Latest news with #PoliceNationalComputer
Metro
2 days ago
- Business
- Metro
Meet the business behind the recent Kent 'thought crime' case
You don't need to be locked away to have your future be limited. An act as simple as entering a name into a police database can serve the same purpose. In the United Kingdom, a caution or arrest, without trial, without charge, will remain on the Police National Computer for 100 years. That record becomes a dark cloud that can hover over professionals long after the moment has passed. It may appear in hiring checks, immigration screening, licensing decisions and security clearances. It follows silently but speaks loudly. Legisia, a legal practice founded by solicitor Matt Elkins, challenges this quiet punishment. The company focuses on removing unwanted data and appealing Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) decisions. This work, grounded in law and driven by human consequences, offers not just technical relief but a path to reclaiming dignity. These records extend consequences far beyond the initial incident. Doctors, lawyers, finance workers and healthcare professionals find that a police caution, often misrepresented as merely a 'slap on the wrist', creates a criminal record appearing on background checks, preventing them from obtaining visas or work permits for countries with strict entry requirements. 'If a professional gets a record like this, it can completely ruin a valuable and hard-fought career,' Elkins notes. 'They cannot work overseas. Often clients want to move to the US, so with a caution for, say, possession of cocaine, they are never going to be able to get green cards.' According to Elkins, Legisia's police data removal services directly address these barriers. Professionals seeking international roles often face barriers due to police records, especially in countries like the United States, China and several Middle Eastern nations. Even low-level cautions or simple arrests — regardless of conviction — can trigger visa denials. Though policies vary, these records can quietly block global mobility and career progression. For those in regulated fields such as healthcare, education or law, such disclosures can lead to referrals to professional regulators. Even without proof of wrongdoing, careers can be suspended or permanently halted based on records that remain undisputed. Cautions were once informal warnings. Today, they are formal legal outcomes, digitised and retained on the Police National Computer. Unless successfully deleted or filtered under narrow disclosure rules, they remain disclosable. Police often describe cautions as minor, but their real-world impact is profound. According to Elkins, clients routinely accept cautions without realising they are permanent admissions of guilt. This disconnect between perception and consequence leaves professionals with records they never intended to carry. Legisia's expertise in police data removal becomes crucial in these cases. They help clients understand the full implications of their records and challenge them based on procedural flaws, disproportionality, misinformed consent, and under data protection laws. Most troubling are the circumstances under which some of these records are created. Elkins notes that some clients may have been pressured into accepting cautions without understanding the consequences, or where they were actually victims themselves. 'They might actually be the victim of assault. They might be the victim of a coercive relationship, having been bullied for years,' Elkins says. 'And then they find themselves getting arrested, and they often fold when they are in front of the police and end up accepting a caution.' Legisia's police data removal process involves gathering evidence to demonstrate innocence or procedural impropriety, which can reveal that clients were pressured or misinformed during the cautioning process. In a case that recently received national attention, Elkins represented retired special constable Julian Foulkes, whose caution sparked national outrage. Foulkes, from Gillingham, was detained at his home by six police officers — from the same force he had worked for as a special constable for ten years — after a comment labelled a 'thought crime' was posted on social media. After Legisia's intervention, the record was successfully deleted. The case was viewed by some as a crackdown on free speech, which has fuelled a debate on police powers. Since Legisia's successful application, Chief Constable Tim Smith rang Foulkes to apologise on behalf of Kent Police, and a full review of the case has been commenced. Elkins' focus on police data and DBS cases sets Legisia apart. While other firms offer this as one service among many, Elkins has concentrated on this area for over a decade, with 20 years of experience as a defence lawyer. This specialisation has given him insight into the varying approaches of different police forces. 