OPERATION Clyde was
a massive investigation into sexual abuse at children's homes across Kirklees.
It spanned three
years and led to three men being jailed.
It centred on
allegations of abuse at 15 children's homes and two residential schools in
Kirklees, stretching back to the 1960s.
It began in 1996
but the investigation soon snowballed.
During the inquiry
police spoke to hundreds of family members, friends, former staff members and
council officials.
By the end of the
inquiry 2,226 people had been interviewed and police had made 42 arrests.
Disciplinary action
was also taken against other employees of Kirklees Council and four were sacked.
An incident room
was set up at Dewsbury police station which had 31 police officers working
alongside 15 staff from the NSPCC and other child protection organisations.
In an interview
with the Examiner in November 2000, former Det Supt Gary Haigh described the
scale of the operation.
"We began very
slowly and carefully and put systems into place ready to handle an inquiry that
would become larger.
"We then made a
press appeal which generated an enormous amount of interest, so much so that by
the end of the first 12 months we had interviewed more than 400 former residents
of children's homes across Kirklees."
He continued: "We
looked under a stone and the whole thing simply snowballed.
"We had to make
thorough investigations into every individual's allegations and try and
determine if there was actual evidence.
"That was carried
on throughout the inquiry as it spread."
He added: "For all
the people who came forward - even if they did not want to make a formal
complaint - we offered them counselling from experts willing to help.
"Some of those
people never got over the trauma of what happened to them. For others the
inquiry resurrected it all."
A spokesman for
Kirklees Council said today: "West Yorkshire Police has worked closely with
Kirklees Social Services and the NSPCC to carry out a thorough investigation
into the allegations that were made.
"It was a long and
complex enquiry and we put all the evidence available to us before the courts to
make their decision."
