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Hello and welcome back to Behind the Paddle Podcast with me, Paulson Victoria. Today we're gonna talk about a nasty man called Alan Greer. Laws are frets made by the dominant socioeconomic ethnic group in a given nation. It's just a promise of violence that's enacted, and the police are basically an occupying army. You know what I mean? That little quote is by Brennan Lee Mulligan. I love him, he's so great, and I love that quote because it's playful but also serious at the same time. Where today we're going to talk about the police. A police officer is given something that few people in society ever receive, and that's authority. That authority is not only the power to enforce the law, it is the ability to enter people's lives at their most vulnerable moments. A police officer may arrive when someone is frightened, injured, distressed, or in danger. People open their doors because they believe the person standing there has come to help. At least that's what they want you to think. That belief is the foundation of policing, trust. But trust can also be broken and stepped on. When quote allegations, and I put these in quote marks because we all know these aren't allegations, emerged that a person who held that position may have abused it. The consequences reach far beyond one individual. They affect victims, they affect communities, and they affect confidence in the entire organization. In 2026, Police Scotland launched an investigation into former officer Alan Greer. Police say the investigation uncovered allegations of serious sexual offences involving women spanning multiple years. The case has become one of the most significant investigations into a serving police officer in Scotland. So let's talk about the abuser, Alan Greer. This episode is about the investigation, the people affected, and the wider questions raised about policing, accountability, and trust. It is about what happens when the institution created to protect people has to investigate one of its own. So, the officer, Alan Greer, served as a police officer for around 16 years. During that time, he worked in the roles that placed him in contact with members of the public and gave him the authority that comes with wearing a police uniform. Like thousands of other officers across Scotland, his role involved dealing with people during some of the most difficult circumstances they would ever experience. You would think the police would act within the law, that they protect people who need help. For years there was no public indication that Greer would later become the subject of a serious investigation. There were no criminal convictions against him, no court findings, no public record that revealed what investigators would later examine. Then a woman came forward. That decision would change everything. The first report. She said, This victim was brave enough to come and speak to us. Those words reflect the reality faced by many survivors of sexual violence. Without someone deciding to speak, investigations often cannot begin. The first report created a chain of events that would eventually lead detectives to examine Greer's wider activities over many years. So the police actually ranked me, Porson Victoria. I can't remember if it was Lynn who I spoke to, but I do know it was a woman who was investigating Alan. The police rang me on my work mobile number. I personally don't usually pick up calls, but I don't know what made me do it. I just finished the session, just cleaning up. It's not often I hear a woman on the other end of the phone. Then she says, Police Scotland. I froze. With my history of being charged, not prosecuted, with brothel keeping, thankfully dismissed. You know, the whole two women can't share the same apartment even if it's not at the same time. By law, that's a brothel, and it's a jailable offence. But you can listen to that story in the previous podcast episode. I was charged with brothel keeping part one and two. So I'm already wary of the police, as you can imagine. She then goes on to say she knows all about my case, etc. How lovely of her to look everything off about me before calling. She goes on to ask me if I've had any clients in the past few years who've had who've been memorable. Like really not nice. I honestly don't recall seeing someone so horrible to me. I was no use to her. But I did ask why she rang me. Apparently, I was in his contacts. So she was ringing every sex worker, every number, in his mobile and looking them up at the same time. Now, there were a few times in my career where I haven't very much liked what has gone on. Like I was stealthed. Um I have had aggressive clients in a way where they think they can do what they like, especially if they throw more money at me. I mean, I even had a client who was very, very right wing, and he said that he was gonna tell the police if I didn't give him a refund. He started going on about immigration while mid-wipping him. It was really off-putting, but he sounded like a Tory, so I kind of expected it if I'm honest. Um yeah, that was a little bit sidetracked. But it wasn't anything like major, major horrible. Like I also had an arsonist come see me, and then he wanted a refund afterwards and he threatened to burn my house down, but I couldn't go to the police because I'm just scared of the police now. So that's great. Me and anybody else who have spoken to the police ringing me out of the blue, asking if there is anybody who has been abusive, has said, What the fuck? Why have they rang you out of the blue? That is so not okay. The police should have gone through National Ugly Mugs first. An organization which specializes in helping sex workers speak to the police. They can even do this anonymously, rather than the police ringing you. Honestly, it was very terrifying. The police seriously don't know how to handle sex workers whatsoever. They need training but refuse or ignore the help offered by sex worker orgs. Investigating one of their own. When allegations involve a police officer, the investigation carries an additional responsibility. Police must investigate the allegations, as they should. But they must also prove to the public that the process is independent, through, and not influenced by the fact that the person under investigation was one of their own. Police Scotland's anti-corruption unit became responsible for the inquiry. Anti-corruption teams exist to investigate allegations that threaten the integrity of policing itself. Their work includes examining misconduct, abuse of position, corruption, and situations where officers may have been misused. Where officers may have misused their authority. The arrest. On 24 April 2026, Police Scotland arrested Alan Greer as part of the investigation. Officers searched the property in Wishaw. Greer was suspended from duty while inquiries continued. At that point, the investigation was still ongoing. The