national scale. He said that the reports “went not only to police and local government but to safeguarding boards and the national government. It was widely known what she said.”

"I think there are more people that have questions to answer than the police. The only sense I can make of it is that at that time, police were prioritising other things like burglary and car theft. I don't think anyone understood what grooming was."

The Rotherham community has been left angry at the recent revelations and inadequacies of the police force. They are demanding answers as to why such abuse was not properly investigated and why it was allowed to go on for such a long time.

LM / HA

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