At least 309 police officers and police community support officers in the UK have been convicted of offences in the last three years, figures show.

The offences that led to convictions include sex crimes, assaults and possessing indecent images of children. 

However, only 25 of the 45 forces gave figures to the Press Association after a Freedom of Information request.

A Home Office spokesman said measures had been introduced to improve standards of behaviour in the police.

The 20 forces that did not provide information either said they could not reveal the number of convictions because of the cost of retrieving the information, or did not respond to the request.

Police Scotland and the Police Service of Northern Ireland were among those not to provide the information.

Separate figures obtained from 18 forces showed that there are at least 295 officers and police community support officers (PCSOs) with convictions who are currently serving with the police.

Police convictions: How did your force respond?

'Appropriate action' 

The Home Office spokesman said: "The vast majority of police officers in this country do their job honestly and with integrity. They put themselves in harm's way to protect the public. 

"But the good work of the majority threatens to be damaged by a continuing series of events and revelations relating to police conduct.

"Over the last two years the Home Office has introduced a programme of measures to improve standards of behaviour in the police, including making the disciplinary system more independent and transparent through introducing hearings in public, preventing officers resigning or retiring to avoid dismissal, and - from next year - introducing legally qualified, independent chairs on misconduct hearing panels."

Police forces did not tell the Press Association the names of officers who had been involved in crimes, saying that it would breach data protection laws to identify them. What the figures demonstrate is that, proportionately, the number of "rotten apples" in the police barrel is very small. 

You might expect that, given that police are meant to enforce the law rather than break it, but sometimes newspaper headlines suggest the opposite. 

However, the refusal of so many police forces to provide conviction data is more troubling. Surely it's in each constabulary's interest to keep tabs on employees with a criminal record - and surely it's in the public interest for us to know, for, as Home Secretary Theresa May has recently reminded us, the police are the public and the public are the police. 

The College of Policing has begun releasing details of the number of officers who leave the service for disciplinary reasons. Perhaps the College, the body which sets ethical standards for the service, should start collecting and publishing conviction data too. 

Among the forces to provide figures to the Press Association: