# Origins The notion that there was a pattern of on-street grooming by mostly Pakistani gangs was popularised by an article written by Andrew Norfolk for *The Times* in 2011. The investigation used 17 court prosecutions between 1997 and 2011, which identified 56 offenders, 53 of whom were Asian. In other words, this "pattern" was based on an average of 4 offenders per year. To put that into context, there were no less than 6,134 convictions for CSA in the year of 2021 alone. "Grooming Gang" is not a legal term. It isn't recorded in police data and it isn't used in the courts. It is a press term that has dominated the national discourse on CSA for over a decade, despite the fact it only accounts for a marginal number of cases and offenders. Norfolk's article: https://archive.ph/HtpKw # The police * Victim blaming * UK police used to [routinely dismiss](https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0306396819895727#bibr119-0306396819895727) victims as "streetwise" and "consenting child prostitutes" * [2022 inquiry](https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ukgwa/20221215051709/https://www.iicsa.org.uk/key-documents/31216/view/report-independent-inquiry-into-child-sexual-abuse-october-2022_0.pdf): "Victims of CSE were frequently seen by police and other professionals as making a choice - such as to be 'child prostitutes' who 'consented' to their own abuse." * Category failure * [Drew Review of South Yorkshire](http://www.drewreview.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/SYP030-Final-report.pdf) police identified the force using "too narrow a working definition" of CSE - "A related difficulty arises if a police force has too narrow a working definition of child sexual exploitation. I believe some officers certainly had this. For example, <span style="color:#ffc000">the view that child sexual exploitation was about red light areas, and was about gangs of men principally of Pakistani heritage, led not only the force but also probably the whole partnership to look for signs of exploitation in the wrong places.</span> One superintendent, describing the exploitation challenge today in his area, characterised the local problem of revolving around ‘white European males, in their mid 40s, making extensive use of the internet for initial grooming, often of boys, and not operating as gangs at all.’ This is a very different profile." - Direct involvement - Dec 2024: Two former Rotherham police officers [arrested](https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2024/dec/18/two-former-rotherham-police-officers-arrested-over-child-sexual-abuse) on suspicion of CSA - Crimes involving two girls between 1995 and 1999 - For reference, the men in Rotherham had abused at least 1,400 girls from 1997 to 2013 - [Grooming Gangs Taskforce](https://www.gov.uk/government/news/grooming-gangs-taskforce-arrests-hundreds-in-first-year) - Set up in 2023 under Sunak, working with all 43 police forces in England and Wales - Arrested over 550 suspects in 12 months - Identified and protected over 4,000 victims # Jay Report (2014) ## Ethnicity 1. "Within the Council we found no evidence of children's social care staff being influenced by concerns about the ethnic origins of suspected perpetrators when dealing with individual child protection cases, including CSE." 2. Perception that messages conveyed by some senior people in the Council and the Police were to downplay the ethnic dimensions of CSE. "Unsurprisingly, frontline staff appeared to be confused as to what they were supposed to say and do and what would be interpreted as 'racist'." 3. Too much reliance on traditional community leaders whilst Pakistani women felt disenfranchised 4. Women and men in the community "voiced strong concern that other than two meetings in 2011, there had been no direct engagement with them about CSE over the past 15 years..." 5. Frontline staff of the police did not report personal experience of attempts to influence their practice or decision making because of ethnic issues. However, those involved in CSE recalled a "general nervousness" toward discussions about ethnicity. (p. 99) 6. Several councillors believed that opening up the issues of grooming could risk "giving oxygen" to racist views which would, in turn, attract extremist groups and threaten cohesion. Jay acknowledges that this concern was valid, noting repeated EDL [riots](https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/the-northerner/2014/may/12/english-defence-league-march-in-rotherham-cost-1m) in Rotherham. In [2015](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-south-yorkshire-35688543), an 81-year-old Muslim man in Rotherham was beaten to death by two men who had baselessly accused him of being a groomer. ## "PC culture" - The idea that the Rotherham Council was burdened by some general "liberal culture" is laughable and anyone making this claim has either not read the report, or is lying about it. For the handful of vague references to an aura of "anxiety" around racial issues, the full report actually points far more strongly to a culture of misogyny than of political correctness. Starting from page 113-114 of the report, one Council leader describes the overall culture as "macho and sexist". The assessment is supported by statements from senior officers, covering a period from 