Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme the South Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner, Dr Alan Billings, admitted nothing was done about the “very entrenched” child sex exploitation in his region following the first warnings over 10 years ago because the girls were then seen as child prostitutes not victims. ... abusers were able to carry on with “impunity” across South Yorkshire and particularly in Sheffield and Rotherham. Dr Heal said she was once told by a senior officer that “it was awful but burglary and car crime were policing priorities set by the government.”
