Police Expert | Imminent sexual crimes sting carries 20 years, 100 convictions and 500 years in prison

Imminent sexual crimes sting carries 20 years, 100 convictions and 500 years in prison

The police operation, which used advances in forensic science to secure more than 100 convictions for historic rape and serious sexual assaults, celebrates its 20th anniversary this month.

The West Yorkshire Police team, which investigates non-recent sexual offenses, was established in October 2004 and has since secured sentences of more than 500 years for people convicted of these offences.

Codenamed Operation Recall, the team of officers and staff is part of the force’s Major Investigation Review Team (MIRT).

They work closely with forensic scientist partners Eurofins Forensic Services to leverage advances in DNA technology to advance investigations into recent cases of rape and serious sexual assault.

The team relies heavily on materials and paperwork obtained by forensic scientists from their examination of the original exhibit.

They are currently investigating about 80 crimes, some dating back to 1974.

“Forensic science is constantly evolving and allows us to make progress in investigations that we were not able to do before,” says Detective Sergeant Richard Ord from MIRT.

“We are consulting with scientists to see what can be done to create a DNA profile from evidence seized decades ago.”

“In many of these cases, forensic science was not advanced enough to produce a DNA profile at the time the crime was committed or reported to us.”

The team then uses the DNA profile to find a match in the national DNA database.

This includes millions of DNA profiles of criminals collected by UK police over the years. The forensic review process also linked cases previously unknown to be related and identified serial offenders.

Det Sgt Ord added: “We are very proud of what we have achieved as part of Operation Recall.

“It was founded in 2004 so that we could take full advantage of scientific progress to seek justice for our victims.”

“As officers we never stop seeking justice for victims, so the opportunity to further investigate cases like this has been a real benefit for us.

“Sometimes we have to wait for the science to catch up with us so we can provide justice to the victims.”

“And I have no doubt that there will be more scientific advances in the coming years that will help us solve a more recent crime.”

He said Operation Recall had been hailed for its success, being seen as a blueprint for how to investigate serious sexual offenses that were not recent and had been adopted by other police forces across the country.

Notable Operation Recall cases include Raymond Manners, who was convicted of raping two women in Leeds in 2012, dating back to June and July 1979. On separate occasions he broke into the property where his victims were sleeping before attacking them. He was sentenced to ten years in prison. Following Operation Recall work, Manners was found guilty of a further count of rape in Leeds in 2017, relating to an incident dating back to 1991. He was sentenced to 12 years consecutive to his first sentence.

John Taylor, who is serving a life sentence for the murder of teenager Leanne Tiernan in 2000, was found guilty of a further 16 offenses, including rape and sexual assault, in October 2018. Five of these crimes were linked to Taylor, thanks to the work of Operation Recall. The history of these crimes dates back to the 1970s and 1980s. In 2018, Taylor was sentenced to life in prison without a provision for early release.