1997-2009. It is hardly surprising that an indifference to teenage grooming victims would be coloured more by misogyny than racial sensitivity, not least of all in the 90s and mid-2000s - a period which was hardly the golden age of political correctness. The disproportionate focus paid by contemporary pundits to the political correctness issue is purely selective and these political biases have resulted in almost every other issue highlighted in Jay's report being forgotten. ## Other failures It's worth noting that nothing in the Jay Report suggests that "fear of being called racist" was the only, or even the top reason for the failures in Rotherham. No one claimed to have been under any direct influence or instruction to avoid the issue for ethnic reasons. In fact, neither the police, nor the Council, seemed to display anything more than a "general anxiety" around the racial issue. Though this did ultimately inhibit action, it is only one of several systemic failures, none of which are ever mentioned by pundits who only seem interested in the racial element. 1. Victim blaming e.g. describing the phenomenon as 'child prostitution' 2. Lack of communication with the wider Pakistani community; focus on local Imams whilst people who had more information were disenfranchised 3. Lack of resources, especially for reach-out services 4. Lack of training for frontline police and council workers ## Recommendations 1. Risk assessment: "up-to-date risk assessments on all children affected by CSE" 2. Improve reach-out services for victims 3. Ensure long-term support for children who had otherwise been having cases closed prematurely 4. <span style="color:#ffc000">More direct and frequent engagement</span> between the Safeguarding Board, the Council and men and women from minority communities ## Links Alexis Jay, Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Exploitation in Rotherham 1997 - 2013: https://www.rotherham.gov.uk/downloads/file/279/independent-inquiry-into-child-sexual-exploitation-in-rotherham # Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, Oct 2022 ## Executive Summary * The number of children placed on child protection plans for CSA is lower than the number of assessments where CSA is identified as a risk factor * Higher risk groups include girls (3:1), disabled (2:1), people living in care homes (4:1), those who experienced childhood neglect (5:1) ### Institutional failures * Common practice for people to put personal and institutional reputations above the protection of children * Statutory agencies not informed, perpetrators 'moved on' and failure of authority figures to investigate allegations * Records about allegations not kept * Some institutions lacked child protection policies and procedures all together * Inspections of institutions sometimes lacking * Poor and inconsistent approach to recording data e.g. no data separating abuse in a family environment from that taking place in institutions ### Investigation reports * Investigation into the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales * 1970-2015: Over 3,000 complaints against more than 900 individuals * 177 prosecutions and 133 convictions * Since 2016, there have been over 100 reported allegations every year * Delay and reluctance from Church leaders in response ### Lambeth Council * 2020: Council aware of 705 former residents of 3 children's homes making complaints of sexual abuse * Only able to identify one senior employee in 40 years who was disciplined for failing to address child sexual abuse ### Three central recommendations 1. Statutory requirement of mandatory reporting 2. National redress scheme for victims who were let down in the past 3. Creation of a Child Protection Authority (CPA) with powers to inspect any institution associated with children ## Recommendations 1. A single core data set 1. "Data should be consistent and should include the characteristics of victims and alleged abusers, such as age, sex and ethnicity." 2. Child Protection Authorities for England and Wales 1. Authority should advise and make recommendations to the government and inspect institutions / settings 3. A cabinet Minister for Children 4. Public awareness 1. Regular campaigns to increase public awareness of CSA which inform people on what to do if abuse is happening or suspected 2. Challenge myths and stereotypes about CSA 5. Pain compliance 1. Ban the use of any technique that deliberately induces pain 2. "Pain compliance techniques" to be banned in custodial institutions where children are detained 6. Children Act 1989 1. Amend the act to allow children to apply to family courts to mandate or limit a local authority's exercise of its parental responsibility 2. This allows the court to give directions relating to the local authority's exercise of parental responsibility for the child 7. Registration of care staff in children's homes 1. Staff should be registered with an independent body to set standards of training, conduct and continuing professional development 8. Registration of staff in care roles in young offender institutions and secure training centres 9. Greater use of the barred list 1. Enable to frequently check the Disclosure and Barring Service 10. Improving compliance with the statutory duty to notify the Disclosure and Barring Service 1. National Police Chief's Council should make