Latest news with #SYP
Sky News
15 hours ago
- Sky News
Rotherham survivors have 'no faith' in police force investigating allegations its officers took part in abuse
Several women who survived sexual exploitation in Rotherham have said they have "no faith" in a police force investigating allegations its own officers took part in abuse in the town. The police watchdog has said there is no conflict of interest in South Yorkshire Police (SYP) investigating its own staff after victims of the Rotherham abuse scandal said they were abused by serving officers. Five women told the BBC how they were exploited by grooming gangs in the town when they were children and also sexually abused by officers. According to the broadcaster, one girl was raped from the age of 12 in a marked police car and the officer threatened to hand her back to the groomers if she did not do as he said. SYP is investigating the allegations under the direction of the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC). Three former officers who worked for the force have been arrested so far. In a statement, the law firm Switalskis, which represents survivors of abuse in Rotherham, said it hoped alleged abuse by officers would have been unearthed following Operation Linden - a long-running IOPC investigation into how police responded to child sexual abuse in Rotherham between 1997 and 2013. It said: "That never came. For years SYP resisted our requests for an investigation into the alleged criminality of police officers, despite us providing them with the accounts of survivors. "Those that have suffered abuse in Rotherham have no faith that SYP will do a thorough job of investigating alleged abuse by their own officers. "In addition, dealing with SYP is retraumatising for them. Many of our clients refuse to report offences to SYP because they do not think they will be believed and because they were treated so badly in the past. "This investigation must be handed over to an independent police force to ensure that survivors feel confident enough to come forward. "The accounts we have heard, which we expect are only a fraction of the full scale of abuse, are utterly harrowing." SYP Assistant Chief Constable Hayley Barnett said a dedicated team of officers was working on the continuing inquiries. She said: "We know how hard it must be for a victim or survivor who has been so badly let down in the past, to put their faith into the South Yorkshire Police of today. "We honour that trust with the utmost respect and care. "Victims and survivors have been and continue to be at the heart of this investigation and all of our actions continue to be made in their best interests." She said the force was also working with Operation Stovewood, the National Crime Agency's investigation into child sexual exploitation in Rotherham between 1997 and 2013, to "help us ensure we leave no stone unturned". Operation Linden concluded in 2022 that SYP fundamentally failed in its duty to protect vulnerable children and young people during the period under investigation.
The Independent
a day ago
- The Independent
Rotherham survivors say they were also abused by police officers
Survivors of sexual exploitation in Rotherham have 'no faith' in the police force investigating allegations its own officers took part in abuse in the town, according to solicitors. The police watchdog has said there is no conflict of interest surrounding South Yorkshire Police (SYP) investigating its own staff after victims of the Rotherham abuse scandal said they were abused by serving officers. Five women have told the BBC how they were exploited by grooming gangs in the town when they were children and also sexually abused by officers. According to a special report by the BBC, one girl was raped from the age of 12 in a marked police car and the officer threatened to hand her back to the groomers if she did not do as he said. SYP is carrying out inquiries into these allegations under the direction of the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC). So far, three former officers who worked for the force have been arrested. The law firm Switalskis, which represents survivors of abuse in Rotherham, said it had hoped that alleged abuse by officers would have been unearthed following Operation Linden – a long-running, IOPC investigation into how police responded to child sexual abuse in Rotherham between 1997 and 2013. The firm said in a statement: 'That never came. For years SYP resisted our requests for an investigation into the alleged criminality of police officers, despite us providing them with the accounts of survivors. 'Those that have suffered abuse in Rotherham have no faith that SYP will do a thorough job of investigating alleged abuse by their own officers. 'In addition, dealing with SYP is retraumatising for them. Many of our clients refuse to report offences to SYP because they do not think they will be believed and because they were treated so badly in the past. 'This investigation must be handed over to an independent police force to ensure that survivors feel confident enough to come forward. 'The accounts we have heard, which we expect are only a fraction of the full scale of abuse, are utterly harrowing.' According to the BBC report, Prof Alexis Jay who led an independent report into sexual abuse in Rotherham, was 'shocked' that SYP was investigating its former officers and felt that another organisation should be leading. An IOPC spokesman said: 'We first became aware of complaints from victim-survivors relating to child sexual abuse allegations involving former SYP officers when we received a referral from SYP in October 2024 and instructed the force to carry out an investigation under our direction and control. 'This means that the IOPC is responsible for the investigation and all of the key decisions. 