Sleeping with the enemy is clue to a bent copper

Police officers who are bitter, brash, or have a tendency to bully, and those who have sex with the wives of criminals, have been identified as those most likely to become corrupt, says a new guide drawn up by a senior police analyst.

Police officers who are bitter, brash, or have a tendency to bully, and those who have sex with the wives of criminals, have been identified as those most likely to become corrupt, says a new guide drawn up by a senior police analyst.

The profiles and common traits of "bent" coppers have been obtained by analysing 149 cases of corruption in England and Wales. Police chiefs intend to use the guide to help them weed out corruption, and focus on suspects during internal inquiries.

Among the most common characteristics found in corrupt police officers are being divorced, failing promotion, having money problems and arguing with their superiors.

Dr Bryn Caless, a member of the Association of Chief Police Officers' countercorruption advisory group, and the head of human resources at Kent police, who did the research, said: "The profile suggests where we may look if we want to find corruption. It may be possible to use profiling to determine where risks may be and may also assist in the vetting for designated posts."

Dr Caless argues firmly against the much-repeated theory that corruption is isolated to inherently wicked officers or "bad apples". Instead he says people join the police honest, but can become corrupted by fellow officers, criminals and retired colleagues.

His analysis found that uniformed and plain-clothes constables were the most likely to become corrupt.