‘Police with integrity and everything else will fall into place’

16 September 2021

New Derbyshire Police Federation workplace representative Andy Murphy stood for election in the summer because he wanted to try to raise the profile of CID members within the Federation.

The Derbyshire detective sergeant, who brings 18-and-a-half years of operational experience to the role, said he was also keen to put his in-depth knowledge of police regulations to good use helping colleagues who might be going through the misconduct process.

He is interested in taking issues and concerns that affect frontline officers to senior officers within the organisation as part of a structured approach.  

Andy expects managing the expectations of members who reach out for help and assistance to be one of the most challenging aspects of being a Fed rep.

He explained: “We do not possess magic bullets and we cannot simply make problems go away with a few phone calls.  

“It is a misconception that if the member is facing grievances or misconduct issues in the workplace then a Federation rep can make everything right.  

“There are at times tough conversations to be had and on occasion a member may be told something they don’t like to hear. These have to be handled in a caring and compassionate way.”

Andy believes it is important for the Police Federation to do all it can to keep morale in the workplace as high as possible, particularly for new starters who might be struggling with workloads and welfare or mental health issues. 

And he warned forthcoming challenges for the police service generally would include growing concerns about placing young and inexperienced officers on the frontline as well as trying to deal with the impact of budget cuts, Brexit and the continuing presence of coronavirus.

Andy’s decision to become a police officer was influenced and encouraged by his brother who was already a serving officer with another force.

His career started on the Local Policing Unit (LPU) at Ripley, before it became Amber Valley, and he was there until December 2005 when he joined Derbyshire’s Volume Crime Unit (VCU) on A Division.

Between July 2007 and January 2010, he was a member of Long Eaton CID before moving to further roles at Derby City, Peartree and Ilkeston.

From September 2017 until May this year, Andy served on the Force’s professional standards department (PSD) and counter-corruption unit (CCU).

The new rep said he would advise any officers just joining the Force: “Police with integrity and everything else will fall into place.”