'Since the investigation began, three former SYP officers have been arrested.' He added: 'We have been in contact with solicitors representing some of the victim-survivors regarding further reports of offending to ensure that any new complaints are investigated. The investigation has since widened to involve complaints from six women. 'We want victim-survivors to feel confident that all complaints will be treated extremely seriously and sensitively. We encourage any victim-survivors or any witnesses to come forward if they have not already done so.' The spokesman said: 'We were assured by the force that none of the investigating officers had either worked with any of the former officers under investigation or were themselves investigated as part of Op Linden. 'We are satisfied that there is no conflict of interest but, as a matter of course, we keep these matters regularly under review during directed investigations.' SYP Assistant Chief Constable Hayley Barnett said a dedicated team of officers was working on the continuing inquiries. She said: 'We know how hard it must be for a victim or survivor who has been so badly let down in the past, to put their faith into the South Yorkshire Police of today. 'We honour that trust with the utmost respect and care. 'Victims and survivors have been and continue to be at the heart of this investigation and all of our actions continue to be made in their best interests.' Ms Barnett said that the force is also working with Operation Stovewood – the National Crime Agency's huge investigation into child sexual exploitation in Rotherham between 1997 and 2013. She said this was to 'help us ensure we leave no stone unturned'. In 2022, Operation Linden concluded that SYP fundamentally failed in its duty to protect vulnerable children and young people during the period under investigation. Operation Stovewood has identified more than 1,100 children involved in the exploitation in Rotherham.
BBC News
2 days ago
- BBC News
Police officers ‘also abused' Rotherham grooming gang victims
Warning: This story contains descriptions of sexual violence Five women, who as children were exploited by grooming gangs in Rotherham, say police officers in the town also sexually abused them at the says she was raped from the age of 12 by a serving South Yorkshire Police (SYP) officer in a marked police car. He would threaten to hand her back to the gang if she did not comply, she says."In a world where you were being abused so much, being raped once [each time] was a lot easier than multiple rapes and I think he knew that," she tells the have seen written accounts from these women, plus testimony from 25 other victims of grooming gangs, with some of them saying that corrupt police officers worked alongside the gangs or failed to act on child sexual exploitation. At least 1,400 girls in Rotherham were abused by gangs of men, identified by victims as being of mainly Pakistani heritage, between 1997 and 2013 - the landmark Jay Report concluded in 2014.A new criminal investigation into the involvement of police officers in the Rotherham grooming scandal is now being led by SYP's major crime unit, under the direction of the police watchdog. Prof Alexis Jay who led that independent inquiry into abuse in the town has told the BBC she is "shocked" that SYP is investigating its own former officers and says the criminal investigation should be handed to another force or independent response, Hayley Barnett, SYP assistant chief constable said:"We know how hard it must be for a victim or survivor, who has been so badly let down in the past, to put their faith into the South Yorkshire Police of today."But she added that victims and survivors were "at the heart" of the investigation, with all actions being taken in their best interests. The 30 witness accounts seen by the BBC detail shocking allegations: Years of abuse from serving police officers, from the mid-90s to early 2000s, at the same time as being exploited by Rotherham grooming gangsMost alleged victims were in their teens but some were as young as 11One woman says as a child she would hear a police officer having sex with girls in exchange for drugs and moneyAnother woman says as a child she witnessed a police officer supplying illegal class A drugs to a grooming gangThree women describe being beaten up by officers as children - one says this happened in a police cell The women's accounts, seen by the BBC, are redacted to protect their identities. They were collected by a specialist child abuse legal firm, Switalskis Solicitors, as part of a bid to bring a separate civil claim against SYP and secure compensation for alleged of the women, Willow - not her real name - says she was sexually abused by hundreds of men over five years after first being targeted, as an 11-year-old in 1997, by a grooming gang. Two police officers also sexually abused her, she says. Over three years, one of the SYP officers would repeatedly track her down and pick her up in a police car in Rotherham town centre, she says."He knew where we used to hang out, he would request either oral sex or rape us in the back of the police car," she tells the she tried to refuse his requests, says Willow, he would even contact the grooming gang directly to threaten her."I would rather be raped once, or give one man oral sex, than to be taken somewhere where I know it'd be 15... 20 guys one after another. That was just easier," she she was pressured into an illegal abortion by the grooming gang, she says a youth worker contacted social services and the police. But she was left "destroyed", she says, when one of the officers who had been abusing her turned up to interview her.A few days later, the same officer ripped her statement up in front of her and threw it in the bin, she says, and no further action was taken. 