National Crime Agency to investigate claims South Yorkshire Police involved in Rotherham abuse

ITV News

08-08-2025

An investigation into allegations police officers took part in historical sexual abuse in Rotherham is to be taken over by the National Crime Agency.
Last month, survivors of sexual exploitation in the town said they had "no faith" in the South Yorkshire Police investigation into its former officers in relation to a number of allegations.
Three former police officers have so far been arrested.
The Police watchdog, Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), confirmed it will now be carried out by the NCA.
However, the IOPC said it was responding to "concerns about SYP's involvement and a perception of a conflict of interest".
It said it was a joint decision with the force to ask the NCA to take over and that it remains satisfied there was no conflict of interest.
The law firm Switalskis, which represents survivors of abuse in Rotherham, welcomed the move as a "step in the right direction" but said their clients remained concerned over the continued involvement of the IOPC.
Five women told the BBC how they were exploited by grooming gangs in the town when they were children and also sexually abused by officers.
According to a special report, one girl was raped from the age of 12 in a marked police car and the officer threatened to hand her back to the groomers if she did not do as he said.
Last month, victims' lawyers said it had hoped that alleged abuse by officers would have been unearthed following Operation Linden - a long-running, IOPC investigation into how police responded to child sexual abuse in Rotherham between 1997 and 2013.
They said South Yorkshire Police "resisted" their requests.
"For years South Yorkshire Police resisted our requests for an investigation into the alleged criminality of police officers, despite us providing them with the accounts of survivors."
In 2022, Operation Linden concluded that the force fundamentally failed in its duty to protect vulnerable children and young people during the period under investigation.
IOPC director Emily Barry said she wants to make sure people feel able to come forward with complaints.
"We recognise the concerns that have been raised by some about SYP investigating serious complaints relating to former SYP officers and we want to ensure that any victim-survivors feel able to come forward with complaints about former SYP officers."
The NCA said the investigation will be carried out by officers from Operation Stovewood - the agency's extensive decade-long investigation into child sexual exploitation in Rotherham between 1997 and 2013.
It has identified more than 1,100 children involved in the exploitation in Rotherham, resulting in the conviction of 47 offenders who have so far received prison sentences totalling more than 1,300 years, including concurrent sentences.
Philip Marshall, head of Operation Stovewood, said victims will remain at the heart of the investigation.
"Though our investigation will be independent of South Yorkshire Police, we will work closely with the force and the Independent Office for Police Conduct to ensure that victims receive the best service and support as the investigation is transferred to us."
South Yorkshire Police says the force is mindful that some victim survivors may be suffering in silence and unwilling to make a report.
Assistant Chief Constable, Hayley Barnett, said: "Today's force, including the officers and staff who have been directly involved in this investigation, are appalled by the nature of the allegations which have come to light.
'However, we are acutely aware that while our culture, our processes and our workforce here at SYP have transformed in the decades since the failings in Rotherham, the harm suffered by the victim survivors remains their reality every single day."