Meet your reps: Sergeant Gideon Eastlake

28 March 2024

We are here for any member who needs our help and support, says Dyfed Powys Police Federation rep Sergeant Gideon Eastlake.

Gideon is now in his 30th year of service with the Force, and brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to his Federation role.

And he said the most rewarding part was just being there for people who need help.

Gideon said: “Since being on the Federation, the most challenging part that I’ve found is the amount of people who need our advice, our support and our assistance.

“My phone is always on for anyone who needs help.”

He added: “When people find themselves in some of their darkest times, it’s rewarding that you can be there for them.

“You may not always be able to help, but it’s the fact you are there for them and ready to hopefully assist them and it can make a big difference.”

Sergeant Gideon Eastlake.

Gideon joined Dyfed Powys as a youth trainee in business administration after leaving school at 16. After two years training, he worked in a number of roles as a member of the Force’s support staff before joining as a full-time officer. He was also a Special Constable for five-and-a-half years.

He’s been a police officer for 23 years and celebrates 30 years of overall service with the Force in October.

“There are three career highlights for me,” he said. “The first was actually becoming a police officer, the second was becoming a roads policing officer and the third was being promoted to sergeant.”

He added: “I left school with no qualifications and I never thought the opportunity to become a police officer would be within my grasp.

“When I joined the police as a youth trainee it was cementing everything in my head that I wanted to be a police officer.

“Once I got it I said to myself I had to make the best of it.

“I always said that I wanted to become a roads policing officer and I wanted to be a sergeant.

“I got the roads policing and then I became a sergeant, so I did everything I wanted to do in policing.”

Gideon has been a Fed rep for the past three years and has been representing the branch in the Force’s ongoing review into response policing.

He has a particular interest in misconduct matters and is trained to support members in this area.

“I became a fed rep in order to help the membership,” he said. “I have used the services of the Federation in the past and have always been grateful of the support.

“I felt that I now have enough knowledge and experience that I could impart to support my colleagues in difficult situations.”

READ MORE: Struggling with debt? Download this free guide.