Exclusive:Police Scotland urged to produce timeline for re-vetting 8,000 officers after four rapists exposed this year
Campbell Petrie was jailed for 12 years on Friday after he was convicted of eight charges involving physical and sexual abuse towards women.
Police Scotland has been urged to set out a timeline for the re-vetting of its officers after a fourth police officer was exposed as a rapist in a matter of months.
Rape Crisis Scotland said the incidents “have raised serious questions about the standard of police vetting”. But the Scottish Police Federation raised doubts over whether it would stop dangerous officers from joining the force.
Campbell Petrie was jailed for 12 years yesterday after he was convicted of eight charges involving physical and sexual abuse towards women.
Some 8,000 members of police staff are still to be re-vetted after a change in rules following the murder of Sarah Everard by Met Police officer Wayne Couzens.
There are currently 45 police officers in Scotland suspended over allegations of violence against women and girls. Chief constable Jo Farrell said last week the officers are currently being investigated over alleged offences and that she is expecting to see more officers face sanctions.
Rape Crisis Scotland external affairs manager Nicola Love said: "These recent incidents have raised serious questions about the standard of police vetting and the extent of work still needed to re-vet around 8000 officers – it is absolutely crucial that we see a timeline for completing that process.
“We’ve also heard from figures from within the police about how additional checks, such as home visits or psychometric testing, could potentially reduce offending from within the force. Given the number of officers being investigated over violence against women and girls, it is right that we consider practical ways to prevent perpetrators from joining the police in the first place.
“Delays in the criminal justice process are incredibly distressing for survivors, however they also significantly undermine public confidence in the justice process. Campbell Petrie was ultimately allowed to retire from the police on his own terms because it took so long for his trial to begin. We need to get to a place where it does not take three years to convict a rapist in Scotland.”
At the High Court in Glasgow, Judge Alistair Watson said Petrie’s offences had caused “deep and enduring psychological harm” for the two women who were his victims. In September, Petrie was found guilty of multiple offences over a period between 2006 and 2022. These included charges of rape as well as indecent assault.
The judge told him: “The gravity of this kind of sustained criminal conduct cannot be overstated.”
Judge Watson said it was “disappointing” that Petrie continues to deny his responsibility.
The judge said the two women had provided the court with moving accounts of their trauma and had suffered “deep and enduring psychological harm”. He added: “It was obvious at trial that each of them still suffers enduring pain as a result of what you have done to them.”
Defending Petrie, Edith Forrest KC, said his only previous conviction was for a minor speeding offence. The defence KC said he was still in a supportive relationship.
Petrie’s sentencing comes the day after John Williamson was found guilty of raping a teenage girl and a woman in Shetland. Cameron Ross was jailed for 10 years in July for raping two women and abusing another. Meanwhile, a fourth officer, Alan Greer, took his own life days after a police raid on his home as part of an investigation into offences. An investigation later found that he was a violent serial sex offender with at least 15 victims.
David Kennedy, general secretary of the Scottish Police Federation, said: “All re-vetting is going to do is maybe flag up somebody’s misdemeanours that might give a hint that there maybe there’s an integrity issue. It might give a hint there’s a you know there’s there’s they’ve maybe been involved in something, but vetting is more about your third-party associations.
“It’s going to stop a lot of criminality, but not necessarily sexual criminality. Because it’s not as if by vetting somebody it’s going to show up. The good thing is they do ask about past partners, and it might flag up a name along the way. But unless that person’s reported it, for instance, or reported somebody who they thought was a police officer. I stand to be corrected, but I can’t see how vetting is going to stop a narcissist or a potential rapist or domestic abuser from getting into the police service.”
But Mr Kennedy wants more home visits as part of the vetting process because “the home environment can paint a lot of pictures.”
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