clear arrangements for referring breaches to the police 11. Extending disclosure regime to those working with children overseas 12. Pre-screening 1. Government should require regulated providers of internet search services to pre-screen for CSA before material is uploaded 13. Mandatory reporting 1. Government should introduce laws requiring certain people to report CSA ('mandated reporters') 2. Should apply to police officers and other people who work in regulated activity in relation to children 3. Recommends that it should be a crime to fail to make a mandatory report in certain circumstances 14. Compliance with the Victims' Code 1. Review the minimum level of service to be provided by the criminal justice system 15. Limitation 1. Remove limits for victims and survivors to make a legal claim for compensation 2. Current period is 3 years 16. Specialist therapeutic support for child victims of SA 1. Guarantee of specialist and therapeutic support for all child victims 17. Access to records 1. Records of CSA and allegations should be kept for 75 years 18. Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme 1. Scheme should include other forms of CSA e.g. online abuse 2. Victims and survivors with unspent convictions should not be automatically excluded 3. Time limit to apply for compensation should be increased to seven years, starting from the date the offence was reported 19. Redress scheme 1. Government should set up a single redress scheme for victims and survivors 2. 2-tier payment system: first for a fixed flat rate, second for victims and survivors who can provide more details and evidence 20. Age verification 1. Change in law to make sure internet companies have better ways to check children's ages ## Links Rapid read: https://www.iicsa.org.uk/document/report-independent-inquiry-child-sexual-abuse-rapid-read-october-2022-0.html Executive summary: https://www.iicsa.org.uk/document/executive-summary-report-independent-inquiry-child-sexual-abuse-october-2022.html Full report: https://www.iicsa.org.uk/reports-recommendations/publications/inquiry/final-report.html # Home Office Report (2020) ## Recommendations 1. Improve communication between police and local organisations 2. 134: Funding of local prevention officers and supporting local partners; coordinating local prevention activity across agencies and organisations 3. 135: "We will continue working with policing and industry partners to <span style="color:#ffc000">ensure that staff working across a range of high risk-settings, including hotels, bars and shopping centres, are better placed to identify indicative signs that a child might be at risk of CSE</span> and report it to the relevant authorities. And we will support local agencies to undertake focused engagement with communities to deter potential offenders and encourage bystanders to spot and report exploitation" ## Links * Group-based Child Sexual Exploitation Characteristics of Offending, 2020: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5fd87e348fa8f54d5733f532/Group-based_CSE_Paper.pdf ## Issues with studies #### CEOP (2011) Methods: Data collection from police forces, children's services and specialist providers to look at those involved in 'street grooming' and CSE Findings: 1,200 cases; ethnicity data unknown for 38% of them. Where data was available, 30% of offenders were White and 28% were Asian Issues: Out of 2,300 possible offenders, 1,100 were excluded due to lack of basic information. The sheer amount of missing data, particularly on ethnicity, suggests that these figures should be treated with caution #### [Berelowitz](https://lgfl.net/sites/default/files/LgflNet/downloads/online-safety/LGfL-OS-Research-Archive-2012-Childrens-Commissioner-CSE.pdf) *et al.* (2012) Methods: Collected data from agencies including local authorities, police forces and voluntary sector organisations Findings: 1,500 individuals identified with no data on ethnicity for 21% of them. 545 identified as white, 415 as Asian and 244 as black. Issues: Professionals from various institutions adopted different methods for recording ethnicity and in some cases, didn't at all. Some of the data is based on interviews with children where perpetrators hadn't been arrested, thereby making it *"difficult to be sure whether or not their ethnicity had been correctly identified.*" In the words of the authors: *"Given that only 3% of call for evidence submissions could provide full perpetrator data, and that 68% of submissions did not provide any perpetrator data, the chart below must be viewed with caution as the picture is incomplete."* ### [CEOP](https://www.tiverton-coventry.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/CEOP_TACSEA2013_240613-FINAL.pdf) (2013) Methods: Data requested from all police forces in England and Wales, with responses received from 31. Findings: 306 "Type 1" offenders - who abuse people based on vulnerability, rather than as a result of specific preferential interest in children - identified, 75% of whom were Asian Issues: "Type 2" offenders - who pursue victims based on an exclusive interest in children - were exclusively white. The authors themselves state that *"due to the small sample sizes, more research needs to be done before any firm conclusions can be drawn."