purpose of an investigation is to establish facts. It is not the same as a conviction. Do not get it twisted. He was a rapist. He attempted murder of multiple women which had victims spanning over 14 years, and he was a constable. How can you not know this? Surely somebody would have known about this. Spanning over 14 years or even had a hint that he was a rapist, just the way he potentially could speak about women. There must have been hints. That distinction is particularly important in this case because the normal criminal justice process would never reach its conclusion. After the arrest, investigators continued gathering evidence, and there was a lot of it. They examined digital material, they reviewed information connected to the allegations, they worked to understand whether the original report represented an isolated incident or something broader. As the investigation developed, the scale became clearer. Police Scotland later confirmed that the investigation had expanded beyond the original allegation. Detectives identified further women connected to their inquiry. Police say they believed there may be additional victims who have not yet came forward. For investigators, the task became one of reconstruction, trying to understand a period of years, and I mean years, over the course of fourteen years. Who knows how far back this truly goes? Trying to identify everyone who may have been affected. The question that remained. As the investigation continued, one question became increasingly important. How could allegations of this seriousness allegedly continue for a long period? That question is not only about Alan Greer. It is about systems. It is about oversight. It is about whether institutions are capable of recognizing when someone within them may be abusing the trust they have been given. And it is a question that extends beyond policing. Any organization built on trust has to consider how it responds when that trust is challenged. For Police Scotland, this may become more than an investigation into one former officer. The Independent Office for Police Conduct 2021 report follows a recent tide of data underscoring the alarming scale of abuse perpetrated by police officers. At least 15 serving or former police officers have killed women since 2009. More than 750 Met Police employees have faced sexual misconduct allegations since 2010, and only 83 were sacked. Undercover police officers deceived protesters they were spying on intersexual relationships with the knowledge of senior officers who had a don't ask, don't tell policy. One woman a week reports domestic abuse by a police officer, and a super complaint highlighted systematic failures to hold officers accountable. The police inspectorate found that police are failing to use protective measures in domestic abuse and sexual violence cases and called for radical whole system change in how the police respond to violence against women and girls. Nearly 2,000 police officers have faced accusations of sexual wrongdoing since 2017. Over 60% did not result in disciplinary action. Just 8% were dismissed. Nearly 300 officers had previously been reported for misconduct. In the 2023 report, more than 1,500 UK police officers accused of violence against women in six months. Now this article is more than three years old. I couldn't find another article which had newer statistics, but staggering figures from the National Police Chiefs Council show that less than 1% of those accused have been sacked. More people than ever before are accessing the police complaint system in England and Wales. Figures released by the Independent Office for Police Conduct show. The number of complaints logged by the 43 police forces rose to 94,940 between April 2024 and March 2025. That represents an 11% increase on the previous 12 months and the most on record since the IOCPC began collating and analysing complaints data. That is absolutely shocking. And it doesn't mention Scotland, so that's got to be even higher. I mean, I currently have a complaint in with the Scotland police, and I actually need to alter that to actually add more because they didn't give me back all my stuff they confiscated. The importance of being heard. Police investigations are often measured by arrests, charges, and convictions. But for many survivors, the first step is simply being listened to, being believed enough that someone will investigate, being treated with dignity, being recognized as someone who deserves support. In the Alan Guerrero investigation, Police Scotland have repeatedly emphasized that the work is not only about evidence gathering, it is also about identifying and supporting people who may have been affected. Assistant Chief Constable Lynn Radcliffe said, While Guerrera will never stand trial, it is vital we establish the full circumstances of his offer of his offending and ensure the victims have a voice. Those words highlight one of the most difficult realities of this case. There will be no courtroom where evidence is tested. There will be no opportunity for a jury to reach a verdict. But the investigation can still seek answers. It can still identify people who need support. And it can still examine whether lessons must be learned. Alan Gray killed himself. He's a coward and he deserves to rot in hell whether that place exists or not. He should have gone to prison in my opinion. Death is too sweet. The alleged pattern. As detectives continued their work, Police Scotland said the inquiry developed into a much broader investigation. Investigators examined allegations involving multiple women, including sex workers. They looked at information spanning years. They sought to understand whether there was connections between different reports. In criminal investigations, patterns can be important. One report may appear isolated, but when investigators examine a wider picture, they may uncover information that changes how events are understood. Police Scotland has said it believes there may be additional victims who have not yet contacted officers, which might absolutely be true. Sex workers especially, we do not trust the police. Now, one of the things which I said to the police officer while she was on the phone with me was that the phone they confiscated off of me when they took me in for brothel keeping might have his number on there because I had to get a new phone, obviously. So I didn't have all the history or anything like that. And I actually got my phone back, thankfully, a few weeks ago. And I looked at the contacts and I asked the p police officer what was his number, and I wrote it down. And so I searched. And I did, in fact, have a phone conversation with Alan Gray. And I sent him my bank details. But that was it. I suspect he didn't want to pay a deposit, so he never got back to me. But it's a very scary thought. It's a very scary thought. And sex workers do not have enough protection as it is a community facing