I became Police and Crime Commissioner a year and a half ago as a direct result of the child sexual exploitation scandal that engulfed both Rotherham Borough Council and South Yorkshire Police. I said at that time that confidence in the police service would only begin to return when there were convictions of those that had abused children in the borough all those years ago.

Last month in Sheffield Crown Court the first trials were held and the first convictions obtained. We should not underestimate the significance of that moment – for the women who were abused, for the town of Rotherham and for South Yorkshire Police.

For the women, this had been a very difficult journey. After years of being ignored and rebuffed by the authorities, they had to be sure that this time they would be believed and action would follow.

Then they had to face those who had abused them in open court. They had to remain strong as they re-lived the time of their exploitation and as defence barristers questioned them. The stiff sentences handed down to their abusers after the guilty verdicts came in were the final vindication.

But their ordeal is far from over and we need to think about how they are cared for in the future.

These verdicts also enable the town to begin to move on. Those who were denied justice as children have finally found a measure of justice as adults.

For the police, the trial is a tangible sign that lessons really have been learnt. As one of the survivors said, South Yorkshire Police are in a very different place today.

That is true, though I doubt whether the public fully appreciates just how far the force has come.

There are now dedicated and committed officers who have worked long and intensive hours to get to this point. They have learnt to listen with great patience and growing understanding to people who have not found it easy to recall the past and tell their stories. Some of this has been harrowing, so this has been emotionally draining as well.

Similarly the Crown Prosecution Service has had lawyers who have given everything to bring this complex case to court.

This is only the start, though the signs are looking favourable. Already new witnesses and survivors have come forward to the police. They know that this time they will be believed and what they have to say will be thoroughly and properly investigated. They also know that they will be looked after throughout the process.

Of course, there are still questions to be asked about past police conduct. But we should be in no doubt that a corner has been turned and today’s force is, as Her Majesty’s Inspectors recently found, now at the forefront of this kind of investigation. That has to be good news.