Senior officer lifts lid on the harrowing work tackling sex offences and child abuse
THERE is a unit within Humberside Police which deals with some of the most heartbreaking, shocking and complex criminal cases imaginable. Day in, day out, a group of officers deals with cases of child abuse, sex crimes, modern slavery and forced marriage. The work is emotionally draining but it can also be very rewarding when they manage to lock up some of the most dangerous people in society.
The Protecting Vulnerable People Unit (PVP) exists to support the most vulnerable people in the Humberside Police area and have joined forces with the Operation Shield teams who target the criminals causing the most harm to society.
Detective Chief Inspector Jim Clough who heads up the PVP core team has lifted the lid on what it is like to work in such a high-pressure role.
“My team deals with the most serious cases of child abuse and sex offences from rape and sexual assault to recent and non-recent cases of child abuse, sexual offences involving offenders in positions of trust and other forms of interfamilial abuse,” he explained.
“We receive a huge number of intense and complex cases each year and we can have anything up to 1,500 open cases at any one time. “This is because of the complexities around each case and the need to gather numerous amounts of evidence such as digital forensics, CCTV, witness statements, medical forensic results, third party material from social services, schools, doctors, care workers and the like, and then submitting this all to the Crown Prosecution Service.”
The cases can be broadly divided into two with ongoing and older cases. The PVP can get involved after a 999 call is received and the focus will be on acting quickly and getting crucial forensic evidence. Older cases will not involve such time-critical evidence gathering but will include a lot of detailed and sometimes laborious work, particularly if it is a historic case.
“Non-recent reports of sex offences and abuse are some of the most difficult crimes to investigate,” DCI Clough explained. “My officers work around the clock to obtain accounts and statements from the victim or victims. As you can imagine, if we have a lot of cases of child abuse where the victims are some of the most vulnerable in society, whether that be under the age where they can talk for themselves, or if they have learning difficulties, disabilities, or other vulnerabilities, it’s not as simple as just taking their account of the incident.
“We have to contact third party organisations and partners to act as an intermediary and offer advice to both our officers on how best to communicate with the vulnerable person, and vice versa.
“Where necessary, we will take video recorded evidence from victims and in some cases, witnesses and this is carefully pre-planned to ensure that they’re given the best opportunity in the best environment to provide their accounts.”
“Live cases are slightly different because if we’re working within that all important golden hour, there is a lot to go at! It’s a full team effort and everyone knows their role – I will have officers out trawling appropriate CCTV from around the time the incident may have occurred, the hours leading up to and after it, and anything else they may spot to give us clues as to who we’re looking for. “Others will be taking witness statements, and we may even utilise our corporate communications department to issue media appeals so more witnesses, or more victims, come forward with information. “We will seize clothing, take physical swabs, undertake medical examinations, gather mobile phone and social media data, and obtain disclosure, again, from third parties. “Our biggest priority whilst working through all the above, is ensuring our victim or victims are safeguarded every step of the way. Officers will also have a victim-focused strategy that they will adhere to and honour depending on what has been agreed with any third-party individuals, family members or other.”
Due to the complex nature of the
cases PVP deals with it can often take months or even longer to gather enough evidence to charge someone.
“For those investigations resulting in charges against a suspect,” DCI Clough said, “it can take a couple of years or sometimes more from arrest to the case going to court. As mentioned, this is largely due to the complexities of the work undertaken by our officers in often gathering hundreds of pages of disclosure or evidence, reviewing them, waiting for medical or counselling records, school, or social service records, and of course forensics. “CSI and digital forensics carry out incredibly detailed analysis of physical and digital evidence to assist us in our investigations. Their work provides vital evidence to help us charge suspects quickly and ultimately help prevent more of these abhorrent crimes being committed. “In the most serious and highrisk cases, we will seek an early charge and get the suspect very swiftly remanded into custody within a five-day window or less. “In the longest cases, we have to bear in mind that we may have multiple suspects and victims as part of the same case, they’re complicated, complex, and I cannot stress enough how much we rely on any third-party records to help bring those responsible to justice. “Applying for confidential records from doctors or counsellors take an extremely long time and due to confidentiality, there is a very strict process to go through to get them provided to us, which adds more time onto the case.”
Cases are even trickier when they involve children. This can involve added layers to ensure the children are protected.
“In cases involving young children we have to work really closely with CSI to build a picture,” DCI Clough said. “Medical records take months, we have to wait for a doctor’s expert opinions which also take months, in some cases they also have to physically examine babies and rely on forensic evidence to tell the story.
“We also have an under-10 protocol for victims under the age of 10 years old, which is there to speed up the charging process managed by CPS.”
DCI Clough admits the work undertaken by the PVP is not easy and will not be for everyone. But he says the achievements of solving some of the most heinous crimes is a real motivation. “Working in this team is extremely challenging and it’s often a difficult and pressurised environment with lots of high risk,” he said. “Some of the things we see, read, and have to listen to can be distressing, but the main motivation for us all is knowing that we are protecting the most vulnerable in society, and putting the nastiest people out there behind bars. We’re passionate about the work we carry out and we work extremely hard to locate and arrest offenders, and to investigate cases of these horrendous crimes – all in the hope that we can prevent more vulnerable people from being harmed in the future.
“While we cannot even begin to fathom what the victims are going through, it’s certainly an uphill battle, and we all need to take a break from our investigations from time to time because of the nature of them, but as a unit we are determined to make a real difference.
“We have regular one to ones for officers, offering welfare checks, occupational screenings, and signposting to various health services. We also have dedicated wellbeing rooms within our stations too.”
Not all the focus is on catching criminals. The PVP team understand the victims’ welfare is paramount.
“Victim care is a huge priority across the force,” DCI Clough said. “Exactly how each victim is safeguarded depends on individual circumstances. We may phone or visit victims face to face if they wish. In other cases, we may liaise with them via our partners at Hull City Council’s social services and other agencies or charity organisations.
“Each investigation has an Officer in Charge of the case and for the more serious cases a Senior Investigating Officer dedicated to it, meaning that if victims, or their families, want to speak about anything relating to their case or safety, they have a point of contact they can speak directly to.”
‘WE CAN HAVE ANYTHING UP TO 1,500 OPEN CASES