We have failed to learn vital lessons from Rotherham

It feels horribly familiar. More than ten years after The Times first investigated the targeted abuse of girls by organised groups of men, to realise that child protection authorities are still making similar mistakes is deeply worrying.

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Back in 2010 multi-agency working on child sexual exploitation (CSE) was in its infancy but everything was supposed to have changed. It is disturbing to learn from a 2019 South Yorkshire police intelligence report that important information from schools and sexual health clinics was still “not readily available for the police”.

A decade ago a leaked police intelligence report revealed that in 2010 only three officers across the entire South Yorkshire force had responsibility for CSE. One was part-time and the other two had “additional portfolios that take up at least half their time”.

Fast forward to 2019 and it was felt that fewer CSE cases were being identified than a year earlier because of “competing demands” to investigate other crimes.