One of the reasons for the conviction of 17 men and one woman for their involvement in a sex grooming network in Newcastle was the use of a paid informant who himself is a convicted paedophile. The use of such a person by the police has been widely criticised by organisations such as the NSPCC that otherwise would be expected to cheer the careful and effective way the network was uncovered, its victims supported – to the point where 20 of them felt able to give evidence – and so many prosecutions were secured. It was a remarkable operation: 278 victims were identified, four trials resulted in convictions for 93 offences, and now 18 defendants face long prison sentences.
Northumbria’s chief constable, Steve Ashman, is unrepentant about the use of the informant. The man, known as XY, did not give evidence in court, and Mr Ashman insists he was used only for his familiarity with the habits of the network, which was an organised criminal gang that in addition to abusing vulnerable girls and young women also trafficked drugs.
XY’s conviction was for a crime committed 15 years ago. But it was for an offence similar to those being investigated: he had drugged and raped a 15-year-old and invited another man to rape her too. He had a long list of convictions for dishonesty and, while he was actually on the police payroll, a further allegation was made against him by another underage girl. Yet he was also a registered police informant with family connections to the suspects. He must have appeared a gift to the investigating officers, and the police insist that his information enabled them to prevent further offending and protect potential victims. But what, asks the NSPCC, of the message sent to his victim and to other victims by paying a rapist nearly £10,000 over 21 months? In this moral dilemma, the utilitarian principle came first. The result that Northumbria police has achieved justifies the use of such an informant. But it is a narrow call that should not set a precedent.
Rochdale, Rotherham, Peterborough, Oxford, and now Newcastle. There has been an explosion in the past five years of trials of gangs of men, mainly but not always Muslim, caught exploiting and abusing vulnerable young white girls. Some of the media coverage might play to the appeal of moral panic. Yet many people who work in the field of child protection believe there are multiple other cases waiting to be uncovered. On Thursday, both the former director of public prosecutions Ken Macdonald and Labour’s women and equalities spokesperson, Sarah Champion, questioned the significance of the cultural dimension of the gangs. They warned that failing to address the issue had fuelled suspicions of political correctness – that the desire not to offend minorities, or the fear of being branded racist, had led to hundreds of girls and women being failed by the very agencies that should have been protecting them.
This is not the first time there has been a call for proper research into the cultural dimension of gang sexual abuse. But the headline interest in religion and ethnicity should not disguise other common attributes: perpetrators are usually engaged in more than one criminal activity; they often work in the night-time economy as taxi drivers or in fast food outlets. Only properly funded research will be able to sort correlation from causation, motive from opportunity.
Catching and punishing the perpetrators is an end in itself; it is also a vital part of protecting the vulnerable. It is no exoneration of the behaviour of abusers to say that protection must also involve educating those at risk and building their resilience. Good sex and relationship teaching that encourages boys and girls to respect one another, how to recognise inappropriate behaviour, and where to get help, works. The government is at last making such classes compulsory – although many schools are likely to struggle to find the resources to provide them. The second line of protection is children’s and women’s services. These are provided by local government. In the past seven years, local government funding has been cut by 40%. On Wednesday, the umbrella organisation, the Local Government Association, warned that three-quarters of all councils in England and Wales were overspending on children’s budgets, at a rate of more than £600m a year. It anticipates a £2bn shortfall by 2020. Early intervention that keeps families together has shrivelled, youth centres have closed and soaring numbers of children are going into care. And vulnerable children make easy targets for predatory men.