Get on with it, crime tsar tells watchdog over Rotherham police conduct probe

Alan Billings made the comments as he launched an independent review by child protection expert Professor John Drew into how the entire South Yorkshire force approached the sexual exploitation of children.

Dr Billings asked during a press conference in Barnsley about the IPCC involvement and the status of around 60 officers who had been referred to the commission.

In August, the commission said it had received 47 referrals from South Yorkshire Police since the publication of the Jay Report into sexual exploitation in Rotherham and these referrals involved more than 100 allegations.

Dr Billings said: “I’m very concerned that some of these have been with the IPCC for quite a long time.

“We were given the understanding that at least some reporting would come back from them in the summer.

“That didn’t happen and I understand it’s possibly next month.

“It really is important that they start to decide what’s going to happen with those who’ve been referred to them because it’s hanging over people in the force.”

The commissioner said the IPCC was deciding which of the referrals made to it that it was going to investigate itself and which it would pass back to the force to deal with.

He said: “Everybody’s in limbo until that happens so we really do need the IPCC to get on with it and start to make those reports.”

Dr Billings said: “That’s a substantial number. We had a question about morale earlier on.

“That goes to the heart of morale if you’ve got this hanging over serving officers, so it needs to be resolved.”

In August, the IPCC said it was continuing to examine police conduct exactly a year on from the publication of the Jay Report, which shocked the nation with the scale of child rape, trafficking and grooming it uncovered in Rotherham.

Professor Alexis Jay’s report described how more than 1,400 children were sexually exploited by gangs of mainly Asian men in Rotherham between 1997 and 2013.

And it was scathing about a culture among police and council officials which ignored the industrial scale of abuse, instead treating the victims of child sexual exploitation as troublesome teenagers.

This was followed by the Casey Report, which looked at Rotherham Council’s response and was highly critical of the local authority, leading to its ruling cabinet being replaced by government-appointed commissioners.

Following the Casey Report, Dr Billings said he thought a similar inquiry needed to be directed at South Yorkshire Police.

He announced the Drew Review after a BBC report suggested that police had also ignored CSE in Sheffield and the commissioner stressed that the new inquiry will cover the whole force area, and not just Rotherham.

The IPCC has so far identified more than 60 South Yorkshire officers whose conduct it is investigating, while work is going on to identify more than 100 officers who are referred to but not named.

A spokesman for the watchdog said today: “The Independent Police Complaints Commission’s investigation relating to CSE in South Yorkshire is ongoing.

“This is a complex investigation dealing with a significant number of complainants and police officers, and allegations relating to events that spanned a number of years. We are handling these matters sensitively and ensuring our investigation is thorough as that is what all parties want from any of the investigations into these matters.

“We are aware that the Police and Crime Commissioner has commissioned a review of South Yorkshire Police’s handling of CSE cases. We are confident that any evidence uncovered by the review which may be relevant to our ongoing investigations, especially any evidence of misconduct by former or current police officers or staff, will be shared with us.”

At today’s press conference, Dr Billings said Professor Drew’s review would look at what happened historically and whether current practice is as good as it can possibly be.

Dr Billings said: “I regard this as a very important moment for South Yorkshire Police and for me as a commissioner as I think it is absolutely essential that we try to capture now everything that we can possibly know about CSE in South Yorkshire - and not just in Rotherham, where there has been so much focus.”

He said: “It’s absolutely essential we do this and I do think the police understand that. I recognise that morale has been affected by the sheer number of investigations and inspections that have taken place. But, unless we have this full understanding across the whole of the county, then none of us can really rest easy as we go forward.”

Prof Drew said: “I want to hear from anyone who has any information that will assist my review.”

He said the Jay and Casey reviews showed that professionals did not have a “monopoly of wisdom” when it came to CSE and urged victims and other members of the public to come forward.

He said he had already had meetings with some victims and had a set up a website - www.drewreview.uk - to help the public contact his team.

Prof Drew - who is a former director of social services and former chief executive of the Youth Justice Board for England and Wales - said the review should take about three months and he hoped to report in the new year.