'No accountability' Of the 30 women who gave their accounts to Switalskis Solicitors, only 17 have agreed to their testimony being given to the of the remaining potential witnesses have withdrawn from the SYP investigation, say the solicitors, with some saying they do not trust the force or have lost faith in the justice system."It's beyond belief, the accounts we have heard," says Amy Clowrey from Switalskis, who has been collecting testimony of alleged police abuse, corruption and misconduct in Rotherham for 10 years."There has been no accountability in the town - and without accountability, there will continue to be a distrust of South Yorkshire Police," she response South Yorkshire Police told us it has a "dedicated team of detectives working on this case who have worked diligently to explore all lines of enquiry" and the investigation is being overseen by the Independent Office of Police Conduct (IOPC). Another survivor of a grooming gang, Emma - not her real name - says the current investigation into former officers and their role in the Rotherham scandal should have happened decades ago."We're forgotten children. We're dirty little secrets. That's how they look at us," she was in care in the late 1990s and often ran away from children's homes. When she was found, she would be raped by a police officer in a squat, she targeted children in care, she says, because he knew they were vulnerable, playing on their fear and naivety."He knew we wouldn't be missed, he knew we wouldn't be reported. He knew we wouldn't be able to say anything. He knew that he had the upper hand," she explains. A list of organisations in the UK offering support and information with some of the issues in this story is available at BBC Action Line Prof Alexis Jay believes, because of the way some officers in the force behaved, there were "many, many legitimate causes for victims and survivors at the time to feel a total lack of trust in SYP".It is important that potential conflicts of interest are brought "to light before the process starts", she wants the current criminal investigation to be run by an independent police force - or even His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS), which assesses the effectiveness and efficiency of forces."In far too many cases, the priority for the institution, of whatever kind, is to protect their reputation rather than prioritising the welfare of children and the devastating effect that sexual abuse can have," Prof Jay Greenwood from Switalskis Solicitors says he doesn't have confidence that there are not officers who are "burying evidence or just not finding evidence deliberately", because they may know some of those involved in the allegations."I'm sure that the full truth in terms of the level of corruption and the extent of it in Rotherham has yet come out," he adds. While the police watchdog, the IOPC, is overseeing SYP's investigation - one of its former investigators says he has no faith in it doing a good Harper spent two years working on the IOPC's Operation Linden - an investigation into how SYP responded to allegations of child sexual abuse in Rotherham between 1997 and eight-year investigation was "an abject failure from beginning to end", says Mr Harper, adding that SYP "managed to evade almost any accountability".The watchdog upheld 43 complaints against individual officers, with eight facing misconduct and six facing gross misconduct charges. But no officers lost their jobs or faced criminal charges."Operation Linden involved 91 investigations," an IOPC spokesperson told the BBC. "We concluded in 2022 that SYP fundamentally failed in its duty to protect vulnerable children and young people during that time."With regard to the current criminal investigation, the spokesperson said they were "satisfied that there is no conflict of interest" and that the IOPC had been assured by SYP that "none of the investigating officers had either worked with any of the former officers under investigation, or were themselves investigated as part of Operation Linden". Officer named We cannot see the names of the former SYP officers referred to in the accounts of their alleged victims, because the women's accounts have been three former officers have been arrested since December 2024 on suspicion of historic sexual offences - including attempted rape, indecent assault and misconduct in a public office. The crimes are alleged to have taken place between 1995 and 2004 while the officers were on duty as PCs. None has been the BBC understands that one alleged victim, Willow - in a report to police - has named PC Hassan Ali as having raped her."The first time, he literally said: 'You do it for the other officer. So you're gonna do it for me,'" she tells Ali died in January 2015, a week after he was hit by a car. On the day the collision took place, he had been put on restricted duties because of an investigation into alleged misconduct in the abuse scandal. He was never also says that both officers who abused her, including PC Ali, were also involved in supplying drugs. A SYP spokesperson told the BBC the complaints the force had received regarding Hassan Ali had not been drug-related and concerned "allegations of persistently asking a victim on a date, sharing information and failure to safeguard victims".Former IOPC investigator Garry Harper says he was also aware of allegations facing PC Ali - and says the officer's links with organised crime groups were discussed inside the IOPC during Operation Linden."There were several complaints that he had supplied and taken drugs, as well as sexually abused some of the survivors," he the time, the IOPC and SYP were aware of a second officer accused of abuse against children, he adds, but SYP had allowed the officer to retire."At best it was a reputational covering exercise. That's me being incredibly generous to them. At worst, it was out and out corruption to let him go."The IOPC told the BBC it had "no record" of such allegations against PC Ali being raised by "any of the victim-survivors involved in Operation Linden".It said it had investigated a report from a third party that a former officer had a sexual relationship with "two young vulnerable females". These individuals had been spoken to as adults and had denied this took place, it Yorkshire Police told the BBC that none of the former officers forming part of the force's current inquiries "had an allegation of rape against them at the time of their retirement".Do you have any information about this story? You can contact Ruth Green by email
