Rotherham Abuse Scandal: Police Investigated
The IPCC says it hopes the investigation will help to "answer the many questions" of the victims of abuse in the town.
Tuesday 18 November 2014 15:16, UK
Ten South Yorkshire Police officers will be investigated over their handling of child sexual exploitation in Rotherham.
The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) said the officers were all identified through the Jay report, which found more than 1,400 children had been abused in the town from 1997-2013.
The report criticised the way the police and Rotherham Council handled complaints from teenage girls, who said they had been raped and trafficked by groups of mostly Asian men.
IPCC Commissioner Kathryn Stone said: "The amount of public concern across the country about this episode and the impact on confidence in the police means it is important that a fully independent investigation is conducted to establish how South Yorkshire Police dealt with child sexual exploitation.
"I sincerely hope that victims and their families will see this investigation as a positive step towards answering the many questions they must have.
"I have met with South Yorkshire Police and am reassured by their commitment to fully cooperate with the investigation."
The ten officers are part of a group of 13 South Yorkshire Police has referred to the IPCC.
The other three will not face an investigation at this time.
They were identified through a separate internal review by the force.
The IPCC has decided not to investigate two of the officers itself at this stage, while the status of the third remains under review.
The publication of the Jay report prompted Shaun Wright, the councillor with responsibility for children's services between 2005 and 2010, to step down as South Yorkshire's police and crime commissioner after intense media pressure.
Rotherham Council's strategic director of children's services, Joyce Thacker, and Martin Kimber, the council's chief executive, also resigned.