What does the Casey report say about grooming gangs in the North East?
The government has confirmed there will be a national inquiry into grooming gangs.
An independent audit of the issue was ordered by the Prime Minister in January, carried out by Baroness Louise Carey, and published on Monday (16 June).
She found disproportionate numbers of Asian men have been responsible for group-based child sexual abuse, but the authorities have "shied away" this, for fear of appearing racist or raising community tensions.
The 197-page report contains a relatively small number of references to the North East.
In a timeline of grooming gang cases around the country, it notes how, in 2013, Northumbria Police set up Operation Sanctuary to investigate allegations of the sexual exploitation of girls and young women in Newcastle.
In 2015, a serious case review was commissioned, after it emerged there were potentially hundreds of victims of sexual exploitation in Newcastle, including children and vulnerable adults.
In 2017, 18 people were convicted of nearly 100 total offences including rape, child prostitution, supplying drugs to victims and trafficking for sexual exploitation. The offences took place in Newcastle between 2010 and 2014.
The perpetrators were men of Albanian, Kurdish, Bangladeshi, Turkish, Iranian, Iraqi, Eastern European and Pakistani ethnicity, aged between 27 and 44. One woman was convicted. The victims were girls and young women, aged between 13 and 25.
In 2018, a serious case review into child sexual exploitation in Newcastle was published. It found: "With this particular model of abuse, whilst the individual beliefs of the perpetrators are not known, all appear to come from a non-white, predominantly Asian/British Minority Ethnic culture or background.'
The review recommended that the government commissioned research on the offenders' profiles, motivations and cultural and background influences.
In 2024, the members of a Newcastle grooming gang were jailed for raping a 13-year-old girl. Three of the men were from Syria, and one from Kuwait. They were aged between 15 and 21 when they abused the victim in 2018 and 2019.
The Casey report says that "more often than not" local reviews into grooming gangs "do not discuss the perpetrators, let alone their ethnicity or any cultural drivers".
It says the 2018 review carried out in Newcastle was an exception to this, recognising the lack of research which had been done into the cultural drivers of offending, and recommending the government conducted research.
Casey says the Newcastle review took "an unusual step" of trying to understand the crimes by interviewing one of the offenders, who had claimed asylum in the UK. He spoke in a derogatory way about British girls, saying they had a lack of morals, and spoke about how he had easily been able to access sex, drugs and alcohol.
The Newcastle review said it was 'unfortunate that there were not more opportunities to meet with perpetrators and further attempts, if successful, might lead to greater understanding".
Casey's report also says child sexual exploitation in Newcastle was an example of how taxis have often been used as a way for perpetrators to meet victims, and for them to be trafficked to different locations.
The Casey report makes one reference to Sunderland, where it says a local review into a case of child sexual exploitation involving multiple offenders did not state the perpetrator's ethnicity or nationality.
There is also one reference to Middlesbrough, listed alongside other towns and cities where Casey is aware of high-profile prosecutions, indicating "a wide geographical spread of cases involving Asian/Pakistani perpetrators across the country".
Casey's report says: "There is a significant mismatch between the high volume of reports of child abuse being made to the police and the number of assessments which identify child sexual abuse coming into children's services in England".
As an example, between March 2023 and March 2024, it says Durham Police recorded 8.19 contact child sexual abuse cases per 1,000 children, while Durham County Council only had 1.59 child in need assessments for child sexual exploitation and 2.78 for child sexual abuse per 1,000 children.
