Inspector Lyndsay Mylchreest

Inspector Lyndsay Mylchreest joined the force in 2001 at the age of 25 after spells in retail, estate agency and hospitality.

She was single mum looking for a secure career, but policing wasn’t a direction she’d ever seriously considered.

But she saw the force was recruiting, successfully applied, and soon realised she’d found her vocation.

“I wouldn't say policing was something I'd always had my eye on. I remember doing a careers survey at school where your answers went into a machine. The careers advisor told me I was either going to be a prison officer or a vending machine attendant. I didn't fancy the vending machine attendant, so I guess there was something from an early age that told me I might go into public service.

“I needed a career for the security it would provide for my daughter, who was six, and police were employing. There was the challenge of being a single parent, but it was made easier by the fact I had extremely supportive parents.

“Back in 2001 you also had to go to training school for 15 weeks in Rugby, so my daughter lived with my parents, and I would come back at the weekends and do my studies, ready for the Monday to go back and do my exams and what have you.

“I spent most of my weekends at the fun farm in Spalding and while my daughter was climbing over all the soft play equipment I would sit there and learn all my definitions and my legislation and my law. I think she got the best of both worlds because she was taken everywhere.

“The difference now is that the learning is in-house, and you're not expected to live away from home. You know you can go home every evening during those initial training weeks, which is a huge advantage and would have been a lot easier for me.

“When I started in response I would work the normal shift pattern, which could be challenging due to lates and nights. And then there wasn't scope for nurseries to assist around 999 shift patterns but the childcare industry has really caught up today.

“In my current role with the parents and carers support group I try to assist people by giving them some idea of the requirements of the organisation to consider flexible working and how individuals can apply for flexible working.

“Flexible working can be in any role, and nobody should think that flexible working isn't applicable to them. You have a right to ask and the organisation has a duty to consider. There are quite often changes, whether they be minor or not, that can really help individuals manage their work and home life balance.

“And that fits into our culture statement, and our desire to keep people as they progress through their careers and not lose them when they decide to have a family.

“I see policing as a vocation. If you are looking for a future in public service and variety and something that's rewarding in different ways every single day, policing doesn't disappoint.

“Twenty-two years on, I am still as passionate as the first day I walked through these doors - that's for sure. I try to instil that in all the people I line manage and I hope that comes across because you have to be passionate about it.

“There are so many challenging things you will do and see and deal with, and your passion and motivation and drive for public service will get you through and make it a rewarding career.

“And it isn't just a pay packet at the end of the day. If you're going to stand the test of time in policing, you've got to love policing and you've got to be really passionate about what you're doing.

“If there’s one thing I would say to people about policing, and it sounds a little bit corny to say it but it's very true, and that is you join a family - a blue, policing family. And you know if you are in a situation and you need backup, you know the people you work with will run towards the problem to help you, when everybody else is running away.

“It's something you can't really put into words. When things are at their very worst and extremely challenging you come together, and it's a bond and something you can't really quantify until you experience it.

“I’m out there and it's going wrong, but I press that button and they are all coming. That's an amazing feeling to have.”