Police force investigates 183 child sex abuse cases

Police force investigates 183 child sex abuse cases 

South Yorkshire Police is responsible for investigating crimes in Rotherham CREDIT: WILL OLIVER

One police force is investigating 183 child sex abuse cases, with officers dealing with more than nine crimes each, a new report has revealed.

South Yorkshire Police officers investigating child sexual exploitation (CSE) have a bigger caseload than any other part of the force, the report by the Police and Crime Commissioner, Dr Alan Billings, said.

Many of the crimes are historical, making them “extremely difficult to investigate”, the report said.

People have now the confidence to come forward

Dr Alan Billings

The area recording the most offences wasRotherham, which also had the highest proportion of historic offences.

In February six members of a gang that groomed, raped and abused young teenage girls in Rotherham were jailed for a total of 103 years.

The ringleader of the gang, which passed girls round as sex objects and caused damage of “unimaginable proportions” was sentenced to 35 years.

The latest report said that of the offences recorded between April 2015 and March 2016, 37pc were resolved with a charge or summons, caution, restorative justice or another form of sanction, according to the report.

The findings follow a report earlier this year by Professor John Drew which found that South Yorkshire Police’s handling of CSE cases was “inadequate”. It was commissioned after another report found that at least 1,400 girls were abused in Rotherham in the years between 1997 and 2013.

Dr Billings told the BBC the rise of child sex abuse reports to the force was "actually a good thing in the sense that people have now the confidence to come forward".

Public protection officers currently have the highest caseload of any part of the forcePCC report

The report stated: “The historic nature of many of the recorded CSE crimes makes them extremely difficult to investigate.

“Many of these offences relate to large-scale investigations. This has led to a considerable operational demand on CSE investigators with 183 ongoing investigations.

“Public protection officers currently have the highest caseload of any part of the force, an average of over 9 crimes per officer in spite of the investment in staff.”