West Midlands Police set up a specialist team to catch paedophiles like 101-year-old Ralph Clarke
A specialist team of detectives has investigated more than 260 cases of historical sex attacks against children in just 12 months
The dedicated unit at West Midlands Police was created in December 2015 to track down evil paedophiles who have escaped justice for decades.
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| Ralph Clarke, aged 101 |
And so far the teams has secured sentences of more than 70 years from 11 cases including against 101-year-old Ralph Clarke - became the country’s oldest ever criminal.
The unit was formed following the Jimmy Saville scandal, which sparked a huge surge in historic abuse allegations.
Clarke became the oldest person in UK legal history to be convicted of a criminal offence last month. He was handed a 13-year jail term after convictions for sex attacks against children in the 1970s and 1980s
Detective Constable Emma Fennon, a member of the team who helped bring Clarke to justice, described him as one of the worst offenders she had ever interviewed, calling him “utterly remorseless.”
Detective Sergeant Ruth Boddy said the workload her officers faced in dealing with people like Clarke was “increasing not diminishing.”
The Historical Sexual Offences team led by Acting Dectective Sergeant Ruth Boddy.
The reporting of historical sex offences in the West Midlands rose by 25 per cent in 2016 compared to the previous 12 months. The cases now account for around a third of all serious adult sex crimes investigated by the force.
DS Boddy said each team member was looking at between 20 and 30 cases at any one time and had to rely on old fashioned detective skills to build a up a picture of a specific point in time.
“We have to look back at social service records, medical records, school records, employment documents and anything that can give us a bit of a clue about what was going on in that person’s life at the time,” she said.
She added: “We have to be a little bit more inventive and we have to look at information that would perhaps not be as relevant in live cases. We are also obviously less likely to be using CCTV or forensics in the same ways that we would with live cases,”
DS Boddy said the team was launched in the wake of the Jimmy Saville scandal, but also because there was a recognition from police chiefs that historic cases were complex and time-consuming.
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| Jimmy Savile |
She added: “There was a recognition of the increase in reporting, probably from the Jimmy Saville effect, and a recognition that we needed to deal with these reports differently to how we had dealt with them in the past.
“As well as a better service to victims it allows our colleagues to focus on live offences. We find that one person comes forwards and then other victims follow. That is part of the reason these investigations take a lot longer.
“The satisfaction is knowing that we are providing a better service than before. The fact they come forward to speak to us also means we can refer them on to other professionals to get help and support."
She said: “We are investigating well over 20 reports each. Some are doing up to 30, so it’s very demanding.
“The team are so enthusiastic and passionate about what they are doing. Everyone really believes in what they do.
“Because we are a specialist team we do have the time that perhaps we didn’t have before the team was set up. We can spend time with victims.”
As well as the Jimmy Saville effect DS Boddy said victims come forward because of media reports and even because of soap storylines.
“People come forward for all sorts of different reasons. We have had some cases involving football recently because of the publicity around that,” she said.
“People say they have seen something on the news, and in other cases it may be a storyline on a programme like Coronation Street.
“Sometimes it’s just out of the blue, when people decide they have had enough of living with this they want to do something about it.”
DS Boddy said almost all of the offenders successfully prosecuted have denied the accusations at police interview.
She added: “The suspects almost always deny the offences. Some admit the offences, but they are few and far between.
“Because it has been so long they deny it and some seem to have justified the offending to themselves over the years.
“Either in their head they have not done anything wrong, or it’s something they are in complete denial about it and will never admit to another living person.”
But DS Boddy said it was “satisfying to finally get justice” for the victims.
She added: “It’s just brilliant when we do secure a conviction. Quite often it’s the first time the victim has spoken in detail about what happened to them.
“It’s really satisfying that people who have got away with these crimes for so long are finally facing justice for what they have done.
“A lot of people are scared to report offences because they have not been believed in the past when they have come forward. I think it’s important for them to know there is a specialist team here who deal with historic offences.
“I want to reassure people that we take all reports seriously.
“No-one should suffer in silence and I’d urge anyone who’s experienced abuse or sexual offences, no matter how long ago, to get in touch.”
To contact the Historical Sex Offences unit call West Midlands Police’s Public Protection Unit at Perry Barr police station on the 101 number.
Historical sex abuse cases in numbers:
- Between June and December 2016 the team secured prison sentences totalling more than 70 years
- There are 155 live cases ongoing
- There has been 262 cases investigated since the team formed
- Each officer is looking at an average of between 20 and 30 cases
- The team has had 11 cases at court already, with 11 more lined up in coming months
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