600 victims, 1 prosecution – ‘Dismal failure’ of Rotherham council over child grooming
Published on Wednesday 9 January 2013 06:00
THE bosses of a Yorkshire council have been forced to apologise after being savaged by MPs for their “dismal failure” dealing with the sexual exploitation of hundreds of young girls over the past decade.
Members of Parliament’s Home Affairs Committee yesterday launched a series of attacks on senior executives at Rotherham Council for the authority’s failure to better protect children across the borough from grooming gangs, and for the lack of prosecutions of the “horrifying characters” responsible.
A series of reports over recent years have revealed Rotherham to have deep problems of child exploitation – but only a single successful prosecution has been achieved during the past 10 years.
Speaking before the committee met yesterday, Rotherham Council chief executive Martin Kimber apologised for the “systemic failures” that have let down vulnerable children over the past decade. Read on…..
Martin Kimber apologised for the “systemic failures” that have let down vulnerable children over the past decade. I don’t think that is ever a consequence generally of individual failure – it’s nearly always systemic failure.” quoth he…
This is disingenuous at best – what he is saying is “no one” is to blame, no-one failed, we are all going to keep our hugely paid jobs. It begs the question that, if the system failed, who then set up the “system”? is it not a well learned principle of organisational accountability that those at the top are responsible, at the end of the day? This is why they are paid the huge salaries they get and which they no doubt think they deserve. I think, in the light of the scale of the problem Kimber anfd Thacker have no choice but to resign. Mrs Thacker said she was “delighted” if other authorities are succeeding in prosecuting child sex offenders – why is she delighted? Surely this shows up the failure in Rotherham all the more? 600 victims in a decade is more than 1 young person a week – and this is with the situation improving supposedly over the last few years. What was it like before these “improvements”!!!?
I completely agree but if the officials and councils won’t hold each other accountable, and the people of Rotherham just keep voting them back into office, I see no prospect of things getting better. Until poor performance starts to have consequences for earnings/allowances or at the ballot box, nothing will change.
Hi Gillian – yes I agree with you. I did try to offer a moderate alternative to Labour in the by election but very few listened and the media didn’t help by blanking out any alternative voice to the elite except UKIP and Respect. It seems we are led by a cosy elite who keep each other in power, the money rolling in and the masses comatose. Even if this issue had come up before the by election Sarah Champion might have still won – the leaders we get are the ones we deserve? Oh despair….