£4m cost of Rotherham protests prompts police legal advice

SOUTH Yorkshire Police is taking legal advice to prevent town centre protests which have cost the force £4 million in three years.

That figure does not include subsequent investigations, with last weekend’s Wellgate disorder currently taking up the time of nine officers.

Chief Constable David Crompton said: “Since October 2012 we have policed 20 protests, 14 of which have focused on Rotherham.

“While we respect all individual’s right to protest, we must balance this against local people’s right to enjoy their town centre, the businesses right to trade and the need to fund wider policing.

“I’m now seeking specialist legal advice to explore all our options around these protests. We are facing a situation the legislation was not designed to address.

“Many of these protests focus on a call for police to do more to tackle child sexual exploitation but their constant desire to protest is not helping us to achieve this.”

Police commissioner Dr Alan Billings said: “No-one wants to interfere with the right to demonstrate, but when people who mainly come from outside South Yorkshire continue to come here it looks increasingly cynical and hypocritical on their part.

“This is one part of the country where CSE is well understood and is being tackled.

“The police have acknowledged past mistakes, have learned from them and are determined to do the right thing by those who were previously let down.”