Police officer was violent rapist who attacked women over 14 years

Detectives have so far uncovered nine victims of PC Alan Greer

A police officer who took his own life in May was a violent rapist who carried out a spate of sexual attacks and attempted murders of women over at least 14 years, the BBC can reveal.

PC Alan Greer's first known victim was 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.

The woman reported the sex attack by Greer late last year, sparking one of Police Scotland's biggest ever anti-corruption inquiries.

Detectives have so far uncovered a further eight victims, five of whom were sex workers, attacked while Greer was off duty.

It has emerged that Greer used hundreds of prostitutes throughout his police career, and it is anticipated more victims of his violence will be identified.

Assistant Chief Constable Lynn Ratcliff, gold commander for the investigation, said what the inquiry had found was "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."

Assistant Chief Constable Lynn Ratcliff said the inquiry had been "truly shocking"

ACC Ratcliff's confirmation of the inquiry comes following a BBC Disclosure investigation into Greer's offending.

A source close to the investigation told the BBC: "It feels a bit like this could be Police Scotland's Wayne Couzens moment."

Couzens was a Met Police officer who was jailed for the rape and murder of Sarah Everard in London five years ago.

Greer, who was born in Australia in 1978, moved to the UK when he was six.

He joined Strathclyde Police in 2009 before it merged with Police Scotland in 2013 and had 17 years of apparently unblemished service.

At first, he worked as a uniformed response officer in Glasgow before he secured a job in officer safety training, based in Coatbridge, in about 2016.

This meant he was involved in teaching probationer officers as well as refreshing more experienced officer training.

Greer's family and colleagues are understood to have been "oblivious" to his violent double life.

Senior officers insisted there were no opportunities to spot his offending sooner.

It was towards the end of last year that a woman in her late thirties walked into a Glasgow police station to report a crime.

Somewhat reluctantly, she explained that she had, in 2012, attempted to repo