Under-fire police in ‘very different’ position after BBC CSE documentary

POLICE chiefs insisted their force was “in a very different position now” after coming under fire in a BBC documentary about the Rotherham child sex abuse scandal.

Monday’s Panorama programme told the stories of abuse survivors targeted when they were still at school and pointed fingers at South Yorkshire Police for failing to properly investigate Shafina Ali, a Rotherham woman said to be a leading player in CSE before her death in 2009.

In a statement released after the broacast, South Yorkshire Police said it could not comment on investigations being carried out by the National Crime Agency (NCA) and Independent Police Complaints Commission.

They added: “South Yorkshire Police is in a very different position now to where we were just a few years ago.

“That’s not to say we are getting everything right but a review co-ordinated by the NCA said officers working on current investigations are’conscientious, enthusiastic and focused upon providing good outcomes’ and the force's current strategic leadership of this critical area of public protection was found to be ‘professional and appropriate.’”

There are 74 dedicated CSE officers were there were three less than three years ago, the police said, adding that they had 198 live CSE investigations with 58 suspects charged over historic cases.

“We are also working with our partners to strengthen the support offered to victims and survivors of CSE,” the statement said.