The 31-year-old has seen off competition from across the country for the honour, awarded by the Scottish Police Service's Womens' Development Forum.

Gayle was nominated by Central Scotland Police and will collect her gong at a special dinner at the Scottish Police College in Tulliallan next Friday, November 13.

She said: "It really is an honour, although the guys on my team have been giving me a bit of good-natured stick about being Constable of the Year!

"My aim – and that of the rest of the team in Bo'ness – has been to proactively target the issues which have the biggest impact and they are anti-social behaviour and drugs.

"We get out on patrol early, visit off-licences to prevent youngsters getting access to alcohol and then visit the hotspot areas where they congregate and cause nuisance or commit anti-social behaviour."

Gayle, who's been the town's community officer since last April, added: "We've tried to work with young people in Bo'ness and by and large the reaction from everyone has been positive."

Chief inspector for Bo'ness, Gary Lawrie, put Gayle forward for the award, praising her ''outstanding level of commitment, effort and loyalty, plus exceptional levels of performance''.

In the past 12 months, Gayle has achieved a detection rate of almost 75 per cent – a total of 124 crimes.

One judging panel member said: "It's exciting to hear about Gayle's achievements and to know that officers like her are out there doing such fantastic work in their communities."

Sergeant Keith Jack, who has responsibility for the Bo'ness community team of which Gayle's a member, was thrilled at the award news.

He said:"The nomination had to be well-evidenced and there was no shortage of testimony from local people who had taken the time to write to us and say what a great job Gayle has been doing here in Bo'ness."

Chief constable Kevin Smith added: "This is a tremendous accolade for Gayle and is proof that our community police officers are out there day in, day out, working hard to make communities safer."

Gayle, who had her sights set on becoming a policewoman from a young age, has more than 11 years' service, most of that spent in Bo'ness and the Falkirk area.


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