Nearly 70 per cent of Police Scotland officers suspended while facing criminal investigations are accused of offences against women, according to figures obtained by STV.
Of the 53 suspended officers under criminal probes, two are accused of stalking, nine of sexual offences, and 26 of domestic abuse-related offences. Other alleged offences include assault, driving offences, drugs, and fraud.
Breakdown of Suspended Officers
The suspended officers include two inspectors, six sergeants, and 45 constables, all suspended on full pay while investigations are conducted. The longest-running investigation relates to a 2020 complaint, with the suspension starting in November 2020.
Ten more civilian employees of Police Scotland are also in cases where there is either a "live" criminal investigation or matters that, following criminal investigation, remain with the Crown Office or Scottish Courts. Officers suspended where criminal probes and/or COPFS or Court consideration have concluded are not included in the data, with the matter being considered from a Police Conduct perspective.
Recent Cases of Convicted Officers
The figures come after two rapist Police Scotland officers were exposed for their crimes. Campbell Petrie appeared at the High Court in Glasgow on Wednesday, where he was found guilty of nine charges, including two counts of rape, as well as indecent assault, assault with intent to rape, and assault to injury and danger of life.
The 50-year-old committed the offences between 2006 and 2023 while serving as an officer. He was arrested, charged, and suspended from duty in December 2023 before retiring from Police Scotland in December 2025.
Earlier this year, PC Alan Greer was exposed as a violent serial rapist who passed vetting checks to join the police despite his record showing two reports of criminal behaviour against women. His first victim is believed to be a woman he raped in her home in Glasgow in 2012 after she had called police to report being the victim of a crime. Uniformed officers attended her house, took her statement, and left before one officer returned alone hours later, forced her into a sexual act, and raped her.
Police Scotland launched one of the force's biggest ever anti-corruption inquiries into Greer late last year after the woman reported the sex attack. Greer, whose total number of victims rose to 15 after the probe, took his own life in May of this year, just days after a raid on his home as part of the investigation into offences dating back to 2012.
Federation Response
Speaking about the newly released figures, David Kennedy, general secretary of the Scottish Police Federation, said: "It's a worrying statistic, but unfortunately that is what's happening with society at the moment, and the police just reflect that.
"I don't think it's a cultural problem within Police Scotland. I think it's a problem we have right now in society in Scotland, and the police is a mirror image of that."
Kennedy also stressed that the suspended officers are currently under investigation for allegations, rather than having been proven to have committed crimes. He believed this should show the public that the force are taking action against those accused of crimes.
Kennedy said: "These officers are suspended, so that's an allegation. It's not somebody that's been proven to have done something wrong at the moment. The public should look at this positively in the sense that the police are doing something about it."
