War against child sex is top police priority

TACKLING child sexual exploitation is now a bigger priority than gun crime, says a senior Greater Manchester Police officer.

Following the Rochdale abuse probe and the jailing of nine men last May - including Oldham ringleader Shabir Ahmed - the force set up a public protection division of 550 officers and staff partly dedicated to child protection.

Assistant chief constable Steve Heywood said it was the force’s number one priority and more convictions would follow.

He said: “I have got more detectives working on CSE than I have on gun crime. “For a place like Manchester, where there is a level of violence and organised crime, that is quite a statement.

“With that level of investment in resources will come a lot more convictions.”

Mr Heywood was speaking at a conference in Middleton organised by Rochdale Council to look at the lessons learned since the controversial case.

He said a multi-agency approach was needed in response to sexual exploitation. All 10 Greater Manchester councils have agreed proposals to support a central data and intelligence-sharing system.

Jim Taylor, chief executive at Rochdale Council, said: “We can’t stamp out the vile instincts of the people who carry out these awful acts, but we can make sure our own house is in order.”

Shabir Ahmed (59), formerly of Windsor Road, Coppice, is serving 19 years for his part as leader of the child-sex exploitation ring, in which white girls as young as 13, in Oldham and Rochdale, were systematically abused.