New Indian Express
17-07-2025
- General
- New Indian Express
Only 44,570 acres to be irrigated under Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Scheme this kharif season
HYDERABAD: Now, it's official. Only 44,570 acres will be irrigated under the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Scheme (KLIS) this Kharif season, all due to lack of sufficient water. The minutes of the first meeting of the State Level Committee for Integrated Water Planning and Management (SCIWAM) held on July 11, accessed by TNIE on Wednesday, revealed that out of four balancing reservoirs under Kaleshwaram project, Mallannasagar and Kondapochammasagar have sufficient storage for irrigation. In view of this, an action plan proposed by the chief engineer, Gajwel under these two balancing reservoirs has been accepted and recommended by the committee. However, ayacut proposed under Annapurna and Ranganayakasagar balancing reservoirs, where there is a scarcity of water, will be reviewed after inflows are received at Yellampally and Mid Manair projects. The Vanakalam action plan proposed by the chief engineer, Ramagundam in respect of Boggulavagu is accepted subject to realisation of water. The officials proposed 3,200 acres of ayacut under Boggulavagu. Due to scarcity of water, the Vanakalam action plan proposed by the chief engineer (Irrigation), Ramagundam under SYP and SRSP above LMD and Manthani LIS will be reviewed after receiving sufficient inflows. The officials proposed 2,05,320 acres under SRSP (above LMD) and 10,000 acres under Manthani Lift Irrigation Scheme. In Ghanpur Anicut and Singur project too, the proposed ayacut will be reviewed after sufficient inflows reach Singur. The officials have proposed to irrigate 21,625 acres under Ghanpur Anicut. In Gollavagu, Ralivagu, Nilwai and NTR Sagar projects, and Sadarmatt, Gaddenavagu and SRSP too, the Vanakalam action plan proposed by the chief engineer, Mancherial will be reviewed after receiving sufficient inflows. However, the SCIWAM meeting accepted 32,662 acres of ayacut proposed under the Nizamsagar project. The chief engineer, Kamareddy requested that 3 tmcft of water be supplemented from Kondapochamma to Nizamsagar in case of low inflows into Nizamsagar. The committee informed that supplementation will be possible only when sufficient inflows are received at SYP and all irrigation proposals under all balancing reservoirs in Kaleshwaram up to Kondapochamma are served.
Yahoo
25-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Why Symbotic Stock Soared Today
Symbotic stock rose today after Arete initiated coverage on the stock with a buy rating. Arete set a one-year price target of $50 per share on the stock, implying additional upside of 43%. Symbotic stock has posted strong gains in 2025, but its valuation profile suggests that shares may still have room to run. 10 stocks we like better than Symbotic › Symbotic (NASDAQ: SYM) stock closed out Wednesday's trading with big gains. The robotics and automation company's share price ended the daily session up 8.5%. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) was flat on the day, and the Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQINDEX: ^IXIC) rose 0.3%. Symbotic stock's rally today was triggered by bullish coverage from an analyst. In a note published this morning, Arete Research initiated coverage on the company and gave its stock a buy rating. With the note it published today, Arete took a bullish stance on Symbotic and set a one-year price target of $50 per share for the stock. The coverage kicked off a wave of buying action, and the stock had been up as much as 10.7% earlier in the daily session. Even after today's gains, Arete's price target implies additional upside of roughly 43% and reflects confidence in continued growth opportunities for the company. Symbotic stock has been on an impressive hot streak in 2025, with excitement surrounding its artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics helping to push the company's share price up 47% year to date. The company now has a market capitalization of roughly $3.8 billion, but it's trading at a reasonable-looking 1.5 times this year's expected sales, and could still have room for substantial valuation upside. While the business posted a net loss of $21 million in its last reported quarter, the robotics specialist managed to grow revenue 40% year over year in the period. Revenue growth could be uneven going forward, but there seems to be a good chance that the company will be able to increase its margins as its business continues to scale. Before you buy stock in Symbotic, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and Symbotic wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $689,813!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $906,556!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 809% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 175% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join . See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of June 23, 2025 Keith Noonan has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Symbotic. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Why Symbotic Stock Soared Today was originally published by The Motley Fool
