Police officer was violent rapist who attacked women over 14 years

By

Scotland investigations correspondent

A constabulary serviceman who took his ain beingness successful May was a convulsive rapist who carried retired a spate of intersexual attacks and attempted murders of women implicit astatine slightest 14 years, the BBC tin reveal.

PC Alan Greer's archetypal known unfortunate was a pistillate helium raped successful her location successful Glasgow successful 2012 aft she had called the constabulary to study being the unfortunate of a crime.

The pistillate reported the enactment onslaught by Greer precocious past year, sparking 1 of Police Scotland's biggest ever anti-corruption inquiries.

Detectives person truthful acold uncovered a further 8 victims, 5 of whom were enactment workers, attacked portion Greer was disconnected duty.

It has emerged that Greer utilized hundreds of prostitutes passim his constabulary career, and it is anticipated much victims of his unit volition beryllium identified.

Assistant Chief Constable Lynn Ratcliff, golden commandant for the investigation, said what the enquiry had recovered was "truly shocking".

She said: "This serviceman has intelligibly abused his powerfulness and has revisited idiosyncratic that he's encountered successful the people of his duties.

"But this unfortunate was brave capable to travel and talk to us, and that truly was the trigger constituent for america starting our investigation.

"That's allowed america to proactively place 8 further victims."

Greer, who was calved successful Australia successful 1978, moved to the UK erstwhile helium was six.

He joined Strathclyde Police successful 2009 earlier it merged with Police Scotland successful 2013 and had 17 years of seemingly unblemished service.

At first, helium worked arsenic a uniformed effect serviceman successful Glasgow earlier helium secured a occupation successful serviceman information training, based successful Coatbridge, successful astir 2016.

This meant helium was progressive successful teaching probationer officers arsenic good arsenic refreshing much experienced serviceman training.

When helium died successful May, helium was 47, with a woman and child.

Greer's household and colleagues are understood to person been "oblivious" to his convulsive treble life.

Senior officers insisted determination were nary opportunities to spot his offending sooner.

It was towards the extremity of past twelvemonth that a pistillate successful her precocious thirties walked into a Glasgow constabulary presumption to study a crime.

Somewhat reluctantly, she explained that she had, successful 2012, attempted to study a disturbance astatine her home, and that uniformed officers had attended her Glasgow home.

She said the officers took her connection and left.

A fewer hours aboriginal 1 of the officers returned, alone, forced her into a intersexual enactment and raped her.

After she told the constabulary past year, the pistillate seemed to disengage from further inquiries.

The lawsuit was handed to the anti-corruption portion (ACU), who, by April, had secured a connection from her.

From this they were past capable to place the telephone she'd made successful 2012 and could place the officers who had attended.

They recovered that, successful the weeks aft the 2012 attack, 1 of those officers had repeatedly monitored the woman's transgression record connected the constabulary machine for updates, possibly to spot if she had made a further disclosure astir what happened to her aboriginal that day.

The PC had adjacent carried retired 1 of these checks portion connected yearly leave.

Fourteen years aboriginal arsenic anti-corruption detectives attempted to place the woman's attacker, it would beryllium these keystrokes, these searches successful her transgression record for which determination was nary morganatic constabulary reason, which gave them their fishy - PC Alan Greer.

A captious incidental was past declared and a golden commandant was installed.

Anti-corruption detectives started moving connected Greer, and obtained his mobile telephone number, which had antecedently not been held connected his unit file.

Only his location fig had been retained by police.

The mobile fig was past enactment done constabulary quality databases, which revealed a azygous portion of quality dating backmost to 2018, linked to that number, but with nary sanction attached.

The quality had travel from a Glasgow enactment idiosyncratic and indicated that the proprietor of that telephone fig was a lawsuit who had been violent.

There was nary denotation the fig belonged to a constabulary officer, but was this an accidental to drawback Greer successful 2018?

ACC Ratcliff told the BBC: "I americium wholly satisfied that everything that could person been reasonably done astatine that clip was done, and that determination were nary missed opportunities arsenic a effect of that information."

