A long-awaited report from the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) has concluded that South Yorkshire Police were not equipped to handle the widespread child sexual exploitation in Rotherham between 1997 and 2013. The findings echo the 2014 Jay Report, which identified at least 1,400 victims, and highlight systemic failures that prevented the force from recognising the scale of the abuse.
The IOPC's Operation Linden examined the police response to allegations of child sexual exploitation over a 16-year period. It conducted 91 investigations into 265 allegations made by 51 complainants, including 44 survivors. Eight officers were found to have a case to answer for misconduct, and six for gross misconduct, though many retired before facing disciplinary action due to legal limitations at the time.
Five officers received sanctions ranging from management action to final written warnings, while a sixth faced a misconduct hearing that was found not proven. The IOPC also upheld 43 of 164 complaints where officer conduct was not under investigation. Director Steve Noonan described it as 'the second biggest operation we have ever carried out.'
The report makes 13 recommendations, including using survivor voices in police training and reviewing laws on offences committed by groomed young people. Separately, the National Crime Agency's Operation Stovewood, the UK's largest investigation into non-familial child sexual exploitation, has so far secured 20 convictions.