'Each police force is different; they have a kind of different mentality. They do not all act the same,' Elkins explains. His expertise extends to understanding the nuances of how records are created and maintained. This depth of knowledge allows Legisia to navigate the complexities of police data management with a precision that generalist firms cannot match. The firm's police data removal success stems from this specialised knowledge. Elkins' work goes beyond statutory remedies. Many clients contact Legisia after years of living with the psychological burden of a police record. Some report shame, isolation, or missed opportunities. Others had given up on international roles, teaching careers, or security-vetted positions. Legisia's work offers not only legal redress but personal relief. Clients frequently describe the outcome as life-changing. Deletion restores reputations and opens paths once thought permanently blocked. Awareness of the consequences of police data retention is increasing. Elkins has observed rising demand for police data removal services, especially as individuals learn that records they assumed were closed remain active and disclosable. He also points to the controversy around non-crime hate incidents (NCHIs) — cases where police document behaviour perceived to be hateful but not unlawful, and the rising use of facial recognition technology. This expansion of data collection has created a wider environment in which reputational risk is greater, and police record scrutiny is more essential. In a society where data is increasingly permanent and accessible, people must be able to challenge outdated or unfair records. Legisia offers a mechanism to do so, backed by legal precision and human understanding. Elkins and his team continue to help hundreds reclaim control over their professional identities. Each deletion is not just the removal of a data entry — it is the restoration of potential, confidence, and a future. DISCLAIMER: There is no guarantee of your police record being cleared. Legisia Ltd is registered with the Information Commissioner's Office: Registration Reference ZA338412. Legisia Legal Services is not a solicitors firm but is an unregulated legal practice conducting non-reserved legal services. All cases conducted by Legisia Legal Services are led by qualified and regulated solicitors. All solicitors that are employed by, or are owners of, or are consultants to Legisia Legal Services are regulated by the SRA in their individual capacity.
Daily Mirror
19-05-2025
- Daily Mirror
Man's body identified 10 years after he was hit by car yards from own front door
Bryan Woolis, who was thought to have been named Brian Wallace, died in 2015 after being knocked down by a car just a few metres from his home in Walthamstow, London, but could not be identified A man who died after being knocked down by a car close to his home has finally been identified more than 10 years later. Bryan Woolis, who was thought to have been named Brian Wallace, was near to where he lived in Walthamstow, London, when he was struck and killed by a Mercedes on January 22, 2015. Police, though, were unable to find records of him while the driver of the car was given a suspended sentence. The case remained open while South Yorkshire Police Inspector Nik Dodsworth began to investigate after an appeal from Locate International, a charity seeking to find or identify people, due to possible connections with Sheffield. Locate International stated on its website: "The police soon identified where he lived: a small shared flat above shops on Chingford Road. But he had few possessions, and nothing to identify him. A phone had only a small handful of contacts, and, intriguingly, a few printed photos gave some clues as to his life: they showed the man aboard a canal boat, exploring with curiosity. "A few people said they had encountered him. His name may have been Brian Wallace, they said. He worked cash-in-hand as a builder. He had a northern accent - Sheffield, perhaps - and he may have had a sister who lived in north London. Beyond that, little was known. "Details remained public on the UK Missing Persons Unit - Case 16-001186, unknown male - but brought no leads and the case of 'Brian Wallace' went cold." And Insp Dodsworth told the BBC: 'They had two good quality photos of the victim, but despite this, he had still not been identified. I found that quite sad. It was by digging through case files that he found a partial DNA match, followed by a search via the Police National Computer database, that his identity was revealed as Bryan Alwyn Woolis. A further investigation led the police to Mr Woolis' estranged family after an obituary for his late father Alwyn Woolis was found online. He died in Derbyshire in 2016 and had two other children along with Bryan. It is understood that Bryan had not seen his sister since the 2000s after she had moved away from London to look after their father and so Mr Woolis was not registered missing when he died in 2015. "Despite not being close, she experienced grief at Bryan's death," said Insp Dodsworth. "She had heard a rumour that Bryan had died of natural causes but could not find anything to corroborate this." He also pointed out that people dying without being formally identified is 'not as uncommon as you might expect'. Locate International is now seeking to have a new headstone for Mr Woolis' grave at Manor Park Cemetery in London with the correct spelling of his name. And Insp Dodsworth added: "I got a sense of satisfaction from getting to the bottom of this mystery, putting a name to the victim of a tragic road traffic collision from 10 years ago. I am glad that they [the family] finally have some closure on this tragic incident and can begin to rebuild."
