Police Scotland, and together we have two boys whom we adopted. I joined the police in 2008 and have served in various uniformed and detective based roles in Renfrewshire, Lanarkshire, Forth Valley and Edinburgh.
I served for six years as a uniformed officer in Grangemouth, from 2016 to 2022, working alongside colleagues in response policing where I covered a huge geographic area with a diverse population from communities in Banknock to Blackness and Slamannan to South Alloa.
When I first enquired about joining the police the world was a very different place and I wasn’t completely open about my sexuality.
There was no equal marital rights or parental rights and I had just gone through an education system during the period of Section 28, where the very discussion of sexuality was prohibited.I was worried about how I would be received by my peers and if they would accept me for being my true authentic self.