Up to 42 police officers are being investigated over their handling of historic child sexual exploitation cases in Rotherham.
The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) says it has received 30 new complaints containing more than 100 allegations about officers involved in the investigation, the Daily Mail reports.
The commission said in a statement: “The complaints contain more than 100 allegations against 42 named police officers, both retired and serving, as well as a number of allegations against officers whose identities are currently unknown.”
Allegations include “neglect of duty by failing to adequately investigate on the basis of intelligence or to deal with incidents appropriately, inappropriate comments and suggestions of corrupt relationships between police officers and offenders.”
The commission is also investigating an allegation that South Yorkshire Police failed to act on information about child abuse in neighbouring Sheffield.
The complaints follow on from the Jay Report, which revealed how 1,400 children in Rotherham were raped, groomed and trafficked between 1997 and 2013, mainly by Muslim men.
It sparked a debate as to how this was allowed to go unchallenged for so long, with some fearing that multicultural sensitivity meant the police were too scared to act.
Police and authorities were also accused of ignoring or doubting the accounts of victims on multiple occasions.
South Yorkshire Police, the local police force, faced further criticism following more revelations about the scale of abuse in Sheffield. South Yorkshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner, Alan Billings, called last month for a comprehensive investigation of the police force.
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