By Candie Beck thecabin.net Copyright 2012 The Cabin. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Anyone that has ever worked in public service knows all too well that at times, it can be a thankless job. No one is any more aware of that than Officer Laura Glover with the Conway Police Department. Glover, like her comrades has worked the dreaded night shifts and the weekend shifts and adjusted to all of the strange work environments that come with being a member of law enforcement. Sometimes, getting a pat on the back or a kind word of praise can go a long way. It did for Glover.

While investigating a stolen vehicle report, Glover spoke with the owners of the vehicle, who thought their 16-year-old daughter had taken the car to a friend’s house and someone had stolen it from there. They found out that not only was the girl not where she said she was going to be, she also was engaging in underage drinking and had fallen in with a group of kids her parents did not know. 

Two years after the incident, the girl’s mother sent Glover a letter thanking her for the information she gave them because finding out what their daughter was involved in helped them take actions to be sure that the behavior came to a screeching halt and help her get to where she is today.

An excerpt of the letter reads:

“Thank you for taking the time to come by the house and talk to me about what kind of neighborhood she (the daughter) was hanging around and the activities going on there. She told us that she had never been there before the night the car was stolen; you found out differently. Unfortunately she was quite well known over there because her name came up in lots of conversations you had with the residents while trying to find out who took her car. We had no idea she was spending time there.”

The letter went on to outline the steps the family took to turn their child around and how two years after the incident, the girl is in college and working toward her goal of becoming a nurse.” 

Glover said she was stunned that something she considers part of her job had made such a difference in the lives of the family and admitted that the letter of thanks came along at a time she really needed to be reminded of why she chose to be an officer.

“I am a single parent and I was working nights so I missed some events in my son’s life,” she explained. “The night I got the letter, I was upset because I had missed a meeting at his school and I was really questioning the sacrifices you make to have for this job because I don’t want to miss anything he does. I had worked my entire shift before I remembered that I had even received the letter and when I opened it, I lost it.

 It came at the perfect time and it made me feel so good inside to know that the sacrifices I was making with my own family made a difference in someone else’s.”

Though she doesn’t believe that she did anything above what her normal duties require of her, she does keep one thing in mind when dealing with situations involving children.

“As a mother, if something was going on with my son, I would want to know about it,” she said. “I would want someone to give me some information that I could use to help turn my son around if he needed it and I’d be grateful for it. As officers we deal with so many parents that ignore what we tell them about their kids and try to be their friend instead of being their parent and I am thankful that in this case, this girl had parents that were able to do what they needed to do to turn her around. I’d want that same opportunity if it were my child.”

Glover said that making a difference in the lives of people she meets on the job is what she strives for and has learned that if she treats people with the respect she herself would want, it goes a long way.

“Making a difference to someone I meet when I’m on duty is the reason I get out of bed in the morning,” she said. I make it a point to treat the people I deal with the way I’d expect to be treated and I think it makes a difference in how I do my job. It is nice to know every once in awhile that someone else agrees.”

(Candie Beck is a staff writer and can be reached at 505-1238 or at candie.beck@thecabin.net)