The accusation from 2018 gave detectives a 2nd strand of evidence, and grounds to show each keystroke that Greer made connected constabulary computers.

They past discovered that Greer had been searching the constabulary strategy for traces of a ailment from a telephone number, which detectives were capable to place belonged to a Glasgow enactment worker.

This was a breakthrough. This was their fishy repeating the signifier from 2012.

They present had capable grounds to enactment earlier a sheriff who authorised a warrant to hunt his location and prehend his devices.

At dawn connected 24 April, officers raided Greer's household location successful what was described arsenic a "day of enforcement action".

Greer appeared shocked to beryllium arrested connected suspicion of the 2012 rape.

Seven mobile phones and a laptop were seized, and Greer was brought into a constabulary presumption to beryllium fingerprinted and person his DNA taken.

He was not interviewed but was suspended from work and released pending further enquiries.

It was lone erstwhile officers started to look astatine his phones that the standard of Greer's offending began to emerge.

Thousands of graphic videos and images were recovered, revealing that Greer had utilized hundreds of prostitutes passim his constabulary career.

Officers are not yet adjacent halfway done the files, but person already identified 5 enactment workers who person been earnestly sexually assaulted.

If Greer was alive, it is understood constabulary would person sought charges of attempted execution successful immoderate of the cases, specified was the level of unit used.

Three different victims person been identified, including 2 pistillate constabulary officers Greer had taken inappropriate photographs of portion they were training.

As Greer's serial offending was emerging, detectives took steps to guarantee his household were not successful danger, and societal enactment officers, accompanied by section police, visited his location connected 5 May.

Greer died by termination the pursuing day.

In the days that followed, constabulary announced Greer's decease connected the force's interior communications platform, and stated helium died portion suspended and nether transgression investigation.

A root adjacent to the probe told the BBC: "Some of his colleagues thought this was a callous determination connected behalf of the police, saying helium was nether transgression probe erstwhile he'd lone conscionable died.

"But it's wide they were each wholly successful the acheronian astir this guy's offending.

"Folk volition beryllium successful a authorities of daze erstwhile they larn the afloat truth. I don't deliberation anyone truly knows however atrocious it is yet.

"It feels a spot similar this could beryllium Police Scotland's Wayne Couzens moment."

Couzens is simply a erstwhile Metropolitan Police serviceman serving a whole-life condemnation for the rape and execution of Sarah Everard.

He abused his constabulary relation to signifier a fake arrest, highlighting terrible vetting failures and aggregate failed opportunities to uncover the hazard helium posed.

ACC Ratcliff said the examination was unhelpful and that nary reddish flags were missed.

She said: "At this stage, we've got nary grounds to suggest [missed reddish flags] is the case, but we perfectly support that nether reappraisal due to the fact that 1 of the things that we person to bash from inquiries of this quality is marque definite that we seizure and we instrumentality connected committee the lessons learned."

The adjunct main constable insisted the vetting scenery successful Police Scotland is "markedly different" to erstwhile Greer joined Strathclyde Police successful 2009, and that Greer would not walk vetting checks today.

There are inactive 1,000s of images recovered from Greer's devices that person to beryllium sifted through, and it is understood helium utilized aggregate pseudonyms and phones to transportation retired his intersexual transactions.

Specialist officers person been drafted successful from different units to bolster the anti-corruption unit, including from the large incidental team, and the enquiry is expected to instrumentality galore months.

Greer volition ne'er beryllium brought to justness but constabulary accidental they are determined to found the afloat representation of his offending.

ACC Ratcliff said: "If determination is anyone who believes that they whitethorn person been a unfortunate of Alan Greer, we would impulse them to person the courageousness and assurance to travel guardant and archer america astir it.

"They tin beryllium assured that we volition listen, and that we volition investigate, and we volition bash our champion to marque definite that they get the enactment that they request going forward."

Production/additional reporting: Kevin Anderson and Carla Basu

If you privation to interaction Mark astir this story, email him astatine mark.daly@bbc.co.uk

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