Police Scotland vetting failed to block rapist officer despite caution

Police Scotland has confirmed that a serial rapist officer was allowed to join the force despite vetting staff being aware of a previous formal caution for inappropriate behaviour towards women. Alan Greer, 47, joined Strathclyde Police in 2009, four years after receiving a caution from the Metropolitan Police in 2005 for making inappropriate phone calls to a woman in London. He had also been investigated by Strathclyde Police in 2002 over similar calls to a woman in Glasgow, a case reported to prosecutors with no further action taken.

The revelations emerge following a major investigation into Greer, who was identified as the officer at the centre of a probe into serious sexual offending and attempted murder spanning more than 14 years. His first known victim was a woman he raped in her Glasgow home in 2012 after she called police to report a crime. He returned to her property alone hours later and attacked her. She reported the assault late last year, triggering the inquiry.

Detectives from Police Scotland's Anti-Corruption Unit have since identified 15 victims. Eight of these were attacked while Greer was off duty, five of whom were sex workers. Police Scotland stated that...