Glasgow police woman gave up city career for country life following horror crash

Inspector Laura Evans was a high-flying city police officer heading for the very top seven years ago. However, a horrific car crash outside Glasgow [1] on the way to work caused the trained hostage negotiator to completely rethink her life. She took the unusual step of applying for a rural beat cop [2] to get back to the type of traditional policing.

It meant Laura also voluntarily dropped two ranks to constable - the first time that has happened in British policing. She is now based in the Argyllshire town of Campbeltown, where her 2600-square-mile beat is one of the biggest in Scotland, Laura is covering some of the country's most remote communities, reports the Sunday Mail.[3]

The cop said: "Lots of people, including my bosses, tried to talk me out of this move and could not understand why I was doing it.

It was the first time it had been done in the UK and the police HR didn't know what to do at first. "Normally when people are demoted, it is for disciplinary reasons. I wanted a job where I was engaging more with the public, which was the reason I joined the police in the first place.

"Sometimes the bigger the rank, the more you are behind office doors doing administration and paperwork. To me, it was quite simple. I wanted a better life.

It wasn't a hard decision. It made perfect sense." Whilst working in Glasgow Laura's life involved confronting violent crime, planning for the 2014 Commonwealth Games and dealing with hostage situations.

She was on 24-hour callout to handle incidents from suicide attempts to armed sieges involving firearms. Join Glasgow Live's Whatsapp Community here [6] and get the latest news sent straight to your messages. Her new job includes trips to idyllic Hebridean islands such as Islay, Jura, Mull, Iona, Coll and Tiree.

The 42-year-old joined the police 20 years ago and was initially based in Glasgow city centre. From there, she was moved to Drumchapel housing estate in the north-west of Glasgow and then Coatbridge and Motherwell. She excelled and impressed her superiors as a member of the 999 response teams.

By the time Laura was 29 she had been promoted to sergeant and was an inspector at the age of 34. By 2016, she had taken on an internal role which involved high-level planning and budget meetings with the Scottish Government. It was a post which would normally lead to more promotions.

But she increasingly missed the day-to-day contact with the public. However, in December of that year a life-changing moment pointed her career in a new direction. While driving from her home in Moodiesburn to a Scottish Government meeting in Edinburgh, she was involved in a collision with a bus.

Sign up to our daily Glasgow Live newsletter here [7] to receive news and features direct to your inbox Her collarbone and sternum were shattered in the crash and she was off work for seven months. While recuperating, it gave her and husband Alan - then a detective constable - a chance to reflect on their quality of life.

She said: "We decided we wanted to move to the country and enjoy a slightly slower pace of living. There was a lack of posts at inspector rank in rural areas but not for constable. So, in 2019, I put in an application to demote to constable and my husband also applied to transfer back to uniform."

The couple relocated to Dunoon in Argyll and Bute before moving to Campbeltown last month. Alan is now retired and works for the local council, while Laura has become a well-known and respected figure in the communities she now serves. In her new job she devotes her time to helping elderly and vulnerable people and meets local community groups to hear their concerns.

Laura has helped train over 60 local officers in working more closely with mental health services.

Last month, she won the Community Commitment prize for her work at the Scottish Police Awards in Edinburgh.

References

^ Glasgow (www.glasgowlive.co.uk)
^ cop (www.glasgowlive.co.uk)
^ Sunday Mail. (www.dailyrecord.co.uk)
^ Teenager dies at Glasgow's SWG3 after New Year's Day rave in 'drug death' tragedy (www.glasgowlive.co.uk)
^ Police tape off Glasgow area after reports of 'firearm' which turned out to be a toy (www.glasgowlive.co.uk)
^ Glasgow Live's Whatsapp Community here (chat.whatsapp.com)
^ newsletter here (www.glasgowlive.co.uk)