Police must prioritise children's issues if trust is to be restored

A year ago, Greater Manchester Police admitted it had failed abuse victims in Rochdale when the serious case review found a catalogue of failings. It used detectives without training in child sexual exploitation to interview potential victims, and it operated on a lack of resources and managerial oversight. It was strongly suggested that these failings had allowed sex-grooming gangs to thrive in Rochdale. In addition, there was recognition that there may have been discriminatory attitudes among police officers towards the victims.

An independent report last month by Labour MP and ex-social worker Ann Coffey warned that the sexual exploitation of vulnerable children has become the social norm in some parts of Manchester. It said the systematic grooming of boys and girls remains a "real and ongoing problem". During the review, Coffey found many of those bodies put in place to protect children and young people, such as police, social workers, prosecutors and juries, often have ingrained, subconscious prejudice against vulnerable teenagers. This would explain why there have been only 1,000 convictions out of 13,000 reported cases of major sexual offences against under-16s in the past six years in Greater Manchester.