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Council missing data on criminal record checks
A council does not know how many of its staff who require criminal record checks have had one completed, it has emerged. Norwich City Council has been told to urgently find out who has undergone the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) process and who needs one. There was missing data for 41 out of 54 members of staff whose job required an enhanced DBS check. The local authority said: "There are no examples of the council putting anyone at risk because of a lack of DBS checks when they have been needed." Council bosses faced pointed questions at a meeting of its audit committee on Tuesday night. A report presented to the committee said the council was "not able to identify whether all staff in posts requiring a DBS check have had one". It described a process in which the data was manually compiled on to a spreadsheet but was incomplete. A private company has been brought in to complete the process. The problem was identified in July 2023 following an audit into the council's safeguarding arrangement, councillors were told. But the audit report said since then, there had been no progress reports and the issues had not been escalated. Alex Catt, the Green group leader, described the situation as "shocking". "It has been known to the council for at least two years with seemingly nothing done about it," he told the BBC. "The council works with lots of vulnerable people and we need to know the background of the people working with them." When asked how long this situation had been going on for at the meeting, executive director of human resources Dawn Bradshaw replied: "I don't have the answer to that." Emily Yule, the council's executive director of resources, said: "This is the first DBS audit we've had in the 20 years I have been here." The checks are undertaken by the DBS agency, previously known as the Criminal Records Bureau. According to the Home Office, employers can request one in order "to make safer recruitment decisions" particularly when employing people working with children and vulnerable adults. Basic DBS checks reveal spent and unspent convictions, cautions and reprimands held on the Police National Computer. Enhanced checks include "additional information held by local police that is considered relevant to a specific role". A spokesperson for Norwich City Council said DBS checks were a "serious matter to get right" and claimed that "all of our people who needed a DBS check, have had one". "There are no examples of the council putting anyone at risk because of a lack of DBS checks when they have been needed," the statement continued. "We fully accept we were slow in providing information to audit colleagues about DBS checks and that our record keeping needed to be improved. "Both of these matters have been picked up and are successfully being addressed." Follow Norfolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X. Norwich City Council Disclosure and Barring service
Scottish Sun
28-04-2025
- Scottish Sun
I was locked up & raped in dingy flat for days by a grooming gang… chilling detail on their clothes revealed perv's job
A VULNERABLE young child from a broken family, Steph hoped for a better life when she was placed in a children's home in Manchester as a young teenager. But her nightmare was just beginning – as she became easy pickings for a sick grooming gang who preyed on kids in care. 9 Police whistleblower Maggie Oliver tracked down Steph's abuser Credit: Supplied 9 Steph remains anonymous to protect her identity Credit: Getty 9 Chantelle has bravely spoken out about her abuse Credit: Amy Brammal / Channel 4 'I had a lot of foster placements before being moved to the home where I started going out with some of the girls who introduced me to these men,' she says. 'One day someone picked me up from the home and took me to this flat. I remember looking at how shiny his shoes were and I asked him what was his job, because there was another man there, dressed identical. They said that they were security guards. 'They kept me at the flat for two days. The big one took me into the bedroom, telling me to relax, and then the next one would come in and they just took turns. 'I remember speaking to one of the women who worked in the children's home and I told her and that's when she reported it.' But it was not until years later that she found out the shocking truth about her rapists – at least one of them was a serving police officer at Greater Manchester Police. Steph – not her real name – was one of the abused children who came to the attention of a police and social services investigation into child sexual exploitation rings in South Manchester, called Operation Augusta. 