* ### [Berelowitz](https://dera.ioe.ac.uk/id/eprint/23810/7/If%20its%20not%20better%20its%20not%20the%20end_web%20copy.pdf) et al. (2015) Methods: Data provided by 19 out of 43 police forces, showing 1,200 offenders involved in group-CSE. Findings: 42% of offenders were White, 17% Black, 14% Asian. No data on ethnicity was recorded in 22% of cases. Issues: Like previous studies, this was conducted at a time when very little was recognised or recorded about CSE offenders. The authors state that *"the data set on which this commentary is based is therefore partial."* ### Quilliam (2017) Methods: "The data in this report has been collated using extensive data mining methods." Findings: Research found 58 cases of 'grooming gangs' from 2005 to 2017 with a total of 264 convictions, 84% of which were from Asian backgrounds. Issues: Absolute trash pseudoscience. Sample size of 22 offenders per year. Inexplicably narrow definition of 'grooming gang' which seems to imply that boys can't be the victims of grooming gangs and excludes offenders who operate anywhere other than the streets. No clarification on where any of the data came from. ### Home Office (2020) * 81. *"While some of the research set out above suggests that there are high numbers of offenders of Asian or Black ethnicities committing group-based CSE offences, it is not possible to say whether these groups are over-represented in this type of offending. As set out in paragraph 75, research to date has relied on poor-quality data with a number of weaknesses. It remains difficult to compare the make-up of the offender population with the local demography of certain areas, in order to make fully informed assessments of whether some groups are over-represented. <span style="color:#ffc000">Based on the existing evidence, and our understanding of the flaws in the existing data, it seems most likely that the ethnicity of group-based CSE offenders is in line with CSA more generally and with the general population, with the majority of offenders being White.</span>"* # Recent data #### CSA Centre UK - [Police recorded](https://www.csacentre.org.uk/app/uploads/2023/09/Child-sexual-abuse-in-2021-22-Trends-in-official-data.pdf) 103,055 CSE offences in 2021/22 - 1/3 including images, 1/3 including sexual assault, 1/3 abuse/grooming/exploitation - White people overrepresented in convictions (89% vs 82% of general population), though "<span style="color:#ffc000">this may be related to the overall under-identification of child sexual abuse in minority ethnic communities</span>" - p. 38 - 6% of Asians are defendants for CSA offences whilst making up 9% of the population; whites are the only ones overrepresented - 6,134 convictions for CSA in 2021 # Chuds ## Tories - Jan 2nd, 2025: [Kemi Badenoch](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cn4xnv02nr0o) calls for national inquiry about the "rape gangs scandal" - An inquiry had already been completed in 2022. Of the 20 recommendations it made, none of them were implemented by the Conservative government. - Labour spokesperson stated the party supported the inquiry and said they were "working at pace" to implement its recommendations - References to the Oldham inquiry which didn't find a council coverup but did find failings among safeguarding services in the area - [Oldham Inquiry](https://www.oldham.gov.uk/info/200386/protecting_children/2868/read_the_independent_review_into_historic_child_sexual_exploitation) was an independent review led by experts outside of the the Council ## Tommy Robinson - 2018-19: [UKIP](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/mar/05/far-right-infiltrating-childrens-charities-with-anti-islam-agenda) and others accused by Prevent of infiltrating child protection charities - [Tommy](https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/nov/22/tommy-robinson-ukip-grooming-gangs-adviser) appointed as Batten's "personal special adviser" on grooming gangs in 2018 - [NAGAH](https://x.com/telford_nagah) (anti-grooming hotline) set up by [Daniel Thomas](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/mar/05/far-right-infiltrating-childrens-charities-with-anti-islam-agenda), an organiser of Tommy's rallies, which solicited donations before registering as a charity; no data protection statements and no information about suitability or vetting of call handlers' - [Risked killing a grooming gang trial](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/tommy-robinson-court-case-facebook-live-video-judge-latest-a8996626.html) by illegally livestreaming himself in front of the court and confronting defendants as they walked in; one defendant appealed his conviction based on Tommy's actions - Huddersfield case, 2019 ## Double standards? - [Guardian article](https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/sep/11/seven-members-paedophile-gang-jailed) about 7 men convicted of 29 CSA offences not described as a grooming gang, but a paedophile ring - Sentenced to 24, 18, 12, 10, 8, 4 and 2 years ## Starmer - [Accused](https://news.sky.com/story/keir-starmer-blames-tories-for-uks-open-borders-as-stats-show-record-high-13262389) Tories of 'open borders' as net migration from 2022-23 reached 906,000 - 4 times higher than pre-Brexit figures in 2019 - "Policies were formed deliberately to liberalise immigration. Brexit was used for that purpose - to turn Britain into a one nation experiment in open borders."