More than 300 police officers have been accused of sexual exploitation, a damning report by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) has found.
The findings of the wide-ranging 65-page report, gathered over two years to the end of March, were labelled "the most serious corruption issue facing the service” by the National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC).
Initiated last year at then home secretary Theresa May's request, the report found that 306 officers, 20 police community support officers, and 8 police staff were involved in 436 reported allegations over the period.
Of those, 39% cases involved victims of domestic abuse. Others reported to have been exploited were alcoholics, drug addicts, sex workers, and arrested suspects.
Reacting to the report, Sandra Horley, the chief executive of the domestic violence charity Refuge, said its findings were "horrific – but unsurprising".
Horley told The Guardian: "The police are meant to protect the public from harm; how can women be expected to report their abuse, if they fear the police will abuse them all over again? Women have the right to safety and protection."
HM Inspector Mike Cunningham, who led the report, warned that the problem could be more serious than the numbers suggested, and urged forces to be more proactive in seeking out and halting such exploitation.
"What can be worse than a guardian abusing the trust and confidence of an abused person?" he said in a statement. "There can be no greater violation of public trust."
Fewer than half (48%) of the 400-odd cases were reported to the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC).
IPCC chairwoman Dame Anne Owers, reacting to the report, said she had written to chiefs in England and Wales urging them to refer all cases involving alleged sexual exploitation to the commission.
The NPCC acknowledged it needed to do more to address the problem.
Home secretary Amber Rudd described the report as "shocking", and said the actions of a number of officers "undermines justice and public confidence" in the force. She has met the College of Policing and the NPCC to discuss tackling the issue.