'I was asked to join the team and it was my first introduction to what has been now recognised as grooming gangs,' says former Detective Constable, Maggie Oliver. 'Within the space of a few weeks, we had identified dozens of men, virtually all Pakistani, who were often sending younger boys to pick up children from children's homes where they were in care from the age of 11 to 16. And they were just like cannon fodder.' Because Steph had turned 18, she was the only victim Maggie had been given permission to talk to and she drove her around the area so she could point out the places where her abusers had taken her. 'She showed me a couple of takeaway places where, in the rooms above, they would rape and abuse children. Then, as we were driving past a park, out of nowhere Steph said, 'Oh, my God!'' I was born after my mum was raped by grooming gang - it's destroyed my life Says Steph: 'I remember seeing the car I had been picked up in and I said to Maggie, 'That's the car that picked us up a few times from the children's home.' "I was in no doubt. A little while later, the man who drives that car came out and I said to Maggie, 'That's him'.' Back at the police station Maggie did a search for the car registration to find out who it belonged to. 'I got a call from the internal investigations department and they asked me why I had used the Police National Computer to search the vehicle and I explained that it had been pointed out as belonging to a child rapist. They kept me at the flat for two days. The big one took me into the bedroom, telling me to relax, and then the next one would come in and they just took turns Steph "I was then told that our team mustn't do anything else in relation to that vehicle or that man because he was a serving police officer and he was already under investigation for other offences.' Soon after this incident, Maggie took compassionate leave because her husband was ill. 'I came back to work expecting to go back onto Operation Augusta but the whole job had been buried, as though it had never been in existence. Everything had gone.' 9 Shabir Ahmed (top left), Adil Khan (top right), Abdul Aziz (bottom left) and Qari Abdul Rauf were jailed in 2012 for a string of grooming offences in Rochdale Credit: PA:Press Association 9 Anna Hall spoke to five women for the documentary Credit: candour Raped at 11 Operation Augusta was shut down by senior officers in Greater Manchester in the summer of 2005. The reason given was lack of resources. Fifty seven known victims were left to be exploited and 97 perpetrators were left on the streets of Manchester to continue to abuse children. Steph is one of five women abused by sex grooming rings, predominantly in Manchester and Yorkshire, who bravely speak to filmmaker Anna Hall in the powerful Channel 4 documentary Groomed: A National Scandal, which airs this Wednesday. Another is Chantelle, now in her 30s. 'When we were growing up my mum was in and out of prison a lot so social services got involved because my dad was unable look after all of us on his own,' she says. Chantelle and her four brothers and sisters were placed in care. 'I actually preferred being in care," she says. "I was going to school, being fed, having a bath and making friends. It was quite nice at first. I was eight years old.' When she was 11 she was moved to accommodation at a children's home in Manchester. 9 Chantelle was forced to perform sex acts on several men at just 11 Credit: Amy Brammal / Channel 4 'A bunch of men used to sit on the wall outside the home and I ended up getting into what I thought was a relationship with one of them. "There was no sexual intercourse or anything at first. It was all food, beer, cigarettes and then he introduced me to cannabis. "He would put pills into my drink and try and give me cocaine and stuff like that. 'It progressed quite quickly to a sexual relationship. It was only with the one guy for about a week or two and then a car used to come and there would be a driver and two men in the back – one of them was the man in his 20s that I genuinely thought was my boyfriend at first. "He used to bring his friends in the car and I would have to do oral sex on them - I was still just 11. 'The men just kept coming to the home for me. I think I was going missing every day from that children's home. Once I was high on drugs they had given me and they put me in a car and I was taken to a hotel in town where I was held for four days and men were just coming and going. "In the end they showed me a load of money, took me to the Arndale Centre and bought me a gold ring and a mobile phone and then dropped me back at the children's home. One day there were about 11 men that all did something to me. And they wouldn't let me go. I told the police on numerous occasions and there were never any follow-ups Chantelle 'There was another incident where I was anally raped by these men and passed about. One day there were about 11 men that all did something to me. And they wouldn't let me go. I told the police on numerous occasions and there were never any follow-ups. 