Lauded Rotherham officer gets top job in southWales
ASENIOR police officer who was credited with improving policing in Rotherham at the time of the child sexual exploitation scandal has been named South Wales Police’s new Chief Constable.
Matt Jukes, the force’s serving deputy chief constable, is to be promoted to the top job following the announcement that Peter Vaughan will retire in December.
Oxford University maths graduate Mr Jukes is a rapidly-rising officer who left South Yorkshire Police in 2010 to become an assistant chief constable in South Wales where he became responsible for all specialist crime matters including major crime investigation, intelligence, public protection, and covert operations.
He is a multiple marathon and longcourse triathlon finisher who has played rugby for the police and a dad.
He was the chief superintendent borough commander in Rotherham, Yorkshire, from 2006 to 2010, at the end of a period in which the area’s police were accused of failing to protect up to 1,400 vulnerable children.
Professor Alexis Jay OBE’s independent inquiry commissioned by Rotherham borough council estimated that 1,400 vulnerable children were sexually exploited in the town between 1997 and 2013.
In October 2006, when Mr Jukes took over as borough commander in Rotherham aged 34, the force had just received the third of three reports which, according to Prof Jay, “set out the links between child sex exploitation and drugs, guns and criminality in the Borough.”
She wrote, in her 2013 report: “These reports were ignored and no action was taken to deal with the issues identified in them.”
However, the report identified “improvements in the response of management from 2007 onwards”.
It detailed a number of operations undertaken by the police from 2007 to investigated casers of child sexual exploitation, although only one resulted in prosecution and convictions. It stated: “By 2007, there was evidence that the police were more pro-active in tackling CSE. Senior police officers had established good liaison arrangements with Risky Business and progress was being made in protecting the children and investigating the perpetrators.
“We interviewed many serving police officers at different levels of seniority during the fieldwork for the inquiry. It was clear that tackling child sexual exploitation was now a priority for South Yorkshire Police.”
In an interview with the Sheffield Star in 2015, expert analyst Dr Angie Heal credited Mr Jukes with having been responsible for the improvements in Rotherham’s response to child sexual exploitation.
After the report was published, Mr Jukes was backed by Alun Michael, police and crime commissioner for South Wales Police, who said: “I’ve looked with care at the report into the horrific abuse of children in Rotherham which must be of concern to all right-minded people.
“I am satisfied that there is no implication for south Wales in relation to DCC Matt Jukes, who has proved himself as an outstanding leader and someone who seeks to address problems upfront.”
Departing Chief Constable Peter Vaughan said: “I have had the pleasure of working with Matt for the last seven years and consider him to be an individual with huge professional and practical experience. He cares passionately about the communities we serve and the people who make up South Wales Police. I know he will make a positive difference.”
Mr Jukes said: “Working with Peter has been a masterclass.
“I’m very proud of our people and our many partnerships that have done so much to keep south Wales safe. But we cannot stand still against the challenges we now face and, with the panel’s support, I am determined to maintain our progress in preventing crime and protecting our communities.”