NCA says grooming gang circumstances could also be dismissed because of human error

The preliminary part of a complete evaluation has discovered that legal circumstances involving alleged magnificence rings could also be dropped because of human error.

Operation Beaconport – a National Crime Agency venture tasked with exposing failings in tackling grooming gangs – is about to have a look at 1000’s of circumstances the place police forces and the Crown Prosecution Service have determined to take no additional motion in opposition to suspects.

Police say there have been circumstances the place investigations weren’t carried out correctly, particulars of victims weren’t taken and suspects weren’t interrogated as they need to have been.

Investigations that have been wrongly closed with none additional motion have already been recognized.

Nigel Leary, deputy director of the National Crime Agency, mentioned, “Initial reviews have shown that in some cases where a decision has been taken to take no further action, there were available avenues of investigation which could have been acted upon.”

“We have seen in cases what appears to potentially be human error.

“We have seen in some cases where those investigations have not followed what we would characterize as appropriate investigative practice, in fact a decision may be taken to take no further action,” Mr Leary said.

The issue of grooming gangs has come into the spotlight in recent months – with a national inquiry into the issue in England and Wales thrown into turmoil due to disagreements Before it had even started.

Operation Beaconport is a national policing operation led by the NCA and was set up earlier this year to eliminate inconsistencies in the way police forces handle cases. It is reviewing cases between January 2010 and March 2025.

It is not clear how much the operation will cost or how long it will take.

So far, 1,273 cases related to allegations of group-based child sexual abuse and exploitation identified by 23 police forces have been referred to the investigation team.

Of these, 236 relate to rape allegations, which Operation Beaconport is reviewing as a priority.

The NCA expects thousands of police officers to be involved in the operation, with Mr Leary claiming it will be “the most comprehensive investigation of its type in UK history”.

Responding to the review's initial findings, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said: “The grooming gang scandal was one of the darkest moments in this country's history.

“This government launched this national policing campaign to track down the evil child rapists who commit these crimes and put them behind bars where they belong.”

As part of the review, the ethnicity of the suspects and victims will be recorded. Officials acknowledged finding gaps in existing data that they are trying to fill. They will also aim to identify dangerous suspects and anyone at risk of fleeing the country.

The NCA says better data sharing between multi-agency teams and more coordinated efforts to track and disrupt criminals will also be developed to help tackle these crimes more effectively.

It is not clear how much the operation will cost or how long it will take.

The investigation into grooming gangs and other non-familial sexual abuse in Rotherham between 1997 and 2013 cost £89m over 11 years.

final month, Metropolitan Police introduced It was reviewing 9,000 circumstances of kid sexual abuse.

It is likely that some of these cases will be investigated by Operation Beaconport, which is looking at cases involving two or more suspects. It will also focus on allegations where there have been multiple victims, the suspects are still alive, and the case has not already been independently reviewed.

The review will run alongside the national public inquiry announced by the Government earlier this year.

Richard Fewkes, of the National Police Chiefs' Council, said some victims would also like to feel heard.

“Justice means different things to different victims and survivors, and no victim and survivor are the same.

“For some individuals, justice is simply being trusted, maybe for the primary time, by an authority determine,” he said.

Last month, a watchdog said that although police forces have made significant progress in tracking child grooming gangs and child exploitation, “Significant challenges” remained.

Inconsistent definitions, data accuracy issues and poor national coordination risk undermining efforts to protect vulnerable children, Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services said in a progress report.

It found that only 37% of child abuse cases were accurately flagged on police systems, with opportunities to protect children still being missed.

A Home Office spokeswoman said the inspectorate's report showed that “vital progress” had been made, but acknowledged that “far more stays to be completed”.

Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philip said the Home Office's failure to adopt a definition of group-based child sexual abuse was keeping the “system blind to patterns of abuse”.