'I remember telling my social worker that I wanted to move and that I didn't want them to come to the home anymore. And nothing got done about it. I remained there. 'I've never fully understood why the police or social services never did anything. Is it because they don't want to be classed as racists or is that we just have no one who cares?' 9 Maggie Oliver blew the whistle on the grooming gangs Credit: Alamy 9 Jade, another victim of the grooming gangs, also appears in the show Credit: Rob Parfitt / Channel 4 9 Anna has been following the story for decades In 2012, Maggie Oliver left the police in protest at the handling of the Rochdale grooming trial. She became an outspoken critic of the authorities and insisted they had covered up the full extent of grooming and abuse and failed to protect children. Around the same time, youth worker Jayne Senior exposed a similar child sexual abuse scandal in Rotherham. She had helped set up a project there called Risky Business to support young people involved in child exploitation. But after yet another of their reports about sexual perpetrators was dismissed by council leaders, Jane had devastating news. A senior manager in Rotherham Borough Council told her Risky Business was being closed down. Contacted by a reporter from The Times in 2012 she exposed what had happened and, following a series of articles, it became a national scandal and an increasing amount of sexual abusers were being brought to court. 'The scandal in Rotherham promoted police forces around the country to re-examine historic cases,' says Anna Hall. 'It looked promising but it took another five years for Greater Manchester Police to re-open their old files on Operation Augusta.' No action Steph was contacted by the police. 'I was quite shocked when they knocked on the door,' she recalls. 'I asked if the man who raped me worked for GMP. "They both looked at each other and said, 'Yeah. But he no longer does.' I then asked, 'But if I had picked him out, why has he never been investigated?'' Steph has not heard from Greater Manchester Police since 2021. 'I don't expect to hear from them. I've given up hope,' she says. 'I've been willing to give a statement and to put these men in jail where they belong and to help other people but they have chosen not to listen to me because it was one of their own. "I do genuinely believe that is one of the reasons why they didn't bring him in.' Chantelle was also approached by GMP in 2019. 'They said that they wanted to make things right,' she says. 'I felt really happy, like I was finally going to get justice. 'I picked two men out on an ID parade. One of them was the main abuser. "As soon as I saw him, I knew and I remember my whole body just sank. I felt sick but I knew it was what I had to do to get justice. "However, nothing has been done. What's taken so long to charge them? I feel like I've put myself through the trauma of the ID parade and talking to the police for nothing. I don't feel like anything has changed. 'For many years I had this big dark hole and I felt ashamed but I'm not any more. "I think that all that I have been through has made me tougher. I'm a really good parent to my children. I am proud of who I am after what I've been through.' 'Voices have never been heard' Greater Manchester Police told the programme that they met Steph in 2019 to apologise and discuss the review of Operation Augusta. They say she decided not to proceed with the investigation a year later. They say that they have fully accepted and apologised for past failings and that a complex criminal investigation is continuing into the abuse that Chantelle suffered. Manchester City Council told the programme that it felt deeply sorry Chantelle went through this ordeal and that not enough was done to protect her and others in the early 2000s. It said that safeguarding practice is now much stronger and that it works closely with the police and other agencies to protect young people at risk of exploitation and pursue perpetrators. Anna says: 'I'm angry that of the five women in our film estimate that they have been collectively abused by hundreds and hundreds of men. "And that out of all of them only one, Erin, has had justice against just seven men. "Our five women represent thousands and thousands of other women across the country whose voices have never been heard.' Groomed: A National Scandal airs Wednesday on Channel 4.