barriers. Sex workers are not a single group. People involved in sex work have different experiences, different circumstances, and different reasons for entering the industry. Some may work independently, some may face financial pressure. Some might work in brothels. Some may experience exploitation or coercion. Any serious discussion about sex work has to recognize that complexity, but one issue is constantly raised by advocates. Violence against sex workers is often underreported. The reasons are complicated. Some people fear being judged, some fear losing housing, income, support, or deportation. Some fear that contacting authorities may create additional risks. And some believe that the system will not treat their experiences seriously. For organizations campaigning for reform, the central issue is not whether violence exists, it is how society responds to it. The impact of an officer accused. The allegations investigated in the Alan Guerrilla case create an additional challenge. The person accused was not an outsider, he was a police officer. Someone connected to the very system many victims would be expected to approach. For people who already have concerns about reporting, Allegations involving police officers can deepen those concerns. The question becomes: if someone fears a person in authority, where can they go? And how does an institution rebuild confidence after that trust has been damaged? The relationship between police and sex workers. The relationship between police and sex workers has historically been complicated. Police have responsibilities around preventing exploitation, investigating crimes, and protecting vulnerable people. But campaigners argue that enforcement-focused approaches can sometimes create barriers between sex workers and the very services that are supposed to help them. Their argument is that if someone fears police involvement because of their work, they may delay reporting violence. That delay can leave people more vulnerable. I, for one, did not want to report getting stealth because I was sharing an apartment with another girl. And that can land me in jail. It's a horrible thought. That sex workers can't work together for their own protection because of the laws around it. And with the arson client who threatened to bear my house down, I did not feel comfortable calling the police. So I called I think it was crime stoppers that I reported to. I think it was. The disagreement is therefore not about whether people deserve protection. The disagreement is about how best to create that protection. What legal framework provides the safest environment? What approach helps identify exploitation? What approach allows victims to come forward? These are questions debated by politicians, researchers, campaigners, and communities. They believe a safer system is one where people can report violence, seek medical and support services, cooperate with investigations, access protection without fear. Critics of decriminalization, however, argue that any reform must be designed carefully. But as evidence has shown, the Nordic model, which criminalizes sex work, is not the right way to go. There is proof that decriminalization works, especially with the means of sex workers feeling more safe in being able to contact the police when needed. Accountability inside policing. One of the major questions raised after the Alan Guerreer investigation is whether policing has enough safeguards to identify people who may be unsuitable for the role. Traditional vetting focuses heavily on the point when someone joins The Police. But critics argue that safeguarding cannot stop there. People change. Circumstances change. Concerns may emerge years into a career. This has led to calls for stronger ongoing checks and clearer process for dealing with officers accused of serious misconduct. The challenge is creating a system that protects the public while also respecting fairness and due process. Accountability must be strong, but it must also be based on evidence and proper investigation. The role of independent oversight. Another issue raised is whether police forces should investigate themselves when allegations involve their own officers. Police Scotland has specialist units designed to investigate corruption and misconduct, but public confidence also depends on transparency. Some campaigners and former policing figures have argued for stronger independent oversight of serious allegations involving police officers. The argument is that the public must not only see justice being done, they must trust that it is being done. I totally agree with these points. There needs to be more, more checks. Absolutely. So what does justice look like? The Alan Greer investigation leaves behind difficult questions. Because there will never be a criminal trial. The investigation changed dramatically when Alan Greer committed suicide in May of 2026. His death meant that the criminal justice process could not continue. There would be no trial, no prosecution, no conviction. This creates a difficult situation for everyone involved. For investigators, it means continuing work without the possibility of a criminal case. For victims, it may mean questions remain unanswered. For the public, it raises questions about accountability. A criminal trial has a specific purpose. It determines whether a person is guilty beyond reasonable doubt. In this case, Police Scotland have made it very clear that its investigation continues despite Greer's death. There will never be a courtroom verdict. For some people, that means justice feels incomplete. But justice can also mean ensuring people are heard. It can mean understanding what happened. It can mean preventing similar failures in the future. It can mean changing systems that are not working. But that's only if the police actually do the effort to change. The story of Alan Greer is not only about one police officer. It is about the relationship between power and responsibility. This case isn't special, sadly. More cases like this are coming to light or still have not been uncovered, or may not even. It is about the importance of people being able to seek help when they experience harm. And it is about the responsibility of institutions to examine themselves honestly. The first person who came forward changed the course of this investigation. One person's decision to speak created an opportunity for others to be heard. That is why reporting matters. This is why women need to feel safe coming forward. Women need to be believed. Women need to not have fear about coming to institutions that are meant to protect us. This has been Behind the Bad Podcast with me, Pulsa Victoria. I hope you've enjoyed this episode. It certainly has been an episode which I'm just very mad at, honestly. It shouldn't it shouldn't have happened. If you liked this episode, please leave a like, share, follow, uh leave a review. And yeah, I'll see you guys next week. Bye.