South Yorkshire: Complains about former Police and Crime Commissioner doubled after Jay Report

The same number of complaints were made about Mr Wright in the three weeks following the Jay Report as in his previous two years in office combined.

Sixteen complaints were made about Mr Wright to the Office of the South Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner after the publication of the damning report on 26th August this year – all in connection with the findings of the Jay Report, which revealed 1,400 children in Rotherham had been the victims of sexual exploitation between 1997 and 2013.

A Freedom of Information response said there had been 16 other complaints about him between November 2012 and 25th August 2014, prior to the report being published.

One complaint was made about him in 2012/13, 12 in 2013/14 and three in 2014/15 up to August 25 this year.

Mr Wright, who had been a Rotherham councillor with responsibility for children’s services between 2005 and 2010 before becoming police and crime commissioner in 2012, initially refused to resign in relation to the report despite massive public and political pressure. But he eventually left his post last month, three weeks after the report was published, saying the focus on him was detracting from the task of getting justice for the victims.

The Freedom of Information response also revealed there have been no recorded complaints in connection to the Jay Report about South Yorkshire Police’s chief constable David Crompton.

Complaints about commissioners are referred to the region’s Police and Crime Panel, which can either resolve the issues themselves or pass them on to the Independent Police Complaints Commission. The IPCC said last month it had received a referral about Mr Wright from the South Yorkshire PCP in relation to two complaints and was assessing whether an investigation is required.