University of South Wales (USW) Policing graduate Megan Evans has crossed the stage this week to celebrate achieving a first-class honours degree in Police Sciences. She is following in the footsteps of her father, Carwyn, who recently retired after 30 years in the police service.
For Megan, there was never any question that she wanted to join the police force. She said:
“I’ve always wanted to be a police officer. In fact, the first job I wanted when I was a child was to be a police dog! Both my parents were police officers, and all their friends were also in the police, so I was brought up with it. I decided that it was what I wanted to do too.”
Megan explained how she was inspired by both her parents to take her chosen career path.
“My Mam is inspirational to me as she was the first ever female fingerprint expert in Wales. She did so well in her career. My Dad worked for most of his career in traffic, and he was an Inspector too. I’m so proud of him. They really are my role models.”
In 2017, Megan began studying at USW alongside working as a Special Constable.
“The course at USW was amazing and it helped to teach us about what we could expect working on the job. The teachers were very knowledgeable – a lot of them were ex-police officers. They were honest and wouldn’t just tell you that the job was going to be easy. I used to love using the Hydra Suite too!”
“Working as a Special Constable alongside studying was great because I could use what I was learning in work. I would really recommend joining as a Special, it’s so rewarding,” she said.
Carwyn was delighted to see Megan following the same path as he had, having started his own career in South Wales Police in 1990. Despite being due to retire in March 2020, he deferred his end date when the Covid-19 pandemic hit, in a bid to help keep the community safe. The move was applauded by his colleagues, and he was recognised for his leadership in the 2022 Mid Glamorgan Annual Awards.
“He was working at the start of the pandemic, and was due to retire, but he just wouldn’t leave! Everyone always speaks about that now,” Megan said.
By the time Carwyn officially retired, Megan had completed her studies at USW, and had passed the assessment centre to join South Wales Police. She started as a Student Officer in June 2020, the same month her father retired.
After retiring, Carwyn kept himself busy, and now works as a part time Welsh medium tutor at USW alongside his part time role as a Lead in the local Covid contact tracing service. He said:
“I have always had an interest in teaching, so I took a PGCE course in 2008. It is something I always knew I wanted to do when I retired.”
Megan has found working in the police to be just as fulfilling as she imagined it to be. She said:
“It’s cliché but I joined the police as I really wanted to help people. I feel so lucky because the force is like a family. I don’t feel like I’m going to work, I feel like I’m going to spend time with my friends all day. There can be some awful days where you see horrible things, but the support that you get from your team is just amazing.”
For both Carwyn and his wife Debs, graduation day will be a time to finally celebrate Megan’s achievements. As an added bonus, Carwyn will be part of the academic procession at Megan’s ceremony.
“We were so looking forward to the ceremony, it has been a long time coming,” he said.
Megan’s passing out parade as a newly qualified police officer in December 2020 had to be scaled back due to Covid, meaning family couldn’t attend.
“We couldn’t celebrate my passing out parade properly, so this will be a big thing for me as I’ll be able to have a picture with my dad, who will be in his cap and gown as well. I’m really looking forward to it,” she said.
Carwyn said: “We had been looking forward to her police passing out parade for years. In pre-Covid times it would have been in Margam Abbey, in the Orangery with all the families. Instead, there was a very small ceremony for the officers. We’ll never have that back, so we’re just so glad that the University are having ceremonies. We’ve also booked a holiday to Rome to celebrate as a family.”
Going forward, Megan hopes to move to the team where her dad spent most of his career.
“I really want to work in traffic, and my dad has had a massive part to play in that. There are not a lot of women that work there, so I want to break that stigma. My dad loved it and is known to people as ‘Carwyn off traffic!’. It’s like he has left a legacy there, and I plan to always carry that on for him.”
