Whistleblower Claims Top Cops Protected in UK Grooming Gangs Investigation
Examine the allegations surrounding grooming gangs' exploitation of young girls in Rotherham, England, which were reportedly handled predominantly by junior police officers. Read Full Article at RT.com
TroibNews 
An investigation into the police response to the Rotherham grooming scandal focused primarily on junior officers, leaving senior officers largely unexamined, according to a whistleblower's account reported by The Times.
The scandal, involving “grooming gangs” of Asian men, has seen thousands of underage girls sexually abused and raped over the past two decades in various towns in northern England. The majority of the perpetrators were Pakistani men, while the victims were mainly white British girls.
Operation Linden, led by the Independent Office for Police Conduct, was a seven-year inquiry into South Yorkshire Police’s management of child sexual exploitation cases from 1997 to 2013. It uncovered significant failures, including the lack of proper crime reporting for serious incidents like rape, a failure to question older men accompanying vulnerable girls, and a tendency to view victims as problematic rather than as individuals in need of protection. Some officers managed to avoid misconduct allegations by submitting minimal intelligence reports.
The investigation wrapped up in 2022, uncovering leadership failures, inadequate training, and cultural problems within the police force. However, the whistleblower asserts that the inquiry faced limitations due to directives that discouraged probing into the actions of senior officers during the scandal.
“We were actively told not to pursue senior officers,” the whistleblower told The Times. “It was just largely incompetent. There was just no passion or desire within the IOPC to understand what went wrong in Rotherham and find out why those girls were let down.”
Operation Linden examined 91 cases and reviewed 265 allegations made by 51 complainants. Out of 47 officers investigated, eight were found to have committed misconduct, with six facing gross misconduct charges. Yet, the most severe penalties imposed were either written warnings or “management advice.” None of the officers were dismissed, and the highest-ranked official scrutinized was a detective inspector.
The whistleblower remarked on the narrow focus of the inquiry, highlighting that “it was very clear not only that there were force-wide systemic problems but problems in other parts of the country. I don’t think the failings have been truly properly investigated.”
In defense of its efforts, the IOPC has asserted the thoroughness of its investigations and noted that police forces have adopted its recommendations. “Our priority was the welfare of survivors, who showed incredible bravery in coming forward,” an IOPC spokesperson said, adding that the findings led to improvements in victim care and the enhancement of officers’ abilities to address child sexual exploitation cases.
Jessica Kline contributed to this report for TROIB News
The scandal, involving “grooming gangs” of Asian men, has seen thousands of underage girls sexually abused and raped over the past two decades in various towns in northern England. The majority of the perpetrators were Pakistani men, while the victims were mainly white British girls.
Operation Linden, led by the Independent Office for Police Conduct, was a seven-year inquiry into South Yorkshire Police’s management of child sexual exploitation cases from 1997 to 2013. It uncovered significant failures, including the lack of proper crime reporting for serious incidents like rape, a failure to question older men accompanying vulnerable girls, and a tendency to view victims as problematic rather than as individuals in need of protection. Some officers managed to avoid misconduct allegations by submitting minimal intelligence reports.
The investigation wrapped up in 2022, uncovering leadership failures, inadequate training, and cultural problems within the police force. However, the whistleblower asserts that the inquiry faced limitations due to directives that discouraged probing into the actions of senior officers during the scandal.
“We were actively told not to pursue senior officers,” the whistleblower told The Times. “It was just largely incompetent. There was just no passion or desire within the IOPC to understand what went wrong in Rotherham and find out why those girls were let down.”
Operation Linden examined 91 cases and reviewed 265 allegations made by 51 complainants. Out of 47 officers investigated, eight were found to have committed misconduct, with six facing gross misconduct charges. Yet, the most severe penalties imposed were either written warnings or “management advice.” None of the officers were dismissed, and the highest-ranked official scrutinized was a detective inspector.
The whistleblower remarked on the narrow focus of the inquiry, highlighting that “it was very clear not only that there were force-wide systemic problems but problems in other parts of the country. I don’t think the failings have been truly properly investigated.”
In defense of its efforts, the IOPC has asserted the thoroughness of its investigations and noted that police forces have adopted its recommendations. “Our priority was the welfare of survivors, who showed incredible bravery in coming forward,” an IOPC spokesperson said, adding that the findings led to improvements in victim care and the enhancement of officers’ abilities to address child sexual exploitation cases.
Jessica Kline contributed to this report for TROIB News
