A police officer later exposed as a violent serial rapist passed checks to join his force despite two existing reports of criminal behavior against women.
Alan Greer was investigated by police in 2002 and 2005 for making inappropriate phone calls to women and in one case received a formal police warning.
But he got a job at Strathclyde Police – now Police Scotland – in 2009 despite staff knowing about his history.
Police Scotland had claimed there were no ‘missed opportunities’ to expose Greer’s offenses previously, but have now said his comments only related to the officer’s police career, and not his vetting.
Greer committed suicide in May after a police raid on his home – he had been an officer for seventeen years.
He committed a series of attempted murders or serious assaults, including the rape of a vulnerable woman just hours after meeting her on duty.
And he violently assaulted many of the hundreds of sex workers he interacted with during his police career, while also taking inappropriate photos of female colleagues while working on a security training course.
Police Scotland have identified 15 of Greer’s victims, although the actual number is feared to be much higher.
Alan Greer was a serial sex offender who passed Strathclyde Police in 2009 despite reports of criminal behavior
Last month, Assistant Chief Constable Lynn Ratcliff said the vetting was ‘significantly different’ to when Greer undertook the process, adding he would not have passed current checks.
Ms Ratcliff said officers now undergo annual integrity testing and routine re-checks.
A 2006 Strathclyde Police handbook outlining standard operating procedures states that police ‘must not recruit people with cautions or convictions, which may call into question the integrity of the applicant or the police’.
Craig Naylor, who led an investigation into Police Scotland’s vetting processes as chief inspector of HM Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland in 2023, said Greer should never have joined the force.
“If I’ve done a check in the past, it wouldn’t have come in,” he said.
Mr Naylor also said he believed Police Scotland had missed opportunities to prevent Greer from joining the force.
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A spokesperson for Police Scotland said: ‘We have been completely open and transparent about information that may be shared in relation to the ongoing investigation into Alan Greer.
‘During an interview with the BBC on 20 July 2026, we provided answers to questions relating to Alan Greer’s offending during his police career, which lasted almost seventeen years.
‘The investigation did not reveal any information during his career that could have led to his criminal behavior being recognized earlier.
‘The recruitment and vetting process carried out by Strathclyde Police before Alan Greer joined in 2009 will form part of an independent and external review by the National Police Chiefs’ Council.
“It would therefore be inappropriate to comment further at this time.”
Mr Naylor’s 2023 investigation revealed significant gaps in Police Scotland’s vetting processes, including the failure to re-examine staff after the Scottish Defense Force merged in 2013.
Greer was one of about 8,800 police officers and staff — about a third of the total workforce — who still had not been re-vetted.
