Former Police Scotland Officer Campbell Petrie Convicted of Rapes and Sexual Assaults Spanning 17 Years

A former Scottish police officer has been convicted at the High Court in Glasgow after carrying out a sustained campaign of sexual violence and abuse that spanned seventeen years. Campbell Petrie, 50, was found guilty of a wide-ranging catalogue of serious sexual offences committed while he was employed as a serving constable, culminating in a high-profile prosecution that exposed nearly two decades of criminality.

Jurors in Glasgow delivered guilty verdicts on a total of nine criminal charges brought against Petrie. The documented offences took place across an extensive timeframe beginning in 2006 and continuing through to 2023, revealing a pattern of persistent predatory behaviour that took place throughout the majority of his law enforcement career.

Among the nine convictions recorded against the former officer were two counts of rape. The High Court also found Petrie guilty of multiple additional serious charges, which included indecent assault, assault with intent to rape, and assault to injury and danger of life, underscoring the violent and severe nature of his actions against his victims.

Police Scotland confirmed that Petrie was an active, serving member of the force throughout the entire seventeen-year period in which the attacks took place. Although the offences were carried out while he was off duty, his position as a sworn law enforcement officer has brought renewed scrutiny to the conduct and internal culture of personnel within the Scottish police service.

The timeline of formal disciplinary action and criminal proceedings against Petrie began in late 2023. Force officials verified that he was formally arrested, charged with the offences, and placed on suspension from all active policing duties in December 2023. He subsequently retired from Police Scotland in December of the following year before his criminal case proceeded to trial.

Following the conclusion of the court proceedings and the delivery of the guilty verdicts, Petrie was remanded in custody. The 50-year-old former officer is now scheduled to appear before the High Court again next month, where he will receive his formal sentence for the nine criminal charges.

Senior leadership within Police Scotland addressed the outcome of the trial, focusing attention on the bravery demonstrated by those who came forward to give evidence against the officer. Detective Superintendent Adam Brown, representing the force’s public protection unit, commended the individuals affected for their resilience throughout the investigation and judicial process.

In his remarks, Detective Superintendent Brown expressed the force's sympathies to the victims and praised their courage in bringing Petrie to justice. He explicitly acknowledged the distinct and formidable obstacles faced by individuals seeking to report sexual abuse when the perpetrator is a serving police officer.

Detective Superintendent Brown offered public reassurances regarding the determination of Police Scotland to thoroughly examine misconduct within its ranks. He stressed that investigators are committed to identifying and pursuing offending officers regardless of whether they are actively serving or retired, and irrespective of whether their illegal actions took place on duty or, as in Petrie's case, while off duty.

The conviction of Petrie marks another damaging development for Police Scotland, coming amid heightened public awareness and intense scrutiny over the behaviour of officers. The force has recently faced multiple revelations regarding violent sexual predators operating from within its institutional structure.

Earlier this year, an investigation by BBC Disclosure uncovered another major scandal involving PC Alan Greer, who was revealed to have been a violent rapist carrying out systematic sexual attacks on women for at least fourteen years during his tenure with the police force.

The Greer case highlighted grave abuses of authority, with his first known victim being a woman whom he raped in her Glasgow home in 2012 after she had contacted the police to report that she had been the victim of a crime. Further inquiries revealed that Greer had also routinely used hundreds of prostitutes across the duration of his career in policing.

Police Scotland eventually identified 15 separate victims who suffered abuse at the hands of Greer. However, investigators and observers have expressed serious concerns that the true number of women assaulted by the former officer could be substantially higher.

The investigation into Greer also exposed fundamental vulnerabilities in police recruitment and background screening. It was established that Greer had successfully passed vetting procedures to join Police Scotland despite the existence of two previous reports detailing criminal behaviour against women on his record.

The inquiry into Greer’s extensive offending came to an abrupt close in May, when the officer took his own life only days after law enforcement authorities executed a search raid on his home address as part of their criminal probe into his actions.

With Petrie now awaiting his formal sentencing hearing next month, his conviction reinforces ongoing demands for institutional accountability and demonstrates the severe legal consequences facing officers who perpetrate sexual violence behind the shield of their professional status.