Rotherham Scandal: ‘Zero Liability’ as Not a Single Police Officer Loses Their Job in Eight-Year Investigation Yorkshire News

The acquittal of former detective David Walker of all charges against him marks the end of planned action against South Yorkshire police officers in the wake of revelations that more than 1,400 children were manipulated, trafficked and sexually abused.

Walker was one of 47 current and former officers investigated by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) in the wake of the 2014 Jay Report, which outlined the extent of CSE by all-male gangs in the city of South Yorkshire.

The IOPC has yet to release its final report on the investigation it called Operation Linden, which is the second largest operation carried out by the watchdog after its Hillsborough investigation.

In November, the IOPC said that, of the 47, eight were found to have a case to answer for misconduct and six had a case to answer for serious misconduct.

Of these, five have faced sanctions ranging from managerial action to final written reprimand.

Mr. Walker’s hearing, which ended Thursday, was the only pending hearing.

The IOPC said that Operation Linden began in 2014 and included 91 separate independent investigations, involving 265 separate complaints, spanning the period from 1997 to 2013.

These included 51 complainants, 44 of whom were abuse survivors, the commission said.

Lawyer David Greenwood, who represents a number of Rotherham CSE survivors, told the PA news agency: “It is extremely disappointing that, despite the best efforts of the brave women I represent, the police discipline system has not provided responsibility.

“The system seems to be against those who complain.

“South Yorkshire Police had already lost the trust of the survivors of exploitation and I doubt they will ever regain it after this system failure.”

The IOPC’s director of major investigations, Steve Noonan, said on Thursday: “We must now consider the trial and any potential impact on an ongoing investigation as part of Operation Linden before we can publish our report, which will cover 91 investigations completed to date. now. .

“This has been an extremely complex job, the second largest operation we have undertaken, and we aim to publish this report as soon as we can.

“Our priority remains the well-being of the survivors who made the difficult decision to come forward. They have shown great courage both before and throughout our investigations and we must be respectful of the experiences they have been through.”

Not all officers have been dealt with in public hearings for misconduct.

One officer who did appear before a panel was DC Ian Hampshire, who last year admitted failing to properly investigate claims by a teenage girl that she had been raped by multiple men in 2007.

The panel decided that Dc Hampshire should be given a final written warning rather than be sacked after hearing that his conduct in relation to the girl was part of a much broader failure by South Yorkshire Police to deal with exploitation. child sex in Rotherham at the time.

Although the IOPC has yet to publish its full report on Operation Linden, it did issue a “Learning and Recommendations” report last year that said police need to listen to survivors of the Rotherham scandal if they want to learn from the past.

The report made 12 national and local recommendations to address the systemic problems identified and help improve the treatment of those who report abuse.