A BBC investigation has revealed that Police Scotland officer Alan Greer, who died by suicide in May, was a rapist who attacked at least nine women over 14 years. Greer, 47, used hundreds of sex workers throughout his career, and more victims are expected to be identified.
Victim's disclosure sparked major inquiry
Greer's offending came to light after his first known victim, a woman he raped in her Glasgow home in 2012 after she called police to report a crime, disclosed the attack late last year. This prompted one of Police Scotland's biggest anti-corruption inquiries, uncovering eight additional victims, including five sex workers and two female police officers.
Assistant Chief Constable Lynn Ratcliff, gold commander for the investigation, confirmed the inquiry found "truly shocking" evidence. She said: "This officer has clearly abused his power and has revisited someone that he's encountered in the course of his duties. But this victim was brave enough to come and speak to us, and that really was the trigger point for us starting our investigation."
Missed opportunities and parallels to Wayne Couzens
A source close to the investigation told the BBC the case resembled that of Met Police officer Wayne Couzens, who was jailed for the rape and murder of Sarah Everard. The source said: "It feels a bit like this could be Police Scotland's Wayne Couzens moment."
Greer, born in Australia in 1978, joined Strathclyde police in 2009 and had 17 years of apparently unblemished service. His family and colleagues were unaware of his violent double life. Senior officers insisted there were no opportunities to spot his offending sooner.
Investigation details
After the 2012 rape victim reported the attack, the case was handed to the anti-corruption unit (ACU), which identified the call she made and the officers who attended. They found Greer had repeatedly monitored the woman's crime file on police computers. Anti-corruption detectives obtained his mobile number and discovered a 2018 intelligence report from a Glasgow sex worker indicating the owner of that number had been violent. This gave detectives grounds to monitor Greer's police computer keystrokes, revealing he had searched for complaints from a sex worker's phone number.
A warrant to search his home and seize devices uncovered thousands of graphic videos and images, showing Greer used hundreds of sex workers. Officers are not yet halfway through the files but have identified five sex workers seriously sexually assaulted and two female police officers he took inappropriate photographs of during training. Police would have sought charges of attempted murder in some cases due to the level of violence.
Suicide after welfare visit
On 5 May, social work officers and local police visited Greer's home to ensure his family were not in danger. He died by suicide the following day. Ratcliff said no red flags were missed but added that Greer would not pass vetting checks today.
