A serving Police Scotland officer who took home six shotguns and other weapons that had been surrendered to him has been jailed for two years and three months. Alan Sharp, 52, resigned from the force last month and pleaded guilty at the High Court in Glasgow on November 10 to three firearms charges and one count of wilful neglect of duty.
Sharp, a constable with the Firearms and Explosive Licensing Department in Kinross, had been with the force since 2001. In January 2021, he was handed a shopping bag containing components for a rifle and two firearm barrels at Kinross Police Station. Then in November, he took possession of six shotguns designated for destruction.
A search of Sharp's home in Kinross in 2022 uncovered the shotguns in a secure cabinet, found to be in working order. Officers also discovered the rifle component parts in the shopping bag on top of a washing machine in a garage, with the two firearm barrels nearby.
Additionally, 1,919 bullets of 17 different calibres were seized. A police spreadsheet falsely recorded that the shotguns, rifle parts and firearm barrels had been destroyed. Sharp also admitted failing to carry out necessary checks and enquiries for firearms licence applications.
Assistant Chief Constable Lynn Ratcliff said: 'Alan Sharp's actions in no way reflect the high standards expected of an officer in Police Scotland. He abused his position as a constable, neglected his legal duties, and his actions go against everything we stand for.' She added that people like Sharp have 'no place in Police Scotland'.
