Glasgow Police Constable raises thousands for local charity

Police Constable Steven McGirr raised over £2,000 for The Glasgow Humane Society by selling a collectable coin of his own design.

The Glasgow Challenge Coin features the emblem of Police Scotland mirrored with Glasgow’s beloved Duke of Wellington statue complete with a cone on his head.

The coin that raised thousands (Image: Police Scotland)

PC McGirr said: “Being a police officer means you are part of the community – you get to build connections with people from a range of institutions like schools, clubs, businesses, places of worship and charities.

“These connections give you insight into their worlds, their aspirations and their challenges.

“The Glasgow Humane Society is a wonderful charity made up of passionate people who want to save lives on the city’s waterways.

"They are one of our partners, working with us to search for and recover missing persons.

“They also work with other emergency services and deliver drowning prevention education to the community.

"Donating to their cause was an easy decision for my colleagues and I and we hope to continue raising money for other local charities to maintain the critical work they do.”

Early on, the project received approval from the divisional commander for a small funding allocation which allowed it to get off the ground and have the coins produced.

Chief Superintendent Emma Croft said: “Steven made a convincing case to me to seek approval to press ahead and produce the challenge coin. His work has been instrumental in creating a sense of belonging and pride in the Division.

"The coins are unique and truly embody the spirit of the city the officers know so well. I dare say others will also recognise the connection.

“Steven’s passion to progress the project has enabled the Glasgow Challenge Coin scheme to be self-funding with more orders being made.

“Divisional Commanders have a small budget which we can use to support projects that will make a difference. The small sum he received has returned significant value to the local workforce and enabled a very worthy charity to continue to save lives.”

Now that they've been produced, the coins join a long line of those commonly used to represent membership within law enforcement agencies, symbolising honour and achievement.

This symbolism won't be solely seen by Scottish eyes however, as one of the coins has already been displayed in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Museum in Vancouver, Canada.