The Sun
28-04-2025
- The Sun
I was locked up & raped in dingy flat for days by a grooming gang… chilling detail on their clothes revealed perv's job
A VULNERABLE young child from a broken family, Steph hoped for a better life when she was placed in a children's home in Manchester as a young teenager. But her nightmare was just beginning – as she became easy pickings for a sick grooming gang who preyed on kids in care. 9 9 9 'I had a lot of foster placements before being moved to the home where I started going out with some of the girls who introduced me to these men,' she says. 'One day someone picked me up from the home and took me to this flat. I remember looking at how shiny his shoes were and I asked him what was his job, because there was another man there, dressed identical. They said that they were security guards. 'They kept me at the flat for two days. The big one took me into the bedroom, telling me to relax, and then the next one would come in and they just took turns. 'I remember speaking to one of the women who worked in the children's home and I told her and that's when she reported it.' But it was not until years later that she found out the shocking truth about her rapists – at least one of them was a serving police officer at Greater Manchester Police. Steph – not her real name – was one of the abused children who came to the attention of a police and social services investigation into child sexual exploitation rings in South Manchester, called Operation Augusta. 'I was asked to join the team and it was my first introduction to what has been now recognised as grooming gangs,' says former Detective Constable, Maggie Oliver. 'Within the space of a few weeks, we had identified dozens of men, virtually all Pakistani, who were often sending younger boys to pick up children from children's homes where they were in care from the age of 11 to 16. And they were just like cannon fodder.' Because Steph had turned 18, she was the only victim Maggie had been given permission to talk to and she drove her around the area so she could point out the places where her abusers had taken her. 'She showed me a couple of takeaway places where, in the rooms above, they would rape and abuse children. Then, as we were driving past a park, out of nowhere Steph said, 'Oh, my God!'' Says Steph: 'I remember seeing the car I had been picked up in and I said to Maggie, 'That's the car that picked us up a few times from the children's home.' "I was in no doubt. A little while later, the man who drives that car came out and I said to Maggie, 'That's him'.' Back at the police station Maggie did a search for the car registration to find out who it belonged to. 'I got a call from the internal investigations department and they asked me why I had used the Police National Computer to search the vehicle and I explained that it had been pointed out as belonging to a child rapist. They kept me at the flat for two days. The big one took me into the bedroom, telling me to relax, and then the next one would come in and they just took turns Steph "I was then told that our team mustn't do anything else in relation to that vehicle or that man because he was a serving police officer and he was already under investigation for other offences.' Soon after this incident, Maggie took compassionate leave because her husband was ill. 'I came back to work expecting to go back onto Operation Augusta but the whole job had been buried, as though it had never been in existence. Everything had gone.' 9 Raped at 11 Operation Augusta was shut down by senior officers in Greater Manchester in the summer of 2005. The reason given was lack of resources. Fifty seven known victims were left to be exploited and 97 perpetrators were left on the streets of Manchester to continue to abuse children. Steph is one of five women abused by sex grooming rings, predominantly in Manchester and Yorkshire, who bravely speak to filmmaker Anna Hall in the powerful Channel 4 documentary Groomed: A National Scandal, which airs this Wednesday. Another is Chantelle, now in her 30s. 'When we were growing up my mum was in and out of prison a lot so social services got involved because my dad was unable look after all of us on his own,' she says. Chantelle and her four brothers and sisters were placed in care. 'I actually preferred being in care," she says. "I was going to school, being fed, having a bath and making friends. It was quite nice at first. I was eight years old.' When she was 11 she was moved to accommodation at a children's home in Manchester. 'A bunch of men used to sit on the wall outside the home and I ended up getting into what I thought was a relationship with one of them. "There was no sexual intercourse or anything at first. It was all food, beer, cigarettes and then he introduced me to cannabis. "He would put pills into my drink and try and give me cocaine and stuff like that. 'It progressed quite quickly to a sexual relationship. It was only with the one guy for about a week or two and then a car used to come and there would be a driver and two men in the back – one of them was the man in his 20s that I genuinely thought was my boyfriend at first. "He used to bring his friends in the car and I would have to do oral sex on them - I was still just 11. 