Rotherham; the perfect political storm.

An independent inquiry into child sexual exploitation set up in 2013 by Rotherham Council was published on August 26^th. Its findings have placed a spotlight on the South Yorkshire town the likes of which has never been seen before.   The inquiry found that an estimated 1200 children had been sexually exploited between 1997 and 2013.

Although systematic grooming and abuse by predominantly Pakistani men had been reported to the authorities, the terrible crimes had gone unpunished for two decades. The fact that the men accused of trafficking, kidnapping and rape were of Pakistani origin was largely covered up by social services and the police for fear of accelerating racial hatred in the area.

Members of the Pakistani community condemned both the crimes and the cover up.

South Yorkshire police commissioner Sean Wright has refused to step down from his £85,000 a year job despite being head of children’s services during much of the period when the attacks took place, before being elected in 2012. His deputy, Tracey Cheetham resigned this week, saying she could no longer support him (wright) nor could she continue to be his deputy and called on him to also resign. There is no suggestion that Ms Cheetham had any connection to the appalling scandal but feelings are running so high in the town that a local council meeting was interrupted by locals, furious that the grooming and abuse had continued despite appeals for the local police to act.

Deputy leader of Rotherham council released a statement apologising for the council’s failings, but Mr Wright still refuses to stand down although he has now quit the Labour party.

This not only highlighted the abuse in Rotherham but the ridiculous idea that the man charged with holding the police force to account cannot be held to account.   

A document published in 2012 by the home office called Have you got what it takes to be police and crime commissioner states “as PCC you will have a responsibility to hold the police to account on behalf of the public” it goes on to say “you will provide the link between the police and communities”. It also lists other responsibilities as delivering safety and reducing crime.

It is quite clear that not only is Mr Wright not fit to continue in the post but that he should never have been given the role in the first place.

The position of PCC was widely criticised when it was introduced and voting was remarkably low in the elections. Surely now it is time that all PCC’s were removed. Whoever is in charge of the police force must be able to be held accountable.

Many of the victims in Rotherham were vulnerable children in care; children that were already on the books of social services. As head of children’s services it is implausible to believe Wright knew nothing of the abuse happening on his watch. This means he was either incredibly incompetent or implicit in turning a blind eye – either way a vote of no confidence must passed on him and he should be removed and banned from holding public office again.

Rotherham in recent years has been the scene of many demonstrations from groups such as the English defence league and UKIP. The lack of action by Rotherham council for fear of upsetting the Asian communities has done nothing to help that situation but has helped right wing parties like UKIP gain a foothold in the once labour dominated area.

In the local elections in May UKIP won 10 of the 21 seats in Rotherham, and 3 seats in neighbouring Sheffield.  While many will feel this was a protest vote aimed at the main parties and particularly Labours refusal to offer a referendum on Europe.  What it actual does is paves the way for more extreme right wing parties like the BNP to target the area.

Failing to investigate crimes because they may have been committed by Pakistani men is irresponsible and dangerous. Local councils and police authorities must send out a clear message that these sorts of crimes will not be tolerated by people of any gender, age or ethnicity and anybody or group of people found guilty of these crimes must be punished to the fullest. Boys, girls, women and men have the right to feel safe and be protected by the police and the government.

Mr Wright was forced to cancel a public surgery in Barnsley today due to no members of the public booking an appointment. This sends a blunt message to the commissioner who still hangs on despite calls from the prime minister, the home secretary and leader of the labour party Ed Miliband for him to fall on his sword. Let us hope that today’s message that he is no longer wanted gives him the courage to finally do the right thing and go.