For 22 years PC Karen Harper proudly served the public ... But after complaining about bullying she was targeted in a sinister 'black op' ... Karen was innocent but her carer was destroyed ... The brave whistleblower today breaks her silence to accuse Police Scotland of acting like the Mafia ... And she slams the Scottish Government for creating the toxic culture in policing
An innocent police officer claims she was forced from her job after colleagues waged a secret ‘black op’ to fit her up.
Karen Harper, 50, was allegedly bullied over flexible working hours following the death of her mother.
When she complained about a sergeant she says Police Scotland ordered a ‘fishing expedition’ in a sinister bid to criminalise her and trash her reputation.
Whistleblower Karen — cleared of any wrongdoing — today breaks her silence six months after the end of her unblemished 22-year police career through ill health.
She compares Police Scotland’s senior ranks to the Mafia and criticises politicians and regulators for failing to hold them to account.
She said: “These people destroyed my career and stole three years of my life. The biggest issue is the lack of trust.
“Integrity in policing is essential, especially at the very top but these people are protected. It’s like taking on the Mafia.
“This breeds resentment in the ranks and tarnishes the reputation of the majority of good officers who are working harder and doing more than ever before.”
Single mum Karen transferred from Lanarkshire to Dumfries to shorten her daily commute after the death of her mum from cancer in April 2014.
But her request for flexible working hours was met with resistance by bosses.
She said: “My shift colleagues were great but from the moment I arrived a sergeant made my life hell. I eventually complained but he was quickly cleared by a chief inspector.”
Karen — unsatisfied at how her complaint was handled — notified the police she was considering legal action.
Three days later, two Professional Standards Department officers approached her ex-husband Bruce Harper, also a former police officer, to ask if he would make a complaint against her.
Karen, warned by Bruce about the approach, repeatedly asked for information about the probe but was ignored, in breach of police rules.
After another year, in July 2015, she lodged an employment tribunal claim using equality and whistleblowing laws.
She then discovered the scale of the PSD’s ‘witch hunt’ which began after her complaint against the sergeant.
PSD officers had contacted Karen’s colleagues and visited up to 15 of her neighbours in a bid to find any evidence of criminality or misconduct, on or off duty.
An inspector emailed another cop asking: “Can you advise me if you know PC Karen Harper and if you have had any dealings with her either off duty or on? Good or bad?”
Karen’s tribunal claim says she is ‘living in genuine fear of the police arresting her and or falsely accusing her of misconduct and crimes’ due to the ‘fishing expedition’.
In May 2016, her lawyer submitted allegations of criminality and misconduct against 10 officers involved in the ‘black op’.
The Crown Office ruled that none of the officers had committed criminality so Karen turned to the Police Investigations and Review Commissioner (PIRC) and Scottish Police Authority (SPA).
Both organisations said they could not get involved so Karen’s complaint was sent back to Police Scotland.
For two years she has been left in the dark and her tribunal claim frozen while the PSD investigates its own officers.
She said: “My lawyer kept trying to get information from the police but was ignored. She had to ask the tribunal judge who ordered them to give us an update.
“They claimed the delay was due to an officer suffering bereavement. However, two key witnesses have still never been contacted.”
Karen believes the police complaints system fuels a culture of dishonesty, secrecy and unaccountability.
She said: “I thought there were checks and balances, that the SPA and PIRC would be as appalled as me but all these people effectively slammed the door in my face.
“It’s like they are a firewall around Police Scotland and certain people are protected. These regulatory bodies are not holding the police to account.
“From what I’ve experienced there is no interest in getting the truth. The entire effort is about how can they find a loophole to protect these people.
“The process is so frustrating. They ignore what they don’t like by cherry picking complaints. They then drag it out with delays. They’ll maybe then answer some questions but ignore what they don’t want to answer.
“When you then pin them down on something, they’ll just ignore you. The amount of public money, time and effort that is being wasted on all this is scandalous.”
Karen is also critical of new SPA chair Susan Deacon who was hired after a series of scandals rocked the organisation. They include alleged financial wrongdoing, secrecy and political meddling.
