Hundreds of British police officers and other employees of the police force have used their power to sexually abuse vulnerable people, a new report shows, the latest in a string of institutional abuse accusations in the country.
The royal Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC), which independently assesses policing in the UK, revealed the extent of the issue in its latest report on Thursday.
The report said the police abuse was an egregious breach of officers’ roles as guardians and protectors.
The HMIC’s initial findings showed that at least 436 crime victims had been subjected to sexual abuse by officers. The organization warned that the number could be much higher than that.
Of the total of 334 police personnel involved in the abuse cases, 306 were officers; 20 were Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) and eight belonged to other ranks of the force.
Nearly 40 percent of the charges were brought by victims of domestic violence, which is a prevalent issue across the UK.
Alcohol abusers and arrested suspects were also thought to comprise a significant group of the victims.
The report stated that only 48 percent of the crimes were referred to the Independent Police Complaints Commission.
What made the situation even worse was a “disconnect” between the number of alleged cases and the sackings that took place as a result.
“It's the most serious form of corruption. It is an exploitation of power where the guardian becomes an abuser,” Inspector Mike Cunningham said.
“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,” he added.
Home Secretary Amber Rudd said she was shocked by how deep the issue was rooted within the British law enforcement.
“The misconduct discovered in this report is shocking – it undermines justice and public confidence and there is no place in the police for anyone guilty of this sort of abuse,” she said.
Stephen Watson, the National Police Chiefs' Council lead for counter-corruption, also reacted to the report, saying the abuse amounted to a “betrayal of our core responsibility to protect people from harm.”
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