A serving Police Scotland officer has been sentenced for violent offences against a woman. Jay Skivington, 24, was handed 160 hours of unpaid work and a five-year non-harassment order at Aberdeen Sheriff Court on Wednesday, October 7.
Guilty plea and next steps
Skivington had previously pleaded guilty at the same court on August 17. A report will now be prepared for the Deputy Chief Constable to consider whether misconduct proceedings should be brought.
Detective Inspector Mark Wilson, the senior investigating officer, said violence against women and girls was being treated as a "national emergency" and stressed that Police Scotland would pursue offenders regardless of their occupation.
Police Scotland's response
He said: "We recognise that violence against women and girls is a national emergency, and is being addressed as a matter of the utmost importance."
"Police Scotland will relentlessly pursue those who perpetrate such crimes, regardless of their occupation or position in society. I wholeheartedly commend the victim for reporting these crimes and I hope this sentence brings her some comfort."
"Reporting matters where the perpetrator is a police officer can be particularly difficult, and we understand how challenging it can feel. Anybody approaching us to record allegations of this nature should be reassured we will work to investigate these matters fully."
"We will identify those involved, whether they are serving, retired or resigned, and whether offences happened on or off duty. Skivington will now face the consequences of his actions."
Context of suspended officers
It comes after it was reported this week that the majority of suspended police officers in Scotland under criminal investigation are accused of offences relating to violence against women. Of the 53 suspended cops under criminal probes, two are accused of stalking, nine are accused of sexual offences, and 26 are accused of domestic abuse-related offences. Some of the other offences faced include assault, driving offences, drugs, and fraud.
Two rapist Police Scotland officers were outed for their shocking sex crimes recently. Campbell Petrie appeared at the High Court in Glasgow last month where he was found guilty of nine charges, which included 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 he was a serving 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 the 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.
