Victims of rapist officer Wayne Scott let down by Cleveland Police

The force carried out a full investigation into the handling of complaints made against Wayne Scott and now accept more should have been done to stop his behaviour.

A number of Scott's victims made complaints to the force about his inappropriate sexual activities but very little was done to temper him until he was charged with a series of rapes.

• Catalogue of offences failed to trigger full investigation until it was too late
• Could sexual predator police officer have been stopped earlier?

Wayne Scott, pictured in 2009 as a local beat officer in Hardwick, Stockton

A 208-page report published today (Thursday, August 20) into how Scott got away with his offending for most of the ten years he was a serving officer has highlighted a number of ‘red flag’ incidents that were either ignored or not taken seriously.

Scott received warning advice after he received ‘love’ letters from girls as young as ten and even admitted taking one of them to the seaside for an ice cream whilst on duty; had sex with vulnerable women in a police station and vehicle; bragged about his sexual exploits; and talked about his ‘rape game’.

His catalogue of sexual deviancy began within months of the start of his police career and escalated over the ten years he served in the force.

Preying on some of the most vulnerable in society, including drug users, prostitutes, victims of domestic violence and young people, the full extent of his offending only came to light after he was jailed for 19 years in 2013.

Today, Deputy Chief Constable Iain Spittal issued an apology all those affected by Scott’s assaults, which took place throughout his career both in and out of work and even continued once he had been sacked from the force.

“When you read the report, there is no getting away from the fact that it is a horrendous case,” he said. “These incidents happened over a number of years and I am really disappointed that we didn’t make the connections earlier.

“I believe this report is open and honest, and hopefully it will show people that we have taken steps to ensure it doesn’t happen again.”

Former police officer Wayne Scott in a police custody cell after his arrest

Mr Spittal accepted that the crimes committed by Scott could further damage the force’s reputation but promised that changes had been made to make it easier to register complaints and that they would be taken seriously.

He added: “It’s clear from the findings that officers and staff felt unable or unwilling to report or challenge his sexual remarks and degrading behaviour at work, that it was ‘just Wayne being Wayne’.

"Where incidents were reported, we recognise and accept that red flags were missed and the organisation dealt with cases in isolation, rather than joining the dots.

“This is unacceptable and we have reviewed and changed many of our practices to embed a culture of challenge, and create intelligence pictures of those employees whose behaviour comes to our attention. We have already recognised, implemented and completed many of the recommendations from the report to support change going forward.”

The report, which has been redacted in parts to protect the identity of Scott’s victims, will be published on the force’s website, a decision welcomed by Police and Crime Commissioner Barry Coppinger.

SCOTT: Dep. Chief Constable Iain Spittle after the publication of the report into former officer Wayne Scott. Picture: STUART BOULTON

He said: "This report lays bare the shocking behaviour of Wayne Scott and details what was known about him during his time as a serving officer.

"It's vital that Cleveland Police implements the recommendations from the report as swiftly as possible.

"Whilst it's clear that those now leading the organisation have already made significant changes, the force as a whole needs to learn from past mistakes in how Scott's behaviour was dealt with. It is completely unacceptable that his disgusting behaviour went unchallenged for so long.

“My thoughts here are with the victims and the impact that his behaviour has on their lives going forward. If there is anyone out there who has suffered at the hands of Scott, or indeed any other police officer, who has not come forward, I would urge them to do so now.”

With scores of women identified as potential victims of Scott, Mr Spittal urged people to come forward with any complaints they may have.

He said: “The success of the criminal case against him was thanks to the bravery shown by his victims and I would again like to thank these strong and courageous women in giving the evidence to put the sexual predator behind bars.

“If there are any more victims that we have not spoken we would urge them to come forward and I promise that they will be listened to and any action that can be taken will be taken.”