Eight sex crimes carried out against children in South Yorkshire every day, new figures show

The statistics have been published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) this month, and show that between April 1, 2022 and March 31, 2023, a total of 3,105 offences 'flagged as child sexual abuse' were recorded by South Yorkshire Police. This equates to the equivalent of eight such crimes being carried out in the county every day, or 56 every week.

According to ONS guidance, child sexual abuse (CSA) is defined as: 'forcing or enticing a child or young person to take part in sexual activities, not necessarily involving a high level of violence, whether or not the child is aware of what is happening'.

During the same period, a total of 396 offences flagged as child sexual exploitation (CSE) were recorded by South Yorkshire Police, which is the equivalent of around one such crime taking place in the county every day.

CSE is defined as 'a form of child sexual abuse, the ONS guidance states. The guidance continues: 'It occurs where an individual or group takes advantage of an imbalance of power to coerce, manipulate or deceive a child or young person under the age of 18 into sexual activity (a) in exchange for something the victim needs or wants, and/or (b) for the financial advantage or increased status of the perpetrator or facilitator. The victim may have been sexually exploited even if the sexual activity appears consensual. Child sexual exploitation does not always involve physical contact; it can also occur through the use of technology'.

Detective Chief Inspector Gary Magnay, South Yorkshire Police's force lead for child sexual exploitation, said 'tackling CSA and CSE and bringing offenders to justice is a priority for South Yorkshire Police (SYP)'.

The force's handling of CSE and CSA has previously come under fire, following the Rotherham grooming gangs scandal which became national news following the publication of the explosive report from Professor Alexis Jay OBE in 2014, which concluded that failures by police and politicians contributed to the sexual exploitation of around 1,400 children in Rotherham by groups of men in the town, predominately of Pakistani-heritage.

Another report from the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) published last year (2022), found SYP reponsible for 'significant failures' during the period covered by the Jay report, and concluded that the police force was 'not ready at that time to deal with the nature and scale of the problem in Rotherham'.

In 2014, the National Crime Agency (NCA) was formally asked by the then Chief Constable of South Yorkshire Police to lead an independent investigation into non-familial CSE carried out in Rotherham between 1997 and 2013.

The NCA set up Operation Stovewood in response, which is the single largest law enforcement investigation into non-familial child sexual exploitation and abuse in the UK. To date, the NCA investigation has resulted in 20 people being convicted. It has also recorded 1,367 crimes, arrested 209 individuals and nominated 1,080 survivors.

DCI Magnay added: "Our approach to safeguarding children and investigating reports of CSE has evolved since the Jay Report was published in 2014. We now operate with a deep understanding of this crime-type, with specialised teams leading CSE-related investigations and working with partner agencies to support and safeguard victims and survivors.

"The 2022 Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) found that along with local partners, we are working effectively to keep children safe with many areas of best practice. South Yorkshire Police is one of the forces taking part in a national thematic group based review into CSE, which will look to identify and develop gold standard investigation practices for all forces across the country to adapt.

"In addition, as recognised in the latest HMICFRS report, we are ‘good’ at recording crime data and ‘outstanding’ at protecting vulnerable people and preventing crime, meaning more people feel empowered to come forward to report crime to us, which is really encouraging.

"Where harm does occur, we work compassionately and with utmost professionalism to stop that harm, to seek justice and to ensure those affected are properly safeguarded. We have dedicated multi-agency teams across all four of our districts to ensure we offer victims the correct support throughout an investigation, and we have dedicated child abuse investigation teams who work hard with partner agencies to provide a consistent and unified response to tackling these crimes.

“Our latest campaign, produced with the help of Rotherham CSE survivors, encourages people to look past any misconceptions and report any concerns about child exploitation to us. All reports will be listened to, they will be taken seriously, and that support and care is available.

"Anyone with concerns about child sexual exploitation or abuse should contact the police on 101 or the national helpline Say Something on 116 000. Always call 999 in an emergency.

"You can also report child sexual exploitation online through the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre, and more information can be found on our website: http://www.southyorks.police.uk/help-and-advice/child-sexual-exploitation."

The figures form part of what is defined as 'experimental data,' which means they are based on an 'emerging collection,' and the way in which the data has been submitted means it is not possible to compare the figures with those recorded in previous years.