Girls ‘Left at the Mercy’ of Asian Grooming Gangs in Rochdale by Police and Council Failures: Report

Underage girls were failed by senior police officers and council chiefs and were “left at the mercy” of Asian grooming gangs in Rochdale, a report has concluded. Between 2004 and 2013 Greater Manchester Police (GMP) and the local council in Rochdale missed or ignored a number of opportunities to identify a gang that was abusing teenage girls, most of whom were from poor white families, said the report. Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, who commissioned the 173-page report, said it was “hard to read.” But he added: “That said, it fulfils the purpose of why I set up this review in the first place. It is only by facing up fully and unflinchingly to what happened that we can be sure of bringing the whole system culture change needed when it comes to protecting children from abuse.”...