One family has shown true dedication to keeping Derbyshire safe, with two special constables and a police cadet giving up their free time to help the Constabulary.
Special Constable Mel Boyland was one of 11 Specials who made their oath to serve the King and officially joined the Constabulary last month.
The event was made even more special as her son, SC Luke Preston, and daughter, Police Cadet Sergeant Ruby Preston, were there for support.
Mel said: “My aspiration has always been for my children to follow their ambitions. Seeing how Luke and Ruby have grown and developed with the force, and how much Derbyshire has supported them, has inspired me to follow in their footsteps.
“My background is in education, and I’m looking forward to using these skills as a special.
“We’ve also done lots of work as a family supporting our community and local charities – and the most exciting thing about it for me as a mum is that we’ve achieved it together.”
Mel’s son Luke joined cadets when he was 12, winning Cadet of the Year in 2022 and then joining as a Special in 2024.
He also volunteers as a Cadet Leader and is looking forward to joining as a regular officer in the future.
He said: “Cadets helped me massively with my confidence and now I’m getting experience as a volunteer officer that will help me when I go full time as a regular officer.
“I’m so proud of my mum for going for this and becoming a special. I’ve been giving her some tips throughout training but she’s going to be brilliant at it.”
Finally, Mel’s daughter Ruby is now a Cadet Sergeant, after joining police cadets when she was 10 years old. Ruby said: “Luke’s always been a role model to me, we joined cadets at the same time eight years ago, and I’d say to anyone thinking about joining the cadets to go for it.
“And now mum is a special as well, I love it. I love how the whole family is in the force – it’s such a proud moment for all of us.”
