Savile’s victims let down by UK Police: Report

A series of British police failures have led former TV host Jimmy Savile to sexually abuse hundreds of young people more than five decades, a damning report reveals.

According to a report published on Tuesday by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC), an independent police oversight group, Savile could have been stopped as early as 1964 but police forces across Britain mishandled complaints and dismissed victims.

The police watchdog also said that only five allegations and two pieces of intelligence were recorded against Savile prior to his death in 2011.

However, this is in contrast to the 450 claims made against the former BBC entertainer since October last year when the Metropolitan police launched its Operation Yewtree investigation into the scandal.

“The findings in this report are of deep concern, and clearly there were mistakes in how the police handled the allegations made against Savile during his lifetime,” said Drusilla Sharpling of HMIC.

Earlier in January, in a 37-page report by the police and the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC), Savile was branded as one of the UK’s most prolific known sexual predators who used his celebrity status to “hide in plain sight.”

According to the report titled “Giving Victims a Voice,” Some 214 crimes, including 34 of rape or penetration during 54 years of abuse committed by the presenter, were recorded across 28 police force areas.