Nearly 100 Sussex Police officers were investigated for allegations of domestic abuse or sexual offences in the past five years.

Statistics revealed under a Freedom of Information request found that 95 officers were investigated between 2017 and 2022, with figures for sexual offence allegations rising considerably in that period.

The figures include allegations of sexual assault, sexual harassment and abuse of position for a sexual purpose. Annual figures for sexual offence allegations increased five-fold between 2019 and 2022.

Over the five-year period, 68 officers were investigated for allegations of sexual offences, while 27 domestic abuse allegations were looked into.

The Argus requested the statistics in January. Public bodies are obligated to accept or deny the claim within 20 working days.

Sussex Police failed to hand over the statistics in the set time frame with the figures finally revealed 52 days after the initial request.

In response, a Sussex Police spokesman said: “In the last two months we have seen requests increase by 50 per cent. National stories about high-profile cases in relation to police criminality and misconduct have increased public scrutiny in the service generally.

“In the future we are looking to proactively publish more data on our website to enable more access to information.

“We expect the highest personal and professional standards of our officers and staff, and any allegations of behaviour that do not meet those standards are rigorously investigated in accordance with the relevant Police Conduct Regulations.

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“All sexual-related complaints and misconduct are reviewed by our Professional Standards Department to ensure that they are investigated proportionately.

“Prior to the conviction of former Met Police officer David Carrick and as part of our work to prevent and respond to violence against women and girls, greater scrutiny and oversight now exists over police-perpetrated domestic abuse and reviews take place of all cases involving police-perpetrated sexual offending.

“We are committed to rooting out those officers who betray our professional standards and the public we serve.”

The Argus: Sussex Police HQSussex Police HQ (Image: Andrew Gardner/The Argus)

The Argus previously reported that 48 Sussex Police officers were accused of violence against women and girls according to statistics from the National Police Chiefs' Council.

In comparison, at Lancashire Police, a force of a similar size, officers were involved in only 12 cases.

The Argus requested investigation statistics for the past ten years, however Sussex Police said they do not hold pre-2017 figures.

Allegations of sexual offences noticeably increased in 2021 in the wake of the murder of Sarah Everard by serving Met Police officer Wayne Couzens.

Couzens pleaded guilty to kidnap, rape and murder, and was jailed for life in September 2021.

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Sussex Police Detective Chief Inspector Jon Robeson said: “We will probably see more negative headlines because of the hearings we have to hold but that is a process that we need to go through to root out this misconduct.”

Police said they are trying to create a “call-it-out culture” where officers feel comfortable challenging the behaviour of their colleagues.

The statistics released show the number of allegations which were investigated by the force and do not show the number of misconduct findings.