Police officer who took seized shotguns home is jailed

A former police officer has been jailed after taking weapons home, including six shotguns that were surrendered to him.

Alan Sharp, an officer since 2001, was sentenced to two years and three months at the High Court in Edinburgh.

He earlier admitted three charges under the Firearms Act and another of wilful neglect of duty.

Assistant Chief Constable Lynn Ratcliff said: "People like Alan Sharp have no place in Police Scotland."

The 52-year-old resigned from the force in November.

He was part of a police firearms licensing team in Perth where his duties included making checks and inquiries when individuals made firearms licence applications.

An earlier hearing at the High Court in Glasgow heard how Sharp became the subject of an investigation after concerns were raised that he had failed to carry out proper checks on those applying for gun certificates.

During a search of his home, officers found a rifle and two firearm barrels that had been handed to Sharp at Kinross Police Station as part of a government surrender scheme in 2021.

Six shotguns surrendered by a man who decided not to renew his licence due to old age were also found in Sharp's home.

A total of 1,919 bullets of 17 different calibres were also seized.

At the High Court in Edinburgh, Judge Lord Armstrong acknowledged that Sharp was suffering from poor mental health, was faced with a significantly heavy workload and was assessed as posing a minimal level of risk of offending.

Lord Armstrong said he accepted that there was no evidence that Sharp acquired the weapons or stored them for a criminal purpose.

But he said there was no alternative to a custodial sentence.

Defence solicitor advocate Kris Gilmartin told the court that Sharp had come under "a significant amount of stress", working in a particularly busy department and was not able to cope with the demands.

He said there was no personal or financial gain by Sharp and a picture emerged of someone who was struggling to cope with the demands of the post while suffering from depression.

Lynn Ratcliff, assistant chief constable for professionalism and assurance, said Sharp's actions "in no way" reflected the high standards expected of an officer in Police Scotland.

"He abused his position as a constable, neglected his legal duties, and his actions go against everything we stand for as an organisation," she said.

"It is right that policing is held to high standards at all times, and we will always support officers and staff acting with our values and standards at heart."

She added: "The onus is on policing to build and maintain public confidence and consent which is critical in our ability to keep our communities and citizens safe.

"As a result, people like Alan Sharp have no place in Police Scotland.

"Matters are thoroughly investigated when an officer or staff member fails to uphold the high standards we expect in policing."