With yet another MP in the news, accused of sexual misconduct, I thought I would do a bit of digging into the numbers.

There are about 67,000 SO, on the register in the UK, out of a population of 67 million. That means there is approximately one SO, for every 1,000 people, in the general population. But what about the MPs who created the register and the police who enforce it?

According to recent figures, there were 251 officers in the Met police under investigation for sexual offences, out of 34,000. That is one in every 135, nearly ten times as many per head, as the general population. MPs are no better. 5 out of 651 are under investigation, which is one SO for every 130 MPs.

But the worst by far, are Greater Manchester Police with 158 SO, out of just 7,000 officers. That is one SO for every 44 serving officers.

Six police forces, including the Met and GMP are now in special measures. 

So how does this compare with say, the teaching profession?  You might imagine that teachers are particularly at risk, given that they have access to children, but there were just 275 facing investigation for sexual misconduct, out of a total of 625,000. That is only one in every 2,000, which is less than half the rate in the general population.