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Powys County Times
5 hours ago
- Powys County Times
Welsh Government pledges full co-operation with grooming gangs inquiry
The Welsh Government will co-operate fully with the national inquiry into grooming gangs and child abuse, the First Minister has said. Eluned Morgan said she welcomed the decision by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer to hold a statutory inquiry into child abuse across England and Wales. Baroness Casey's report, published on Monday, found the ethnicity of perpetrators had been 'shied away from', with data not recorded for two-thirds of offenders. The rapid national audit looking at the scale of grooming gangs across the country was first announced in January as part of a series of measures to tackle the issue. Earlier this year, the Government dismissed calls for a public inquiry, saying its focus was on putting in place the outstanding recommendations made in a seven-year national inquiry by Professor Alexis Jay. Speaking at First Minister's questions in the Senedd, Ms Morgan said: 'This is an incredibly sensitive issue and whenever we discuss these issues, it's really important that we put the needs and concerns of the victims right at the very centre of what we do. 'I want to reassure you that there's absolutely no complacency in the Welsh Government. 'If women or children are being abused, I want to know about it and I want us to step in and to prevent it. 'That's why we know that there's already been this independent inquiry into child sexual abuse that was chaired by Alexis Jay and we are already undertaking the recommendations set out there. 'As you will be aware, the steps that happened was that the Prime Minister commissioned Baroness Casey to carry out an audit in relation to grooming gangs. 'We didn't say we were rejecting it, we said let's do the audit first. 'That audit is now taking place and Baroness Louise Casey herself has now said that she's changed her mind about a national inquiry. 'We welcome the decision made by the Prime Minister to undertake a national statutory inquiry into grooming gangs and of course they will have our full co-operation.' The First Minister was responding to questions from Senedd Conservative leader Darren Millar who had first raised the issue of a Wales-only inquiry in January. 'In the absence of a UK inquiry into the prevalence of grooming gangs, I called upon your Welsh Government to establish a Welsh grooming gang inquiry,' he said. 'You refused. You suggested that the issue had been politicised to the point where people feel threatened and twice expressed disappointment that I was raising the issue in the Senedd. 'When describing the experiences of just one Welsh victim, I was jeered at, heckled and interrupted by members of this Senedd, including, I'm very sorry to say, members of your own Welsh Government. 'We're now in June, and finally, after many months of delay, and more hurt and harm caused to those brave victims who've spoken out about their experiences, the UK Government has finally agreed to a national inquiry into grooming gangs. 'Do you regret rejecting the calls of victims and survivors for an inquiry last January? 'Do you accept that the delay has caused further harm and hurt? 'Will you now give a full, public commitment that the Welsh Government will back that UK inquiry and instruct all public bodies under your control here in Wales to cooperate fully with it, because victims and their families deserve nothing less?' Mr Millar cited the Jay inquiry finding evidence of children being sexually abused in Swansea, and other reports detailing abuse in Newport and Wrexham. 'The evidence is clear, sexual exploitation has been happening right under our noses here in Wales,' he said. 'The Casey report also suggests that the Welsh Government has failed to provide information that she also requested and it warned that fear of being accused of racism has deterred authorities from action both here in Wales and in other parts of the UK.' In reply, the First Minister said the Welsh Government would be looking at the recommendations of the Casey report 'to ensure there is full cooperation'. 'I have written to the Home Secretary to ensure that Welsh issues and any recent events, as well as historic events will be investigated and analysed by this inquiry,' she told the Senedd. 'It is clearly an issue that needs to be addressed. I think lessons need to be learnt. We mustn't shy away from collecting data on the ethnicity of perpetrators. 'I think abuse is abuse and it must be condemned irrespective of where it comes from. 'But what we will do is to ensure that we comply and we work with the inquiry to make sure that we do everything we can to stop this hideous approach and the things that are happening to young girls in our community stop.'
ITV News
5 hours ago
- ITV News
What does the Casey report say about grooming gangs in the North East?
The government has confirmed there will be a national inquiry into grooming gangs. An independent audit of the issue was ordered by the Prime Minister in January, carried out by Baroness Louise Carey, and published on Monday (16 June). She found disproportionate numbers of Asian men have been responsible for group-based child sexual abuse, but the authorities have "shied away" this, for fear of appearing racist or raising community tensions. The 197-page report contains a relatively small number of references to the North East. In a timeline of grooming gang cases around the country, it notes how, in 2013, Northumbria Police set up Operation Sanctuary to investigate allegations of the sexual exploitation of girls and young women in Newcastle. In 2015, a serious case review was commissioned, after it emerged there were potentially hundreds of victims of sexual exploitation in Newcastle, including children and vulnerable adults. In 2017, 18 people were convicted of nearly 100 total offences including rape, child prostitution, supplying drugs to victims and trafficking for sexual exploitation. The offences took place in Newcastle between 2010 and 2014. The perpetrators were men of Albanian, Kurdish, Bangladeshi, Turkish, Iranian, Iraqi, Eastern European and Pakistani ethnicity, aged between 27 and 44. One woman was convicted. The victims were girls and young women, aged between 13 and 25. In 2018, a serious case review into child sexual exploitation in Newcastle was published. It found: "With this particular model of abuse, whilst the individual beliefs of the perpetrators are not known, all appear to come from a non-white, predominantly Asian/British Minority Ethnic culture or background.' The review recommended that the government commissioned research on the offenders' profiles, motivations and cultural and background influences. In 2024, the members of a Newcastle grooming gang were jailed for raping a 13-year-old girl. Three of the men were from Syria, and one from Kuwait. They were aged between 15 and 21 when they abused the victim in 2018 and 2019. The Casey report says that "more often than not" local reviews into grooming gangs "do not discuss the perpetrators, let alone their ethnicity or any cultural drivers". It says the 2018 review carried out in Newcastle was an exception to this, recognising the lack of research which had been done into the cultural drivers of offending, and recommending the government conducted research. Casey says the Newcastle review took "an unusual step" of trying to understand the crimes by interviewing one of the offenders, who had claimed asylum in the UK. He spoke in a derogatory way about British girls, saying they had a lack of morals, and spoke about how he had easily been able to access sex, drugs and alcohol. The Newcastle review said it was 'unfortunate that there were not more opportunities to meet with perpetrators and further attempts, if successful, might lead to greater understanding". Casey's report also says child sexual exploitation in Newcastle was an example of how taxis have often been used as a way for perpetrators to meet victims, and for them to be trafficked to different locations. The Casey report makes one reference to Sunderland, where it says a local review into a case of child sexual exploitation involving multiple offenders did not state the perpetrator's ethnicity or nationality. There is also one reference to Middlesbrough, listed alongside other towns and cities where Casey is aware of high-profile prosecutions, indicating "a wide geographical spread of cases involving Asian/Pakistani perpetrators across the country". Casey's report says: "There is a significant mismatch between the high volume of reports of child abuse being made to the police and the number of assessments which identify child sexual abuse coming into children's services in England". As an example, between March 2023 and March 2024, it says Durham Police recorded 8.19 contact child sexual abuse cases per 1,000 children, while Durham County Council only had 1.59 child in need assessments for child sexual exploitation and 2.78 for child sexual abuse per 1,000 children.
