Police officer vetted despite warnings over prior offenses

Police Scotland hired Alan Greer as an officer in 2009 despite knowing about a formal police caution issued to him in 2005 for making inappropriate phone calls. Greer had also been investigated by Strathclyde Police in 2002 for similar offenses.

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At this stage, we've got no evidence to suggest that is the case…

Despite these prior incidents, Assistant Chief Constable Lynn Ratcliff initially stated there was nothing to suggest missed opportunities to stop Greer's offending. She noted that vetting standards have since improved, and Greer would not pass current checks. However, a BBC investigation revealed that Greer's 2005 caution was referenced in a partial vetting record when he applied to Strathclyde Police.

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The force should not recruit people with cautions or convictions, which may call into question the integrity of the applicant or the force.

Sources indicate that the 2002 offense, described as an "adverse trace," would have been discoverable. A 2006 handbook for Strathclyde Police Standard Operating Procedures stated the force should not recruit individuals with cautions or convictions that could compromise an applicant's or the force's integrity. A police source told the BBC that two reported offenses involving women before Greer joined should have raised significant concerns, calling him a "menace from the off."

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Two reported crimes related to women before he joined should have been raising all sorts of alarm bells.

Craig Naylor, chief inspector for HM Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland (HMICS), led a 2023 review of Police Scotland's vetting processes. He concluded that even by 2009 standards, Greer's past should have disqualified him from joining the police. Naylor confirmed that missed opportunities existed to prevent Greer's recruitment, stating, "My view is that he should never have got in at that point."

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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.