Hundreds of police officers accused of sexual exploitation

Hundreds of police officers have been accused of abusing their power to sexually exploit people, including vulnerable victims of crime.

A report by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) describes the issue as "the most serious form of corruption".

The watchdog, which was asked to investigate the problem earlier this year by then Home Secretary Theresa May, also rebuked forces over their efforts to root out cases.

Its initial findings identified more than 400 claims of abuse of authority for sexual gain over two years.

But HM Inspector Mike Cunningham said: "It is at least possible, probably likely, that the problem is more serious than the numbers that have been reported back to us.

"It's the most serious form of corruption. It is an exploitation of power where the guardian becomes an abuser.

"What can be worse than a guardian abusing the trust and confidence of an abused person? There can be no greater violation of public trust."

A total of 436 allegations of abuse of authority for sexual gain were received by forces in England and Wales in the two years to the end of March.

The claims covered a total of 334 police personnel - 306 officers, 20 PCSOs and eight police staff.

All but one constabulary had at least one case, while more than a third (39%) of the allegations involved victims of domestic abuse.

Suspects who had been arrested and people with drug or alcohol problems were also thought to be among those allegedly exploited.

The report warned that while forces have acknowledged the seriousness of the problem, some are still failing to recognise it as a serious form of corruption.

Less than half (48%) of the allegations had been referred to the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC).

Figures also suggested there was an "apparent disconnect" between the number of allegations and sackings as a result.

HMIC also found that almost half of forces inspected were unable to audit or monitor the use of all IT systems, limiting how much information could be gathered to spot those who may be using databases to find victims.

Mr Cunningham said: "Forces need to become far more proactive in rooting out this most serious form of corruption, rather than only dealing with it once it has been reported."

He said the majority of officers carry out their work with integrity and honesty.

Home Secretary Amber Rudd said the report's contents were "shocking", while Mark Castle, chief executive of the charity Victim Support, described the allegations as "deeply concerning".

Stephen Watson, National Police Chiefs' Council lead for counter-corruption, said: "We are in the process of developing a national strategy to raise the standards of all forces in preventing this form of abuse."