PC Alan Greer, a Police Scotland officer, has been unmasked as a rapist who committed a series of sexual attacks and attempted murders of women over at least 14 years. He took his own life in May after being suspended from duty pending an investigation into his offences.
Detectives have identified eight victims, five of whom were sex workers, who were attacked while Greer was off duty, according to a BBC Disclosure investigation. A source close to the investigation told the BBC: "It feels a bit like this could be Police Scotland's Wayne Couzens moment."
Background of the case
Wayne Couzens, a former Metropolitan Police officer, is serving a whole-life sentence for the kidnap, rape and murder of 33-year-old Sarah Everard in south London in March 2021. Greer's first known victim was a woman he raped in her home in Glasgow in 2012 after she had contacted police to report being a victim of crime. In 2018, a sex worker in Glasgow told police a man had been violent and provided a phone number belonging to Greer, which police at the time could not trace back to him.
Greer's crimes came to light in late 2025 when the first woman reported the 2012 rape to police, sparking an investigation by Police Scotland's anti-corruption unit. Detectives traced the officers who attended the woman's home and found that Greer had been tracking the crime file for updates without legitimate reason. In February 2026, detectives discovered that Greer had searched the police system for information about the incident involving the sex worker.
Arrest and aftermath
Greer was arrested in April on suspicion of the 2012 rape. Police raided his home and seized seven mobile phones and a laptop, which revealed the scale of his offending. After Greer took his own life, Police Scotland announced on its internal communications platform that he had died while suspended from duty and under criminal investigation. The source told the BBC: "Some of his colleagues thought this was a callous move on behalf of the police, saying he was under criminal investigation when he'd only just died. But it's clear they were all totally in the dark about this guy's offending. Folk will be in a state of shock when they learn the full truth. I don't think anyone really knows how bad it is yet."
Greer's family and colleagues were said to have been "oblivious" to his violent double life. Assistant Chief Constable Lynn Ratcliff, gold commander for the investigation, told the BBC that the findings were "truly shocking". She said: "This officer has clearly abused his power and has revisited someone that he's encountered in the course of his duties. But this victim was brave enough to come and speak to us, and that really was the trigger point for us starting our investigation. That's allowed us to proactively identify eight further victims."
ACC Ratcliff said the comparison to Couzens was unhelpful and that at this stage there was no evidence to suggest that "red flags" were missed. She added that the force's vetting process is "markedly different" to when Greer joined Strathclyde Police in 2009, meaning he would not pass checks today. With more victims expected to be identified, she urged anyone who believes they may have been one of his victims to come forward.
