London, May 14 (IANS): At least 1,504 police officers and staff in England and Wales have been investigated for misconduct in the past two years by the UK's Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), a report said.

Almost 60 per cent of the 1,504 investigated were either found to have a case to answer or faced other action, such as unsatisfactory performance proceedings, Xinhua news agency quoted the report as saying on Thursday.

The IOPC carried out 1,435 investigations, and 236 cases included at least one person under criminal caution, according to the report.

A total of 327 people were criminally investigated by the IOPC, and files relating to 176 individuals (54 per cent) were passed to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) to consider charges, of whom 51 were subsequently charged by the CPS with a criminal offence.

"The vast majority of police uphold the professional standards the public expect of them. The work they do carries a combination of personal risk, fast decision-making and a great deal of sensitivity that is unmatched by any other job. But it is also a job that cannot be done without the confidence of the communities the police serve, or without there being independent scrutiny," said IOPC Director General Michael Lockwood.

The IOPC, established in January 2018, is an "executive non-departmental public body" sponsored by the UK Home Office to "increase public confidence in the police complaints system in England and Wales".