Police chiefs in Cumbria say they will not tolerate officers using their position "for sexual purpose".

The force said it expected the highest standards - after national inspectors looked at how the service across the country dealt with the issue.

HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) was called in by then-home secretary Theresa May to investigate the extent of the problem nationally.

The watchdog's findings, published in December, revealed hundreds of officers and other police personnel across the country had been accused over two years of abusing their power to sexually exploit people, including vulnerable victims of crime.

As a result forces were given the task of developing and beginning to implement plans.

These were to achieve the capability and capacity required to seek intelligence on potential cases of abuse of authority for sexual gain.

A review of their progress based on information provided to the inspectorate as of the end of May was carried out.

It found 11 force plans contained insufficient information, while another 15 forces had drawn up plans but had not yet started implementing them.

Cumbria was one of the 15 - although the force says its plan is a "strong and detailed" one - and events had been organised internally.

Superintendent Sarah Jackson said: "Cumbria Constabulary expects the highest standards of conduct from all police officers at all times.

"We will not tolerate our officers or staff using their position of authority for sexual purpose.

"We have a strong and detailed plan in place to act on the national recommendations, and have been actively highlighting the issue both internally within our force and externally with partners."

She said campaigns and events had been held "to raise awareness of the strict boundaries when it comes to dealing with members of the public".

Supt Jackson added: "We will continue to remind our officers and staff that abusing their position in any form is not acceptable, and have introduced a confidential reporting line for our employees to use if they have concerns.

“We have also recently hosted an external event, attended by more than 50 representatives from partner agencies.

"These agencies are those that come into contact with victims and witnesses, and we sought to ensure they knew how to act if they suspected an officer was abusing his or her authority for sexual purpose.

“I can reassure communities that we investigate any reports thoroughly and would encourage anyone with any concerns to contact police.

"All reports will be treated with the strictest confidence."

Fifteen forces had started putting their plans into action.

Just two, Derbyshire Constabulary and Merseyside Police, already had all of the required elements in place.

HM Inspector Mike Cunningham, who led the review, said: "When police officers and police staff abuse their position for a sexual purpose it has a devastating effect on the lives of victims, and corrodes trust and confidence in the police.

"It is of great importance that forces are prepared to seek intelligence on this type of corruptio, and when they find it deal with it vigorously and decisively.

"The importance of public trust in the police cannot be understated and forces need to do everything they can to ensure this trust isn't eroded."

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Cumbria's crime commissioner on the findings

Cumbria’s crime commissioner Peter McCall welcomed the findings on how the force had addressed the issues.

He said: "Overall, the force has responded really well to the national recommendations and provided inspectors with comprehensive plans as requested, albeit with some work still to be done.

“In addition to that, I know the force has done a lot of work internally to reiterate that Cumbria Constabulary expects the highest standards of conduct from all police officers at all times and will not tolerate officers or staff using their position of authority for sexual purpose.

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Why was the review launched?

Inspectors last year identified "serious concerns".

These included forces failing to recognise abuse of position for a sexual purpose as serious corruption and failing to refer cases to the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC).

Although its follow-up review flagged up concerns about individual force plans, the inspectorate said there was "impressive work" going on at a national level by the National Police Chiefs' Council, College of Policing, IPCC and the Home Office.

NPCC lead for counter-corruption Stephen Watson said: "There is no place in the service for people who would abuse their position as police officers for a sexual purpose.

"We have developed a strong national strategy to help forces prevent, identify and root out any officers who betray their duty in this manner.

"Today's report by HMICFRS shows that three quarters of police forces have detailed plans in place to act on the national recommendations and more than half of those have shown real progress implementing their plans.

"However, there is clearly more work to do to drive forward the pace of reform and improve the consistency of approach."

HMICFRS will inspect how forces have implemented their plans next year.