Get to know your Federation representatives: Lee Stacey

20 September 2021

Derbyshire Sergeant Lee Stacey joined the police in 2013 after serving in the Army and working in the NHS helping patients measure their risk of cardiovascular disease.

Despite coming to policing after careers in other areas, Lee views policing as a life-long calling, saying: “There wasn’t one moment when I realised, I wanted to be a police officer. I always viewed the police service as my vocation.”

He is now part of the Cost of Policing review team and became a Federation workplace representative following this summer’s elections.

Lee says: “I decided to put myself forward because I have seen the challenges that come with being a police officer. It is more important than ever to have conversations with the Force to make things better for the officers.

“Ultimately, I know the best asset Derbyshire Constabulary has is its officers. Because of this I am passionate about officer wellbeing and taking care of our members.”

Lee is keen to help members going through difficult times – whether physically, due to the demands of the job, or professionally. Because of this, he considers wellbeing a “critical issue” and is keen to get involved with both health and safety matters and helping colleagues through conduct investigations.

He is also aware that there are challenges that must be faced by the Federation as a whole, explaining: “There are many problems on the horizon: losing experienced officers to the private sector, current entry requirements excluding talented people from the service, and meeting ever-increasing demand.

“Of course, the single biggest challenge is getting the Government to invest in the police. This would have the biggest impact on improving the service.

“Ultimately, the most challenging part of the role for me is accepting meaningful changes take time and cannot be achieved overnight.”

However, Lee is proud of his new role as a Federation rep, and encourages others to take pride in their work too: “My advice to new officers would be, do the best you can every time you come to work, if you don't know something don't be afraid to ask, and try to remember that what you do matters.

“I am proud to be a police officer, and you should be too.”