Inspector Cathy takes command in Crieff station

Jul 18 2008 by Alison Anderson, Perthshire Advertiser Friday

CRIEFF has welcomed its first female police inspector.

Sergeant Cathy MacDonald has been promoted to the rank of Inspector and takes over the reigns at the Strathearn town.

Cathy was born and raised in Kinross and attended both Kinross primary and secondary schools.

She told the PA: “I’ve inherited a well-run station, thanks to my predecessor, Donald MacPherson, who has left me a very well functioning unit.”

That the station – responsible for 46 staff as well as the public – ran so well during the three-month gap between Donald’s departure and her arrival is, according to Cathy, testament to Donald and the outstanding staff in Crieff and Auchterarder.

“I like to think I’m straightforward, approachable, and have common sense, something that I believe fits very well in a county-based station; helpful policing, yet firm and robust when needed - that is the style I want to run my section with and I think it’s what a community expects.”

Cathy joined Tayside Police in 1983 as a cadet and became a constable in 1985 carrying out beat duties in Perth and Crieff. In 1988 she transferred to the family protection unit and two years later moved to the road policing unit.

Cathy was promoted to the rank of sergeant and was seconded to the Traffic Division of the Scottish Police College at Tulliallan, where she was an instructor in advance driver training. In 1999 she returned to the road policing unit based in Dundee, before moving once more to Western Division in 2002, where she has been a beat sergeant for the past six years for Perth and Blairgowrie.

On promotion Inspector MacDonald will transfer to Crieff.

Cathy is married to Ian, who is also a serving officer with Tayside Police, and they live in Perthshire.

In her spare time, Cathy enjoys outdoor sports and fitness – in particular running and triathlon.