“No evidence” Jimmy Savile was protected by West Yorkshire Police

An investigation by West Yorkshire Police found “no evidence” Jimmy Savile was protected from arrest or prosecution by his relationship with the force.
Opening of the new Spinal Injuries Rehabilitation centre at Pinderfields Hospital.Sir Jimmy SavileOpening of the new Spinal Injuries Rehabilitation centre at Pinderfields Hospital.Sir Jimmy Savile
Opening of the new Spinal Injuries Rehabilitation centre at Pinderfields Hospital.Sir Jimmy Savile

But the review did say there was an “over-reliance on personal friendships” between Savile and some officers.

The West Yorkshire Police review comes after a report by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary, which highlighted failings by forces across Britain.

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Savile was used to front a number of the force’s campaigns, including one called Talking Signs, where a recording of his voice was broadcast from lamp posts offering crime prevention advice.

Allegations of abuse by the former BBC entertainer emerged after his death in October 2011.

Part of the investigation looked at the disgraced broadcaster’s “Friday Morning Club”, after reports that officers regularly attended his flat in Leeds while on duty.

The report said: “In spite of the rumour and speculation surrounding this meeting, no evidence has been found of any police impropriety or misconduct.”

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In 2007, Surrey Police asked the West Yorkshire force to check what records it held relating to Savile in connection to their investigation at Duncroft School, linked to his suspected offending in 1964.

The report said that even after it had received this request, “WYP continued to use him as part of local crime prevention campaigns.

“The reason for this was that the information was not shared across departments, there was no recognition of the impact of this information and no checks were made on intelligence systems in securing Savile’s services.”

West Yorkshire Police (WYP) said there were “currently 76 crimes involving 68 victims committed in the West Yorkshire area relating to Savile”, but none of these was reported to the force before his death.

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The police said the report would be passed to the Independent Police Complaints Commission.

It concluded: “The review team have concerns regarding the absence of a process to secure Savile’s services for some of these events and also the over-reliance on personal friendships that developed between Savile and some officers over a number of years to secure that support.

“He was able to manage his public persona in such a way that he deceived most people he met. He was a manipulative man who exploited to the worst possible degree the trust people placed in him. This is little consolation to his victims and WYP accept there are lessons that must be learned and