British police investigate 169 officers across the country in relation to sex-related offences including rape, sexual assault and voyeurism

Police forces across the country are investigating 169 officers and support staff in relation to sex-related offences, it has been revealed.

The investigations include allegations of rape, sexual assault and voyeurism at forces across the country, according to reports.

Britain's largest force, the Metropolitan Police, has now set up a working group to 'deter inappropriate relationships and the abuse of police powers to perpetrate sexual offending'.

Meanwhile, senior officers from each force in the country have also held a private meeting to address such issues, The Guardian has reported.

The newspaper obtained figures from 38 of the 43 forces in England and Wales which revealed 169 officers, police community support officers and support staff were under criminal and disciplinary investigations.

The Met is currently carrying out 42 Directorate of Professional Standards investigations, involving 47 allegations, which includes 36 allegations of sexual assault and 11 of inappropriate sexual conduct.

Of those 42 cases, 16 are awaiting trial, 12 are on-going investigations, eight are awaiting misconduct hearings, five are awaiting formal action and one has gone to a police appeal tribunal.

The force has said it is working with Nottinghamshire police, which has already developed a strategy to tackle sexual offences within the force.

Commander Allan Gibson, the Met's directorate of Professional Standards, who is in charge of the working group, said: 'This is a complex subject, which not only impacts on the police but others such as the teaching and medical professions.

'There are some important lessons that can be learned from others, we want to support our staff and stop them falling unwittingly into inappropriate relationships and to develop our own strategies to ensure that would be offenders are identified quickly and held to account.'

Nottinghamshire Police have also released a film to all the other forces which includes the comments of the former partner of a police officer jailed last year for having inappropriate relationships with vulnerable women.

A Nottinghamshire Police spokesman said: 'We are leading the way in ensuring our police officers and staff operate with the utmost integrity, not just in terms of their own behaviour but also in reporting any questionable actions of others.

'As a result we are currently looking into a number of cases, many of which are historic.

'Our zero-tolerance attitude, reflected by the film and supported by our integrity hotline, demonstrates our dedication to proactively seeking out anyone who has abused their position of authority, and allows us to deal with them quickly and appropriately.'

Debaleena Dasgupta, a lawyer who represents the victims of rape or sexual assault by officers, told The Guardian: 'If a woman reports rape or sexual assault by a police officer it is not just that the investigation has to be properly carried out, it has to be seen to be done properly in order for victims to have confidence in the system.'

The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) is currently involved in 31 investigations into abuse of powers. But its chairman Dame Anne Owers has said it would look to investigate more cases if more resources became available.

She said: 'Police who abuse their position and exploit individuals for sexual gratification have no place in the police service. While these cases are rare, each of them is a fundamental abuse of power, and therefore seriously undermines public trust.

'It is clear that a small number of officers and staff continue to target vulnerable individuals, often women. The IPCC has 31 on-going investigations into abuse of powers cases, the majority of which are being supervised by our corruption team.

'We are encouraged by the positive responses of police forces to this issue and the fact that more referrals are coming to the IPCC demonstrates a willingness to root out this type of behaviour.

'We are currently awaiting the Home Secretary's proposals on the expansion of the IPCC and welcome the opportunity to extend and strengthen our work.

'As more resources become available the IPCC will aim to investigate more abuse of powers cases independently of the police service.'

Original report here




(And don't forget your ration of Wicked Thoughts for today. Now hosted on Wordpress. If you cannot access it, go to the MIRROR SITE, where posts appear as well as on the primary site. I have reposted the archives (past posts) for Wicked Thoughts HERE or HERE or here