ITV News
6 hours ago
- ITV News
'All communities' want to see grooming gangs punished, says Council leader
A Council Leader has said that all communities want nothing more than to see the members of grooming gangs "punished to the full extent of the law." Oldham Council Leader Arooj Shah welcomed a national report from Baroness Louise Casey, which looked at the scale of grooming gangs across the country and the failure to recognise how ethnicity affected local investigations. Cllr Shah said: "So clearly on the back of Baroness Casey's report, she made it very explicit and clear that there was, she felt her findings found that there was some reluctancy to discuss ethnicity. "Child Sexual abuse is perpetrated by people of all races and religions, and inflicted on people of all races and religions. But that doesn't mean we shouldn't ask questions about any drivers of this very specific type of offending. "We need to do more to understand why this particular pattern of abuse is more prevalent among some groups of men. "To say so is not racist. What is racist is to suggest that all Pakistani men are groomers or the implication, the suggestion, that any one community condones this behaviour - it does not. "Nobody I have spoken to, from any community, wants to see anything other than for these men to be punished to the full extent of the law." The report criticised local authorities for failing to understand the nature and scale of young girls being exploited. Oldham has been the subject of a number of investigations into grooming gangs and sexual exploitation dating as far back as 2006. Responding to the report, Cllr Arooj Shah said: "In Oldham, we recognise the failings of the past and are determined not to repeat them. "We apologise again to those who were failed and thank the survivors who have been bravely telling their stories to not let these injustices go forgotten. "Baroness Casey has shone a bright light on uncomfortable and distressing issues that will now help us navigate a path to protect our children. Anyone who cares about the safety of children should read and digest this report. "All agencies with responsibility for safeguarding children should implement its recommendations in full." A local review published in 2022 found that Greater Manchester Police (GMP) and Oldham Council had failed a number of young girls who became the victims of grooming and child sexual exploitation. At the time, both organisations said they were "deeply sorry" to all those affected. Baroness Casey's National Audit found that the ethnicity of those involved in grooming gangs has been "shied away from" by authorities, and there was enough evidence in Greater Manchester that there was "disproportionate numbers of men from Asian ethnic backgrounds amongst suspects for group-based child sexual exploitation". While Cllr Shah said investigations should not shy away from asking why patterns abuse are more prevalent in certain groups, she highlighted that it is not Oldham's South Asian community that needs to ask these questions but instead the authorities. She said: "I don't think there's anything about reflection or inward looking because that makes the assumption that there's been denial from a community about this."As far as the community's concerned, the Pakistani community, the South Asian community, is like any other community, a crime is a crime." Oldham Council became the subject of international headlines in January, after the Labour Government denied their request for a public inquiry. The refusal was criticised by Tech billionaire Elon Musk, sparking a wave of interest in grooming gangs in Oldham, which eventually gave way to calls for a UK-wide child sex abuse inquiry. The Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer initially denied this request, and instead set up a number of local investigations into individual towns across the country. However the latest review from Baroness Casey laid out a number of recommendations for the Government, one of which was to hold a full national inquiry that co-ordinates targeted local investigations into abuse. The Government has now accepted all of the recommendations including the inquiry; something which Oldham Council has welcomed. Cllr Shah said: "We share Baroness Casey's desire to see a national inquiry, which is why we requested one to be commissioned back in February. "reI hope that this report will make it clear that this must happen, for the sake of everyone affected by child sexual exploitation, and that survivors' voices will be at the heart of it. "We are working with the Home Office to understand how the local and national inquiries will align, and we are in conversation to get clarity and next steps." Cllr Shah also welcomed calls from a number of victims and activists, including former Greater Manchester Police detective Maggie Oliver, to see those who failed in their duties to safeguard victims face the justice system. She said: "I think absolutely anyone who has failed these young people, girls, women and boys need to be held to account. It's a huge shame on society that they haven't for this long... so anyone that's failed them absolutely should be held to account and be prosecuted."
