Up to 50 Police Scotland officers suspended over allegations of violence against women

Police Scotland has about 40 to 50 serving officers suspended over allegations relating to violence against women and girls, chief constable Jo Farrell has said. They are not at work while investigations continue at different stages. Suspension does not establish that an officer has committed an offence. [1]

Figures reported by STV News on 6 October cover a different group: 53 suspended officers facing criminal investigations, plus ten suspended civilian staff whose cases were either under criminal investigation or still with prosecutors or the courts. STV said 26 of the officers faced domestic-abuse allegations, nine sexual-offence allegations and two stalking allegations. The dates of the underlying counts and the overlap between STV’s group and Farrell’s estimate are unclear, so the figures cannot be used to show a change in suspensions. [4]

Farrell also said between 300 and 400 officers had been re-vetted, with about 8,000 still to go. Regulations in force since April require each constable to be vetted at intervals of no more than ten years. Under the new procedure, withdrawal of all vetting clearance after an assessment requires dismissal, subject to an appeal process. Disciplinary rules already provided a separate route to dismiss officers. [1][3][5]

Farrell said an investigation and independent review concerning former officer Alan Greer were continuing, including whether there had been earlier opportunities to intervene. Police Scotland said Greer was arrested in April, released without charge pending further investigation and suspended; he was found dead in May. The peer review was commissioned in the summer, and its terms were published in September. [1][8][2]