Rotherham scandal: "No complacency" warns Mayor, ten years after Jay Report

The Jay Report, published in August 2014, revealed at least 1,400 children – mainly girls - in Rotherham had been abused and exploited and that those in authority including in government and in policing had failed to act.

It led to the resignation of the leader of the Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Councul, Roger Stone, and government commissioners taking over the running of the local authority.

The report came after the abuse of young girls, mainly by men of Pakistani origin, was revealed by journalist Andrew Norfolk in The Times newspaper.

An inquiry into the scandal led by Professor Alexis Jay found untold levels of abuse between 1997 and 2013.

It led to the set up of Operation Stovewood by the National Crime Agency (NCA), which has since seen 209 arrests and 26 convictions.

Last year, bosses at the NCA confirmed they believed they had identified all potential victims, and that further new allegations would be handled by South Yorkshire Police.

Mayor of South Yorkshire Oliver Coppard said: “The Jay Report details horrific, almost unimaginable crimes carried out against children in Rotherham.

“The report includes a recital of those many, repeated failures of organisations to check themselves and each other; to properly place the needs of our communities above the need to protect themselves.

“Time and again, despite very clear warnings, the failure of institutions to act left vulnerable children and families at the mercy of violent and dangerous people.”

Mayor Coppard warned against complacency and urged anyone concerned about the welfare of a child to go to the police.

He said: “All the evidence says we are in a different and better place now. But there can be absolutely no complacency. It is incumbent on all of us in positions of power across South Yorkshire to continue to acknowledge that failure, and to continue our shared efforts not just to restore those institutions but to restore our community’s trust in their intentions and their actions.

“Ten years on from Alexis Jay’s Report, the journey along the road to restoring that trust will carry on in earnest. Those crimes should never have been allowed to happen here in South Yorkshire, but we must not, will not, and cannot forget they did."

In 2022 South Yorkshire Police (SYP) admitted “we got it wrong and we let victims down” after the report by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) concluded the force “failed to protect vulnerable children”.

The IOPC’s investigation catalogued how teenagers were seen as “consenting” to their abuse by officers, who were told to prioritise other crimes.