EPANine thousand cases of child sexual exploitation are being reviewed by the Metropolitan Police, the force has confirmed.
In a statement, the Met said it was reinvestigating the cases which involve “intra-familial, peer-on-peer and in institutional settings, along with those which do not fit the common understanding of a ‘grooming gang'”.
The cases are being re-examined following a national review into group-based child sexual exploitation which found it was more widespread, organised, and underreported than previously acknowledged.
The force said it took all “allegations or concerns about child sexual exploitation and child criminal exploitation incredibly seriously”.
Baroness Casey’s report, the National Audit on Group-based Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse, also found a “mismatch” in the way the way the Metropolitan Police and local authorities record child abuse.
Published in June, it found the ethnicity of people involved had been “shied away from” by authorities.
On Saturday, Scotland Yard said group-based offending was “particularly insidious and devastating in its profound impact on the children affected”.
In a statement, the force added: “Since 2022, there have been significant improvements to how the Met identifies and investigates group-based offending, including training for 11,000 frontline officers and the expansion of our child exploitation teams.
“In the last year we have solved three times more cases of child sexual exploitation – representing 134 more suspects charged.
“Our commitment to safeguarding all victims of such terrible offences and bringing those responsible to justice is absolute.”
‘Woefully let down’
The cases the force is now reviewing cover a 15-year period, which the Met said was the same time period covered by Baroness Casey’s report.
A spokesperson for Sir Sadiq Khan said the information had been published because “the mayor demanded full transparency and has consistently asked the Met to leave no stone unturned when investigating these appalling crimes”.
The spokesperson added: “Any individuals or gangs exploiting children for sex are utterly abhorrent.
“Sadiq is quite clear that they must face the full force of the law.
“These children have not only suffered terrible abuse at the hands of the perpetrators but have been woefully let down by the authorities meant to protect them from harm.”