Karen wrote a sensitive private email to Deacon but received a reply from an SPA lawyer.
She said: “My initial email was for her eyes only. The lawyer apologised and gave me her address so I sent another email but that promoted a reply from another official saying that Deacon was satisfied with how it had been originally dealt with.
“I then asked if this is really how the SPA should be dealing with sensitive information provided by a whistleblower — but got no reply.
“From what I can see, nothing’s changed. At what point is enough’s enough and the Scottish Government say, okay, there is a problem.
“The buck stops with the First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and and justice secretary Michael Matheson.
“I’ve lost faith in the entire system. Because of the failure of the SPA I’ve had to rely on the police investigating themselves and as a result two years down the line I’m still waiting.”
Karen and her lawyer Margaret Gribbon have written to the Scottish Parliament’s justice committee which this month [April 2018] launched a major review of Police Scotland five years after its creation.
She said: “The acting Chief Constable Iain Livingstone told the committee in September [2017] that they treat whistleblowers properly but that is totally different to what I experienced. They are not even responding to me. What if I was a serving officer?
“I believe the police are telling the committee any old rubbish because they are completely protected and they know there won’t be any repercussions.
“My case shows how complaint handling not fit for purpose. This entire saga was avoidable. It all stemmed because I was looking for flexible working.”
RESPONSE FROM POLICE SCOTLAND, PIRC & SPA
Police Scotland said: "The matter is the subject of an ongoing complaint investigation."
PIRC said: "Our review team do not have a statutory remit to carry out a complaint handling review of how Police Scotland have handled complaints relating to a police officer's terms of conditions and service.
"Our investigation team can investigate misconduct issues involving senior officers if the matter is referred to the PIRC from the SPA. Misconduct issues for lower ranks are dealt with by Police Scotland."
The SPA said: "It would be inappropriate for us to comment on individual complaint and conduct matters.”
SCOTTISH POLICE FEDERATION REFUSED TO HELP ... LANDING ME WITH £45,000 LEGAL BILL
Karen's fight for justice has so far cost £45,000 in legal fees after the police union failed to back her.
She said: "I've paid into the Scottish Police Federation since 1995 in the expectation that if I needed legal representation it would be paid for.
"When this all began, the first thing they said was that they don't do tribunals. Cops may be surprised to find they can be abandoned in this situation.
"The federation have millions of pounds in the bank but they have consistently failed to support me and other members who challenge Police Scotland management.
"I'd go as far as to say that the SPF work against rank and file officers. They just will not challenge management.
"It's no secret that there are bullying and victimisation issues within Police Scotland and, if officers don't have independent legal counsel to protect them from repercussions, nothing will change."
A spokesman for the SPF, who represent about 17,000 frontline cops, said: "We offered considerable assistance to Ms Harper over a number of years.
"Sadly, Ms Harper regularly failed to provide required information to assist her claims."
FORMER CHIEF CONSTABLE PHIL GORMLEY WAS FITTED UP TOO
Karen wants to know why her case was not part of a probe ordered by ex-chief constable Phil Gormley.
He tasked Durham Constabulary chief Mike Barton with examining internal complaints against Police Scotland's Professional Standards Department (PSD).
But Barton told MSPs in February that he was prevented from doing his job because of Police Scotland's "ineptitude" and "culture of secrecy".
Karen said: "I've never received an adequate explanation why my case did not go to Durham.
"Phil Gormley obviously wanted a thorough investigation and it is clear that Mike Barton would have exposed what has been going on had he been allowed to.
"I've pushed for two years for an independent inquiry."
Gormley agreed to take "special leave" in September 2017 after accusations of bullying were made against him.
He quit in February while complaints were still being investigated.
Karen added: "I suspect Gormley's ordering of the Durham investigation upset a lot of senior people in Police Scotland.
"That's almost certainly why he ended up losing his job. Put bluntly, he was fitted up just as I was."
A version of this report first appeared in the Sunday Mail on May 6, 2018:
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