NCA: Child abuse op to cost £15m a year until 2024

The NCA’s Operation Stovewood superseded South Yorkshire Police’s investigation into non-familial child sexual abuse in the town between 1997 and 2013.

The investigation was launched at the request of South Yorkshire Police, who are responsible for funding the operation.

Stovewood currently has a budget of £11.7m a year.

The NCA’s strategic co-ordinator, George Barr, told journalists at a press conference held last week that the investigation was currently expected to last until 2024 and, when the team was fully staffed to 250 people, it would have a budget of £15m a year.

If the operation secured £15m in funding from the Home Office each year for the next six years it would have a total cost of £90m.

FACT FILE:

• Operation Stovewood, which was launched in January 2015, is the single largest law enforcement investigation into non-familial child sexual exploitation and abuse in the UK.
• Of the 1,510 potential victims identified by the NCA team, 296 (19 per cent) have so far engaged with officers.
• Of the 151 designated suspects, 14 have been convicted and 24 people have been charged, 12 of them have been arrested (or attended a police station voluntarily) and bailed or released under investigation.
• There are a further 275 other people under investigation.
• There are 22 ongoing investigations under the Operation Stovewood umbrella.
• A total of 648 crimes have been recorded.
• The NCA hopes to expand its 151-strong team to 250 officers and does not expect the investigation to conclude until 2024.
• The vast majority of the NCA’s 22 investigations involve “networks of men working together”, said senior investigating officer Paul Williamson.