Tackling of grooming - but our police force

GREATER Manchester Police has made 'significant improvements' in its efforts to tackle grooming gangs, but still faces issues in fighting 'devastating' child sexual exploitation.

- BY JOSEPH TIMAN, ETHAN DAVIES

The fourth and final reports into how authorities have dealt with child sexual exploitation (CSE) in Greater Manchester were released on Thursday.

As previously reported, GMP has dozens of live investigations into suspected CSE cases involving hundreds of victims and suspects.

Inspectors provided an update on those numbers - saying the force has active investigations into 'multi-victim, multi-offender' CSE inquiries involving 714 victims and survivors, and 1,099 suspects.

Chief Constable Sir Stephen Watson and other senior officers ensure everybody understands CSE is a priority, the reports said, with the top cop and his deputies speaking to every supervisor on the issue.

"Officers told us that, due to a cultural shift in Greater Manchester Police, investigating child sexual exploitation is now considered 'everyone's business," it was said.

Originally commissioned by mayor Andy Burnham in 2017, previous reviews examined how child abuse perpetrators initially got away with their crimes in Manchester, Oldham, and Rochdale.

The final reports, from His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) and Ofsted, assessed how well GMP, health bodies and councils approach investigating CSE.

Broadly, local authorities have been praised for their response to identifying, tacking and preventing child sexual exploitation. But the quality of the response varies across Greater Manchester, with Tameside picked out for criticism in particular.

At GMP, improvements have been identified, as well as further opportunities for progress. The force was praised for treating grooming like 'serious and organised crime' and employing similar tactics used to smash gangs, such as effective data analysis.