The Metropolitan Police is currently investigating 625 allegations of domestic or sexual abuse against officers and staff.
The force set up the Domestic and Sexual Offences Unit (Daso) in January as part of an effort to rebuild trust in London’s police service following a series of scandals.
A “significant number” of cases under investigation involve domestic abuse where a couple are both in the police, according to a BBC report.
Traditionally, internal investigations into police law-breaking or misconduct are conducted by officers specialising in professional standards. Daso is different because its officers’ expertise is in safeguarding, particularly understanding domestic abuse and sexual offences, said senior team leader, detective superintendent Annette Clark.
Of abusive officers, she said: “We don’t want them in the organisation and we need to get rid of them.”
