PC Alan Greer passed police vetting despite prior complaints
BBC reveals PC Alan Greer passed police vetting despite prior investigations and a caution for behaviour towards women; Police Scotland faces questions over missed opportunities.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story.
The BBC has found that a police officer who later became a violent serial rapist was allowed to join the force even though vetting staff were aware of earlier criminal complaints against him.
PC Alan Greer took his own life while under investigation for rape and sexual assault by Police Scotland. Last month the BBC exposed him as a dangerous rapist with at least nine victims. At that time Police Scotland insisted there had been no missed opportunities or red flags that could have stopped his offending sooner.
Now the BBC can reveal that Greer had been investigated twice by police for concerning behaviour towards women before he joined the force. The first investigation was in 2002, carried out by what was then Strathclyde Police, over making inappropriate silent phone calls to women. In 2005 the Metropolitan Police issued Greer with a formal caution after he was again caught making inappropriate phone calls, this time to a woman in London.
Four years later, in 2009, Strathclyde Police accepted Greer into the force despite being aware of his offending. The force's vetting unit knew about his past but let him join anyway.
Police Scotland has today moved to clarify its earlier comments. It said it had provided answers to questions relating to Alan Greer's offending during the course of his police career, and did not believe it had been answering questions about his police vetting records. It said that questions about vetting would be examined by an external review, that it could not disclose information that could be harmful to victims, and that Greer would not pass vetting by today's standards.
Craig Naylor, who led a review into Police Scotland's vetting processes in 2023, said: "My view is that he should never have got in at that point. And my view is that in the intervening period, I'm surprised that something didn't come up about that. When I've run vetting in the past, he would not have got in." Asked directly whether this was a missed opportunity to stop Greer joining the police, he replied: "Yes."
The case has raised serious questions about the effectiveness of police vetting procedures and whether earlier warnings were ignored.
On screen
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Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, mapped by channel. Ordered by how many channels carried each claim.
| Claim | BBC One |
|---|---|
| Alan Greer was allowed to join the police in 2009 despite the vetting unit knowing about his offending. | |
| Alan Greer was investigated twice before joining the police, in 2002 and 2005. | |
| Police Scotland initially said there were no missed opportunities, but later clarified that its answers related to Greer's career offending, not his vetting. |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
BBC ONE West focused on the new revelation that Alan Greer had two prior police investigations and a formal caution before joining, and that the vetting unit was aware of this. The report highlighted Police Scotland's clarification that it had answered questions about his career, not his vetting record, and included an expert view from Craig Naylor that Greer should never have been allowed in. The tone was investigative and critical of the force's handling.
- “Now we can reveal that Greer had been investigated twice by the police for concerning behavior towards women before he joined the police”
- “Police Scotland has today moved to clarify its earlier position and said it provided answers to questions relating to Alan Grier's offending during the course of his policing career, and did not believe it had been answering questions about his police vetting records.”
- “My view is that he should never have got in at that point.”
Broadcast Timeline
News broadcasts tracked for this story, in time order.