The scourge of grooming gangs demands real solutions, not just punchy rhetoric

Apr 4, 2023 by Jill

by Rakib Ehsan, CapX:

There’s little doubt that the authorities in this country have repeatedly bungled investigations into child sexual abuse. So today’s announcement from the Prime Minister and Home Secretary of a new package of measures to deal with this national outrage are more than welcome – even if many will wish the Government had done more, sooner.

Under the new proposals specialist officers will help police forces with investigations, and a new taskforce will provide ‘crucial support’ on investigations. The PM has also pledged that being the ringleader of a grooming gang will be seen as an aggravating factor when it comes to sentencing, meaning the most prominent offenders will face longer jail terms.

There’s little doubt about the scale of the problem. The horrifying scandals in Rotherham, Rochdale and Telford are now all too well known to the public. Last October the final report from the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) described the scale of abuse in this country as ‘horrific and deeply disturbing’. The same report that recommended that failing to report such abuse be made a criminal offence, a suggestion the Government has now put out to consultation.

Much of the media discourse, however, has focused on whether or not political correctness is to blame for failing to prosecute abusers. Rishi Sunak said today that ‘political correctness has stopped us from weeding out vile criminals’, while Suella Braverman pointed to a particular problem among men of Pakistani heritage. Providing data on the ethnicity of offenders is part of the package announced today, aimed at ensuring abusers cannot ‘hide behind cultural sensitivities’.

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