Weir report (2001) Rotherham child sexual exploitation scandal

1 weir report (2001)

1.1 home office pilot study
1.2 mapping exercise
1.3 home office report
1.4 files removed

weir report (2001)
home office pilot study

in 2000 adele weir (later gladman), yorkshire solicitor, hired rotherham council research , development officer on home office crime reduction programme pilot study, tackling prostitution: works . section of study devoted young people , prostitution , , 3 towns—bristol, sheffield , rotherham—were highlighted in section. weir employed write report on rotherham. part of project s aim was: collection of information , evidence men allegedly involved in coercing young women prostitution might possible police pursue investigations and/or prosecutions.

researchers @ university of bedfordshire, including social scientist margaret melrose, involved home office evaluators. weir s line manager manager of risky business, , placed in risky business offices in rotherham s international centre, worked jayne senior. according weir, encountered poor professional practice stage council , police; child protection issues were, in view, disregarded, dismissed or minimized .

mapping exercise

in response complaint police evidence of child abuse in rotherham anecdotal, weir compiled 10-page mapping exercise in 2001 showing appeared local abuse network. in evidence home affairs committee in 2014, wrote had found small number of suspected abusers known significant services in rotherham. using material obtained risky business, , health services, social services, police records, homelessness project, , substance-misuse services, weir s report included names of suspects, registration numbers of cars used transport girls, suspects links local businesses , people outside area, , relationships between suspects , girls. suspects included members of hussain family, thought among network s ringleaders, jailed in 2016. weir estimated @ point there 270 victims.

home office report

weir s report home office evaluators linked 54 abused children hussain family, of october 2001. eighteen children had named 1 of men, arshid hussain (then around 25), boyfriend , , several had become pregnant. 1 of 18 girls—14 years old @ time—got pregnant twice. in 2014 told panorama social workers had expressed concern hussain being around baby because of history of violence, had not, according victim, expressed same concern her; told panorama maintained relationship him consensual. (in february 2016 arshid hussain convicted of multiple rapes , jailed 35 years.)

the weir report continued members of family alleged responsible of violent crime , drug dealing in town . used untraceable mobile phones, report said, had access expensive cars, linked taxi firm, , may have been involved in bed-and-breakfast hotels used social services emergency accommodation. several girls sent hotels had complained of being offered money, arrived, if have sex several men. other girls targeted @ train , bus stations.

weir handed report south yorkshire police inspector; feedback was unhelpful . according jay report, 1 incident was, weir, final straw . victim decided file complaint police. perpetrators had smashed parents windows , broken brothers legs stop reporting rapes. weir took police station, while there victim received text perpetrator had 11-year-old sister him, , choice . led victim believe had told perpetrator @ police station, , decided not proceed complaint. following this, consent of manager, weir wrote in october 2001 mike hedges, chief constable of south yorkshire police, , christine burbeary, district commander. letter said:

i have been visiting agencies, encouraging them relay information police. responses have been identical—they have ceased passing on information perceive waste of time. parents have ceased make missing person reports, precursor child abduction investigation, police response inappropriate. ... children being left @ risk , abusers unapprehended.

the letter not received council or police. during meeting @ rotherham police station senior police , council officials, seemed incensed weir had written chief constable. jayne senior, present, said weir subjected tirade lasted don t know how long . according weir, @ point after official warned against mentioning asian men:

she said must never refer again. must never refer asian men. , other response book me on two-day ethnicity , diversity course raise awareness of ethnic issues.

files removed

rotherham town centre, september 2016

at request, weir sent data home office evaluators in bedfordshire in april 2002. weir did apparently upset risky business manager. on or around monday, 18 april 2002, when arrived @ work, weir discovered on weekend home office pilot data had been removed filing cabinets in risky business office.

weir said password-protected office computer had been accessed. according weir s evidence home affairs committee, documents had been deleted, , had created, on computer, minutes of meetings weir had purportedly attended, showed agreeing conditions, such not submitting data home office evaluators without line manager s consent. weir told committee had not agreed conditions or attended such meeting; 1 of meetings had taken place while on holiday overseas.

weir told social services, police , education staff had met on weekend, , had decided risky business staff exceeding [their] roles . weir suspended having included in report data confidential minutes, act of gross misconduct ; managed negotiate return work demonstrating manager had passed minutes home office evaluators. told no longer have access risky business data, meetings, or girls, , in june 2002 asked amend report anonymise individuals , institutions , include facts , evidence able substantiate . jay report found secrecy surrounding report , treatment of weir troubling : if senior people concerned had paid more attention content of report, more might have been done children being violently exploited , abused.

rotherham grooming scandal , panorama, bbc, 1 september 2014, 00:10:15.

tom brooks-pollock (2 september 2014). rotherham researcher sent on diversity course after raising alarm , daily telegraph.

^ weir 2002, 6.
^ bethan bell, rotherham abuse: hussain brothers infamous , bbc news, 24 february 2016.
^ rotherham grooming scandal , panorama, bbc, 1 september 2014, 00:06:27.
^ hussain brothers jailed in rotherham abuse case , bbc news, 26 february 2016.
^ weir 2002.
^ senior 2016, 102.
^ jay 2014, 85.
^ jay 2014, 86.
^ weir 2001.
^ senior 2016, 103.
^ senior 2016, 105–108.
^ timeline: how rotherham grooming scandal unfolded—and how tried ignore . yorkshire post. 16 september 2014. 
^ senior 2016, 106.
^ weir 2014, ¶ 14.
^ weir 2014, ¶ 15.
^ home affairs committee (c) 2014, 5–6.
^ senior 2016, 109–116.
^ cite error: named reference bbc29660345 invoked never defined (see page).
^ andrew norfolk (9 january 2013). mps seek hidden files on rotherham sex-grooming . times. 
^ andrew norfolk , billy kenber (29 august 2014). rotherham seized files in grooming cover , times.
^ martin williams (1 september 2014). home office worker investigating rotherham child abuse had data stolen . guardian. 
^ nicky harley (29 august 2014). scandal hit rotherham deleted abuse files . daily telegraph. 
^ weir 2014, ¶ 16.
^ weir 2014, ¶ 26–27.
^ jay 2014, 87.
^ see interview hilary willmer , (parents against child sexual exploitation), channel 4 news, 1 september 2014.

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