New full-time rep using 21 years of frontline experience to support student officers

9 December 2025

Dyfed Powys Police Federation’s newest full-time representative brings with him more than two decades of frontline policing and a passion for helping the next generation of officers.

After eight years as a workplace rep, a role he balanced with demanding operational posts, Sergeant Leyton Phillips took up the full-time Federation role in September.

His portfolio is considerable, comprising student officer lead, branch treasurer, vice chair and deputy conduct lead.

Leyton, 40, says he manages the roles with the same organisation that has helped to shape his career since he joined Dyfed Powys Police as an 18-year-old.

Ambition

He said: “I suppose I’ve always been very organised to try to keep on top of my work.

“That’s been a theme throughout my career and helps me to manage to spin all the plates.”

Leyton said a childhood fascination with the TV programme The Bill was an early inspiration for his ambition to become an officer.

He said: “Growing up I watched The Bill, and being a police officer was all I can remember wanting to do.

 

Sergeant Leyton Phillips

 

“I knew I wanted to join the police, so as soon as I could apply at 18, I did.”

Leyton joined the Force in September 2004 and has spent his career in operational roles.

From his first posting at Cardigan, he quickly went into roads policing, spending around a decade on traffic, before taking on roles in driver training and public order.

Promotion to sergeant brought a return to response policing in Lampeter, followed by time on custody in Aberystwyth before joining the Federation office.

Careers

Along the way, he policed at major national events, from COP26 in Glasgow to riots in Bristol, as well as on large-scale football and political operations. Those experiences, he said, gave him opportunities few careers can match.

“I still wake up every day wanting to come to work,” he said. “People ask whether I’d join the police again, and I always say yes. This job gives you opportunities like no other.”

Leyton’s involvement with the Federation began early in his service, long before he formally joined as a workplace representative.

“I went to conference as an observer years before I came into the Fed,” he said. “Back then we’d send 25 officers to conference, and I think that’s what first got me interested in the Federation and its work.”

Leyton said his reason for becoming a workplace rep was the opportunity to support colleagues, negotiate on their behalf, and help ensure fairness within the organisation.

“As a supervisor, people would often come to me for informal advice,” he said. “Becoming part of the Fed gave me more structure, more ability to influence, and to be that visible local representation for members.”

Conference

Leyton this year attended his first national conference since taking up the full-time role, and it made a big impression on him.

Held at Birmingham’s NEC in November, the conference was the first in-person gathering in three years.

And he said the return to a face-to-face format created a renewed sense of unity.

“Being back together after three years without an in-person conference made a huge difference,” he said. “You get a much clearer picture of what people are experiencing nationally.”

He added: “The organisation feels more stable and more professional than it has for a long time.

“After a couple of rocky years, the Federation feels like it’s on a strong path to recovery.”

Leyton’s primary focus in his extensive portfolio is on student officers.

He sees his 21 years on the frontline as central to the role, particularly at a time when some supervisors have only a few years’ service themselves.

Support

“I want to be visible and accessible,” he said. “I meet student officers who might be struggling or need support, and I can give them different ways of working, different ideas to prioritise their workload.

“They’ll often say they didn’t think of that, and it might be because their supervisors have only got two or three years more experience than them.

“That’s replicated nationally.

“I think I can offer a lot. I’ve been frontline throughout my career, so that’s where I find benefit at the moment.

“I want to make sure student officers feel supported, listened to, and treated fairly from the very start of their careers.”

Leyton works alongside branch chair Delme Rees, and secretary Ceris Davies, forming what he describes as a well-rounded and highly experienced team.

“The three of us all bring something different,” he said. “Between us, we’ve got bucketloads of experience across different areas of policing.”

READ MORE: Federation winter mag is out now and available to read online.