Iain Prideaux, Chair of Avon and Somerset Police Federation

DC Iain Prideaux became an Avon and Somerset Federation rep because he wanted to help make the force a more equal place for officers.

“When I started as a Fed rep I had no experience of that world and was pleasantly surprised! I like the fact that there is a respectful but transparent nature to the work; people don’t discuss cases other than when it’s appropriate. As police officers we are here to serve and that applies to our own as a rep too.

“Equality is in my heart, so when I became a Fed rep three years ago I took a real interest in that work. Equality cases are more nuanced than some work you do as a rep. It’s complicated and a lot of it is relationship-based as you’re trying to get to a point where you don’t need a tribunal. You use your soft skills a lot to reach that point together.

“Empathy plays a very big role in equality and being prepared to see, hear and feel how a member is feeling helps me to understand things from their point of view. Developing an ability to articulate the detrimental effects of a management or force policy on an officer, can often take courage and moves me out of my lived experience.

“Police are people who deal with people and through dialogue we can often resolve the situation. It feels great when you can resolve cases without going to tribunal.

“If I know one thing now that I’d have liked to have known when I started, it’s that this role takes up a lot of your own time. Make sure you keep a good work/life balance and recognise that you can’t solve all the world’s problems. But at the end of the day, we are all service-minded; it’s why we’re police officers. We just want to help.”

Views expressed here are from the time when Iain was a Fed rep.