'The men just kept coming to the home for me. I think I was going missing every day from that children's home. Once I was high on drugs they had given me and they put me in a car and I was taken to a hotel in town where I was held for four days and men were just coming and going. "In the end they showed me a load of money, took me to the Arndale Centre and bought me a gold ring and a mobile phone and then dropped me back at the children's home. One day there were about 11 men that all did something to me. And they wouldn't let me go. I told the police on numerous occasions and there were never any follow-ups Chantelle 'There was another incident where I was anally raped by these men and passed about. One day there were about 11 men that all did something to me. And they wouldn't let me go. I told the police on numerous occasions and there were never any follow-ups. 'I remember telling my social worker that I wanted to move and that I didn't want them to come to the home anymore. And nothing got done about it. I remained there. 'I've never fully understood why the police or social services never did anything. Is it because they don't want to be classed as racists or is that we just have no one who cares?' 9 In 2012, Maggie Oliver left the police in protest at the handling of the Rochdale grooming trial. She became an outspoken critic of the authorities and insisted they had covered up the full extent of grooming and abuse and failed to protect children. Around the same time, youth worker Jayne Senior exposed a similar child sexual abuse scandal in Rotherham. She had helped set up a project there called Risky Business to support young people involved in child exploitation. But after yet another of their reports about sexual perpetrators was dismissed by council leaders, Jane had devastating news. A senior manager in Rotherham Borough Council told her Risky Business was being closed down. Contacted by a reporter from The Times in 2012 she exposed what had happened and, following a series of articles, it became a national scandal and an increasing amount of sexual abusers were being brought to court. 'The scandal in Rotherham promoted police forces around the country to re-examine historic cases,' says Anna Hall. 'It looked promising but it took another five years for Greater Manchester Police to re-open their old files on Operation Augusta.' No action Steph was contacted by the police. 'I was quite shocked when they knocked on the door,' she recalls. 'I asked if the man who raped me worked for GMP. "They both looked at each other and said, 'Yeah. But he no longer does.' I then asked, 'But if I had picked him out, why has he never been investigated?'' Steph has not heard from Greater Manchester Police since 2021. 'I don't expect to hear from them. I've given up hope,' she says. 'I've been willing to give a statement and to put these men in jail where they belong and to help other people but they have chosen not to listen to me because it was one of their own. "I do genuinely believe that is one of the reasons why they didn't bring him in.' Chantelle was also approached by GMP in 2019. 'They said that they wanted to make things right,' she says. 'I felt really happy, like I was finally going to get justice. 'I picked two men out on an ID parade. One of them was the main abuser. "As soon as I saw him, I knew and I remember my whole body just sank. I felt sick but I knew it was what I had to do to get justice. "However, nothing has been done. What's taken so long to charge them? I feel like I've put myself through the trauma of the ID parade and talking to the police for nothing. I don't feel like anything has changed. 'For many years I had this big dark hole and I felt ashamed but I'm not any more. "I think that all that I have been through has made me tougher. I'm a really good parent to my children. I am proud of who I am after what I've been through.' 'Voices have never been heard' Greater Manchester Police told the programme that they met Steph in 2019 to apologise and discuss the review of Operation Augusta. They say she decided not to proceed with the investigation a year later. They say that they have fully accepted and apologised for past failings and that a complex criminal investigation is continuing into the abuse that Chantelle suffered. Manchester City Council told the programme that it felt deeply sorry Chantelle went through this ordeal and that not enough was done to protect her and others in the early 2000s. It said that safeguarding practice is now much stronger and that it works closely with the police and other agencies to protect young people at risk of exploitation and pursue perpetrators. Anna says: 'I'm angry that of the five women in our film estimate that they have been collectively abused by hundreds and hundreds of men. "And that out of all of them only one, Erin, has had justice against just seven men. "Our five women represent thousands and thousands of other women across the country whose voices have never been heard.'
