Reading graduate and Detective Chief Inspector, Laura Corscadden, shares her extraordinary career – from local community support, to counter-terrorism and leading major crime investigations.
From UK terror attacks, to investigating historic child abuse reports and currently investigating homicides – Laura has worked on many complex and demanding cases and is now making a lasting impact in Reading by tackling myths around consent.
Laura graduated from the University of Reading in 2005 with an undergraduate degree in philosophy and English, before returning for a master’s in philosophy. After graduation she worked in a number of roles in Thames Valley Police (TVP) and is now leading Reading’s innovative campaign to raise awareness about consent.
Philosophy to policing
It was a desire to know the meaning behind the law that inspired Laura’s degree choice. She said: “I was fascinated by law and the application of law in society. I liked the critical thinking that came with it and not always relying on information. Studying philosophy allowed me to see the law through a different lens and the standard of teaching at Reading was excellent.”
Although raised in Wales, Laura had strong family ties to Reading, and during her degree she worked in the Students’ Union café and built lifelong friendships. Laura said: “I loved my time at Reading.
The campus fostered a really nice atmosphere and Reading became a place I felt really connected to.”
Laura decided to stick around after completing her degree and joined TVP as a Community Support Officer before becoming a Police Officer.
After two years, Laura became a Detective in the Child Abuse Unit. “It was while working in the Child Abuse Unit that there was an influx of reports of historic sexual offences, prompted by the Jimmy Saville case,” Laura explained. “These cases are challenging to prosecute due to their historic nature and evidence that is lost over the years. It was new ground for us all.”
Climbing the ranks
As Laura’s career advanced she transitioned into counter-terrorism where, working in a regional team, she focused on national security issues – including the rise of ISIS. Laura reflected: “It was mind blowing to see firsthand how we handle significant national threats. It broadened my perspective on policing, and it showed me the importance of strategic, national level approaches to tackle threat and risk. ”
Laura’s hard work didn’t go unnoticed and through the College of Policing’s fast-track scheme, she was promoted to Inspector within two years. She said: “I felt really lucky to get on the scheme. It is a national scheme with specific training and professional development around the issues impacting policing and what is needed from good leaders.
From there, Laura returned to work in Reading where she oversaw the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), which tackles serious and complex crimes such as firearms, modern day slavery and sexual offences. It was her leadership in CID that earned her the 2023 National Investigator of the Year award.
Laura said: “The award was very much a team effort and down to the phenomenal work that was done as a team to help the community. It was a huge honour to accept it and a huge accolade for Reading.”
In 2024, Laura was promoted to Detective Chief Inspector, leading major crime investigations, including homicides and complex cases. She continues her professional development and will spend Autumn 2025 training at the FBI’s National Academy in Quantico, Virginia.
Laura has also shaped policing education, collaborating with the University of Reading’s School of Law to provide some exposure to policing with attachments for students and mentoring students through the Thrive Mentorship Programme.
She reflected: “It’s rewarding to see students I’ve mentored build successful careers. One student who I supported six years ago is now an intelligence analyst with the Metropolitan Police – it’s inspiring to see their journey.”
A groundbreaking campaign
One of Laura’s most impactful projects has been her involvement in Consent Conversations – a new campaign in Reading tackling the myths around consent. She explained: “In policing, the issue of consent is central to many of our cases. We see the impact of the lack of understanding around consent both from the side of those reporting the offence and those being investigated.
“Consent is such a complex issue, especially in a town like Reading with a busy nightlife, a university, and the Reading Festival.”
The campaign aims to educate and prevent sexual offences by challenging common myths and misconceptions surrounding consent. “There are ideas about what a typical victim is and how they respond or react to rape – such as how quickly they would report it, that everybody fights off an attacker, or that every rape is violent. Although there’s been a lot of work done to eliminate these false narratives, unfortunately they still exist,” Laura explained.
“These misconceptions then really impact how people react if something does happen to them.
“It can make them question if their situation was rape in the legal definition, if they will be believed, and these doubts then impact the chances of them reporting it.”
At the same time as discussions around the Consent Campaign began, the Crown Prosecution Service and Equally Ours Survey brought to light shocking statistics. Laura said: “One figure that really stuck with us was that 78% of people who took part in the survey thought that if you met somebody online and communicated that you wanted to have sex, or that you will have sex, that you then had to have sex when you met up.
“This really highlighted a problem to us that people were thinking they were duty bound to have sex because they spoke about it online.”
Providing the tools
The campaign teamed up with influencer Georgia Harrison who had gone public with her own experience of having explicit images shared without her consent. They sought to address not only sexual assault but also the role of digital spaces in shaping people’s understanding of consent.
By working with local organisations across Reading, the team produced a powerful 20 minute documentary aimed at normalising conversations around consent. Laura explained: “We wanted a preventative campaign that challenges societal norms and is a conversation that is inclusive and not just based on a heteronormative view. It’s about creating a culture where consent is understood as a process, not just an end state.”
Watch the documentary below:
The campaign also filmed a series of short clips around specific topics including withdrawing consent, intoxication, relationships and flirting, to act as a model for how conversations around consent could look. Laura explained: “The videos are designed to be used as a conversation tool to use peer to peer, parent or guardian to child, and partner to partner.
“It was great to have people from within the community support bringing this together – including the Drag community, the Reading Pride community and students from the University of Reading.”
Looking ahead
The campaign has been launched and shared by the Crown Prosecution Service and community groups and will be toured around Reading’s secondary schools throughout March. The Consent Campaign featured on Crimewatch live episode on Tuesday 11 March.
Watch the Crimewatch episode now
Laura said: “I’d encourage people to watch the videos – it’s a good conversation starter to speak with your kids, partner and peers.”
If you’ve been in a situation that you would like to talk about, or need more information about consent or sexual assault, please visit the Thames Valley Police website.
