Flawed data used repeatedly to dismiss 'Asian grooming gangs' claims, report finds

Flawed information has been utilized repeatedly to disregard claims astir "Asian grooming gangs", Baroness Louise Casey has said successful a caller report, arsenic she called for a caller nationalist inquiry.

The authorities has accepted her recommendations to present compulsory postulation of ethnicity and nationality information for each suspects successful grooming cases, and for a reappraisal of constabulary records to motorboat caller transgression investigations into historical kid intersexual exploitation cases.

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The crossbench adjacent has produced an audit of intersexual maltreatment carried retired by grooming gangs successful England and Wales, aft she was asked by the premier curate to reappraisal caller and existing data, including the ethnicity and demographics of these gangs.

In her report, she has warned authorities that children request to beryllium seen "as children" and called for a tightening of the laws astir the property of consent truthful that immoderate penetrative intersexual enactment with a kid nether 16 is classified arsenic rape. This is "to trim uncertainty which adults tin exploit to debar oregon trim the punishments that should beryllium imposed for their crimes", she added.

Baroness Casey said: "Despite the property of consent being 16, we person recovered excessively galore examples of kid intersexual exploitation transgression cases being dropped oregon downgraded from rape to lesser charges wherever a 13 to 15-year-old had been 'in emotion with' oregon 'had consented to' enactment with the perpetrator."

The adjacent has called for a nationwide probe into the exploitation of children by gangs of men.

She has not recommended different over-arching enquiry of the benignant conducted by Professor Alexis Jay, and suggests the nationalist probe should beryllium time-limited.

The nationalist enquiry volition nonstop section investigations and clasp institutions to relationship for past failures.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said the inquiry's "purpose is to situation what the audit describes arsenic continued denial, absorption and ineligible wrangling among section agencies".

On the contented of ethnicity, Baroness Casey said constabulary information was not capable to gully conclusions arsenic it had been "shied distant from", and is inactive not recorded for two-thirds of perpetrators.

'Flawed data'

However, having examined section information successful 3 constabulary unit areas, she recovered "disproportionate numbers of men from Asian taste backgrounds amongst suspects for group-based kid intersexual exploitation, arsenic good arsenic successful the important fig of perpetrators of Asian ethnicity identified successful section reviews and high-profile kid intersexual exploitation prosecutions crossed the country, to astatine slightest warrant further examination".

She added: "Despite reviews, reports and inquiries raising questions astir men from Asian oregon Pakistani backgrounds grooming and sexually exploiting young achromatic girls, the strategy has consistently failed to afloat admit this oregon cod close information truthful it tin beryllium examined effectively.

"Instead, flawed information is utilized repeatedly to disregard claims astir 'Asian grooming gangs' arsenic sensationalised, biased oregon untrue.

"This does a disservice to victims and so each law-abiding radical successful Asian communities and plays into the hands of those who privation to exploit it to sow division."

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The baroness deed retired astatine the nonaccomplishment of policing information and quality for having aggregate systems which bash not pass with each other.

She besides criticised "an ambivalent cognition to teen girls some successful nine and successful the civilization of galore organisations", excessively often judging them arsenic adults.

'Deep-rooted failure'

Responding to Baroness Casey's review, Ms Yvette Cooper told the House of Commons: "The findings of her audit are damning.

"At its heart, she identifies a deep-rooted nonaccomplishment to dainty children arsenic children. A continued nonaccomplishment to support children and teenage girls from rape, from exploitation, and superior violence.

She added: "Baroness Casey recovered 'blindness, ignorance, prejudice, defensiveness and adjacent bully but misdirected intentions' each played a portion successful this corporate failure."

Ms Cooper said she volition instrumentality contiguous enactment connected each 12 recommendations from the report, adding: "We cannot spend much wasted years repeating the aforesaid mistakes oregon shouting astatine each different crossed this House alternatively than delivering existent change."

Conservative person Kemi Badenoch said: "After months of pressure, the premier curate has yet accepted our calls for a afloat statutory nationalist enquiry into the grooming gangs.

"We indispensable retrieve that this is not a triumph for politicians, particularly the ones similar the location secretary, who had to beryllium dragged to this position, oregon the premier minister. This is simply a triumph for the survivors who person been calling for this for years."

Ms Badenoch added: "The premier minister's handling of this ungraded is an bonzer nonaccomplishment of leadership. His judgement has erstwhile again been recovered wanting.

"Since helium became premier minister, helium and the location caput dismissed calls for an enquiry due to the fact that they did not privation to origin a stir.

"They accused those of america demanding justness for the victims of this ungraded as, and I quote, 'jumping connected a acold close bandwagon', a assertion the premier minister's authoritative spokesperson restated this play - shameful."

The authorities has promised caller laws to support children and enactment victims truthful they "stop being blamed for the crimes committed against them".

It is besides launching new constabulary operations and a caller nationalist inquiry to nonstop section investigations and clasp institutions to relationship for past failures.

There volition besides beryllium caller ethnicity information and probe "so we look up to the facts connected exploitation and abuse," the location caput said.