Grooming gang investigations were dropped over ‘human error’

A massive review of cases involving alleged sexual abuse gangs has found that potential human error led to some investigations being dropped.

Thousands of cases are set to be reviewed as part of Operation Beaconport, a national project to unearth failures to tackle grooming gangs.

So far 1,273 files from 23 police forces have been referred to the National Crime Agency-led review, of which 236 are being examined as a priority because they involve allegations of rape.

Now, NCA deputy director Nigel Leary said initial reviews suggest there were mistakes in some of the investigations.

‘Initial reviews have identified that in some cases where there has been a decision to take no further action (NFA), there were available lines of inquiry that could have been pursued,’ he explained.

‘We’ve seen in those cases what appears to be potentially human error. We’ve seen in some cases that those investigations haven’t followed what we would characterise as proper investigative practice; actually, that would have contributed to the NFA decision.’

These include some lines of inquiry not being followed, victim accounts not being taken in ‘best practice’, and suspects not being pursued in ‘anticipated ways’.

The Operation is currently reviewing cases between January 1, 2010 and March 31, 2025, with thousands expected to come under scrutiny.

Mr Leary added: ‘This is going to be a phenomenally large undertaking. It will be the most comprehensive investigation of its type in UK history.

‘We estimate that over the life cycle of the operation, it will involve thousands of officers from across policing.’

Officials are recording the ethnicity of suspects and victims as part of the review, and have found gaps in the existing data that they are trying to fill.

As they examine cases, they aim to flag any dangerous suspects and any that are at risk of fleeing the country.

Investigators have pledged to be ‘honest and transparent’ with victims from the start, to avoid giving them unrealistic expectations.

Richard Fewkes, from the National Police Chiefs’ Council, said while going after perpetrators is important, some victims will just want to feel listened to.

‘Justice means different things for different victims and survivors, and no one victim and survivor is the same. For some, justice is just being believed, perhaps for the first time, by someone in authority, being listened to,’ he said.

‘Or it might even be understanding that the review has taken place, a reinvestigation has taken place in an appropriate, focused, robust way, but nothing more can be done. For some, that is justice in their mind.’

Last month, the Metropolitan Police announced that they are reviewing 9,000 cases of child sexual exploitation.

It is expected that some of these will be referred to Operation Beaconport, which is looking at cases involving two or more suspects, more than one victim, contact offences, where the suspects are still alive, and that has not already been independently reviewed.

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