Police ignored the sexual abuse of hundreds of young girls because they were too busy chasing Labour crime targets that would earn bonuses for senior staff . Whistleblower Tony Brookes , a former detective who tried to investigate the abuse , said money was diverted away from protecting the children from rape , trafficking and beatings in order to pursue so-called ‘ priority crimes ’ . The offences , which included car crime , were considered crucial for satisfying a target culture introduced by the last Labour government . Now it has emerged the same targets were also linked to performance-related pay for top officers at South Yorkshire Police . Scroll down for video . Police ignored the sexual abuse of hundreds of young girls because they were too busy chasing Labour crime targets that would earn bonuses for senior staff ( picture posed by model ) It meant that , while young girls suffered heinous abuse at the hands of sex gangs in Sheffield and Rotherham , top brass could have had a perverse incentive to instruct their staff to look elsewhere . The targets have been scrapped by the Tories amid concern they were harming policing . Tory parliamentary candidate Michael Ellis , a former member of the home affairs select committee , said : ‘ Labour ’ s grossly irresponsible obsession with targets led to a perverted sense of priorities whereby senior officers could get bonuses for prioritising car crime while hundreds of young girls were being abused with impunity. ’ The first details of the scandal emerged earlier this year when papers from South Yorkshire Police , relating to child abuse in Sheffield , were leaked to the BBC . The documents and the testimony of former officers suggested the force failed to pursue a number of child sexual exploitation inquiries and ignored intelligence that girls as young as 12 were being raped . A copy of a document from the force ’ s intelligence database detailed more than 200 girls suspected of being sexually exploited . It listed more than 320 men accused of carrying out abuse , mainly between 2007 and 2010 . Allegations included rapes , traffickings , child abduction and threats to scald girls by holding kettles of boiling water over them . The alleged victims were aged between 12 and 15 while their abusers included Iraqi Kurds , white British , black British , and men of Pakistani heritage . The dossier by Professor Alexis Jay ( pictured ) into the Rotherham scandal described how South Yorkshire Police were ‘ more focused on dealing with offences such as burglary and vehicle crime ’ than child abuse . In most cases , the files suggest there is no evidence police took any action . In 2007 , after an investigation led to two Iraqi Kurds being convicted of abuse , officers asked for resources to mount a much wider investigation in Sheffield . Mr Brookes said he asked for £24,000 and was given £16,000 . But after spending only half that amount he was told the entire budget had gone . He says the other £8,000 was diverted to spend chasing ‘ district priorities , to investigate robbery , burglary and car crime ’ . These priorities were tied to Home Office targets introduced by Labour in 2002 . In Rotherham , the dossier into the scandal there by Professor Alexis Jay described how senior and middle managers at South Yorkshire Police were ‘ more focused on dealing with offences such as burglary and vehicle crime ’ than tackling child abuse . At least 1,400 girls in the town were left to be abused by Asian men between 1997 and 2013 because the authorities were also too scared to admit there was a race issue , according to her report published in September . A second report by government adviser Louise Casey concluded the establishment in Rotherham ignored child sexual exploitation due to ‘ misplaced political correctness ’ . And Her Majesty ’ s Inspectorate of Constabulary found senior South Yorkshire officers prioritised burglary and car crime over victims of abuse . Labour ’ s crime targets meant forces were aware that chief constables could get the sack if performance was repeatedly inadequate . The link to performance-related pay that has emerged meant senior officers could pocket bonuses worth thousands for catching criminals or reducing the incidence of so-called priority offences . This system has also been scrapped by the Tories . South Yorkshire Police said : ‘ Chief officer bonuses were ratified as part of a process overseen by police authorities . ’
Police were too busy chasing Labour crime targets to protect young girls . Whistleblower says money was diverted away to pursue 'priority crimes ' Meeting targets on car crime linked to top officers ' pay in South Yorkshire . Comment: