Cumbria Police Federation Recognition Awards Announces First Winner

23 June 2025

An officer who worked tirelessly to get menopause policies adopted by the force has won the Women in Policing Award at the first ever Cumbria Police Federation Recognition Awards ceremony.

Inspector Diane Bradbury was instrumental in the creation, authorisation and implementation of policies to assist women going through the menopause, agreeing new ways of working and expanding education across the force.

Before joining the police in 1998, Insp Bradbury was a secondary school teacher, where she heard pupils discussing committing criminal acts. She said: “I wanted to join the police to try to make a difference and steer people away from bad choices.”

Nine years ago, she identified that there needed to be a force policy in place to help women going through the menopause, and she doggedly took on the cause. It took her until this year to get the backing for the Menopause and Hormonal Change Policy and Procedure.

She said: “I didn’t give up! I started pushing for a policy in 2016. What has changed over the past decade is there’s been more awareness about menopause via the media and the Government, and then big-hitting businesses got on board with their own policies for people affected by menopause.

“So my argument became more evidenced in terms of what we needed to be doing to demonstrably support our staff. We had to gather up that evidence.

“The British Standards Institution (BSI)’s report on menstruation, menstrual health and menopause in the workplace gave me lots of evidence that I was able to put together to present to chief officers, as well as real-life examples of where people have been let down and why we needed a policy. It was years in the making, and I had to be very resilient to just keep seeing it through.

“We’re now on a much better footing as a menopause-friendly employer, which is a real achievement. I think we should be proud.”

Insp Bradbury also produced and directed a mandatory e-learning course for Inspectors in the force, which includes people from the organisation sharing their stories.

She said she was pleased to have won an award: “I never expected it. Nobody looks for recognition, but it’s nice that somebody thought about me. Although it’s not about me, it's about the product.”

Cumbria Police Federation Chair Ed Russell said: “Di has been a strong advocate for women in policing for years, and is a worthy winner of this award. Her efforts have undoubtedly had a positive impact on women in Cumbria Police, and she continues to be a strong advocate for this cause.”

Insp Bradbury will attend the 2025 Cumbria Police Federation Recognition Awards on Wednesday 25 June. The Cumbria Police Federation Recognition Awards are in association with Axon.

Also sponsoring the awards are the Cumbria Police Group Insurance Scheme, Slater & Gordon, Uniform Mortgages, No1 Copperpot Credit Union, Serve and Protect Credit Union, Accord, National Police Healthcare Scheme, Police Friendly, and Philip Williams.