Hundreds of police officers have been accused of abusing their power to sexually exploit people, including vulnerable victims of crime, a damning report has revealed.
Police watchdogs discovered more than 400 claims had been made relating to abuse by police staff nationwide over just two years.
Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) was asked by then home secretary Theresa May earlier this year to investigate the extent of the problem.
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."
Home Secretary Amber Rudd said: "It is a matter of profound concern that any police officer should abuse their authority for sexual gain.
"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."
Data collected by the watchdog identified 436 reported allegations of abuse of authority for sexual gain received by forces in England and Wales in the two years to the end of March.
The allegations covered a total of 334 police personnel, including 306 officers, 20 PCSOs and eight police staff.
All but one constabulary had at least one case, while more than a third of the allegations involved victims of domestic abuse.
Arrested suspects and people with drug or alcohol problems were also thought to be among those allegedly exploited.
While forces acknowledge the seriousness of the problem, some are still failing to recognise it as a serious form of corruption, the report warned.
Less than half - 48 per cent - of the 436 reported allegations had been referred to the Independent Police Complaints Commission.
Figures also suggested there was an "apparent disconnect" between the numbers of alleged cases and sackings as a result.
Some counter-corruption units did not have the capability or capacity to seek intelligence on potential abuse of authority for sexual gain, the report warned.
It also found that almost half of forces inspected were unable to audit or monitor use of all IT systems - limiting how much information could be gathered to spot officers or staff who may be accessing databases to identify vulnerable victims.
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