Drive to get women to stand in Thin Blue Line
Recruitment push to show police is a great career
A recruitment drive is aiming to inspire more women to join the police force – and serving officers in Lanarkshire are encouraging others to consider following in their footsteps.
Police Scotland are hosting a series of online recruitment events which will give women an insight into the role of a police officer or special constable.
In the latest intake of 180 officers, 82 of them were female, marking the closest ever split in male to female ratio of officers by 54 to 46 per cent.
But there is still work to be done and we spoke to female officers and staff about the rewards and demands of the job.
PC Katie Edwards, 30, has been in the force for over seven years, based in East Kilbride and Rutherglen, but is now based in Motherwell as part of the Safer Communities Department.
She told us: “The police was something I always wanted to do.
“I wanted a challenge, I wanted every day to be different and I wanted a job where I could help people in the community.
“I joined the police to help people and that, to this day, is the most rewarding part of the job. Regardless of your role within this organisation, you will have an opportunity to help someone. It gives you a feeling that other careers couldn’t match.”
Meanwhile, Police Sergeant Lorna Hishelwood, 42, has worked across both South and North Lanarkshire in her 18 years of service and spent seven years in the mounted police. She said: “I’d encourage others to open their eyes and not only look at frontline policing, but the plentiful opportunities beyond this.
“We have many specialised departments from road traffic, CID, armed response, cybercrime – the list is vast.”
But the job isn’t without it’s challenges and PC Lyndsey McLean said:“As with any job there are always obstacles. I have found that the preconceived idea many people have on what a police officer looks like or how they will be treated by a police officer can be hard to overcome.
“There are very hard aspects of this job both emotionally and physically. However, if this job is for you then you will be afforded the same opportunities as the next person, regardless of your sex.”
Meanwhile Police Sergeant Erica Baillie, 45, who has 23 years in the force, has seen a change in female numbers over the years.
She added: “When I joined the police each shift averaged two or three females, but now as a supervisor I notice the ratio is often above 50 per cent.
“But I believe there should be more females in senior ranking roles – there is currently only one female territorial divisional commander, and a significantly lower ration of female chief inspectors or inspectors within Lanarkshire Division. Without visibility of female ranking officers the perception will always be that males have a better promotion prospects.”
There are also opportunities to work as police staff and Marie Coyle is in the licensing department in Motherwell.
She said: “I joined Strathclyde Police in 2006 after being in the car trade for years. I changed my job to Licensing in 2015 due to the contract ending and now find other than the restrictions at present with Covid, the job is rewarding completing civic and liquor applications, liaising with North Lanarkshire Council.”
Superintendent Sharon Shaw, Lanarkshire Division, said: “Police Scotland, as the second largest police service in the UK also has an unique position as a national service.
“Our ambition as a service is to have a workforce that is broadly reflective of the social demography of Scotland.
“Modern day policing benefits greatly from having a diverse workforce and the skills and attributes females bring to policing, enhances Police Scotland’s ability to support and work together with the communities of Scotland.”
Online recruitment events will be held on: Wednesday, May 5 (6.30pm-8pm) and Saturday, May 8 (10.30am-12noon). For more information or to reserve a space, email recruitment positiveactionteam@scotland.