Abuse of powers for sexual gain betrays the core duty of the police service

National Police Chiefs' Council Lead for Counter-corruption, Chief Constable Stephen Watson said:

"Today's review by HMIC on police legitimacy rates 38 out of 43 forces as good or outstanding with 93 per cent of victims of crime satisfied with the treatment they received.

"Abuse of powers for sexual gain is a betrayal of our core responsibility to protect people from harm. It is the most serious form of corruption and it can never be justified or condoned.

"In recent years, we have focused on encouraging reporting and pursuing offenders. HMIC highlights where some police forces have been particularly effective by giving clear guidance and training that aids ethical decision-making, launching confidential reporting lines, forging links with practitioners supporting people who may be at risk and proactively monitoring IT and phone systems to detect inappropriate contact with vulnerable people.

"We now need to do more to continue to root out the disease and inoculate policing for the future.

"We are in the process of developing a national strategy to raise the standards of all forces in preventing this form of abuse. We are considering new training programmes to spot the signs, internal communications campaigns, confidential reporting lines, proactive intelligence gathering including working with groups supporting victims of crime and an annual review of progress. It is also essential that all forces take action to ensure they are following the national vetting policy to preserve our integrity."

Further information:

• The number of cases in recent years which have resulted in a prosectuion or gross misconduct hearing is evidence that this clear stance is having a positive impact across the service.
• The College of Policing has also introduced the Disapproved Register to ensure that those who leave the service through gross misconduct cannot return.