Grooming gangs

Monday

Hardeep Singh

Victims of grooming gangs have been failed again

The Home Office’s report into the characteristics of group-based child sexual exploitation was keenly awaited by victims of grooming gangs. Sadly, for many of these people, it has left them disappointed.  When Sajid Javid commissioned the review he promised there would be ‘no no-go areas of inquiry’. His successor as Home Secretary, Priti Patel, says in the report itself that ‘victims and survivors of these abhorrent crimes have told me how they were let down by the state in the name of political correctness. What happened to these children remains one of the biggest stains on our country’s conscience.’  But victims I’ve spoken to suggest political correctness remains an issue. The report, they say, obfuscates

Tuesday

Patrick O’Flynn

The Home Office’s grooming report is an exercise in obfuscation

That the Home Office compiled a report on the political hot potato of child grooming gangs and then actually published it represents progress of a sort. Were you especially charitably disposed towards the department, you could call to mind Dr Johnson talking about the feat of a dog walking on its hind legs: ‘It is not done well, but you are surprised to find it done at all.’ So credit is due to Home Secretary Priti Patel for doggedly battling to ensure that ‘Group-based Child Sexual Exploitation – Characteristics of Offending’ ever saw the light of day. But when it comes to expecting her civil servants to answer the question

Tuesday

Hardeep Singh

Why the Home Office should publish its grooming gang research

When Sajid Javid, as Home Secretary, launched a review into the characteristics of ‘Asian’ grooming gangs in 2018 and boldly declared there would be ‘no no-go areas of inquiry’, many hoped that we’d finally begin to understand this national scandal. We would find out why men involved in street-based sex grooming gangs are so wicked, and why they often seem to target vulnerable white working-class girls. Is it racially or religiously motivated crime, as indicated by some judges – and increasingly highlighted by victims themselves? Or are there other associated factors, such as the night-time economy? Of course – as journalists who write about this emotive and difficult subject well