Vice-chair looking forward to working with new Branch Council

16 December 2021

Hertfordshire Police Federation’s newly-formed council has held its first meeting since the elections took place.

Vice-chair Luke Mitchell, who was re-elected for another three-year term of office, has welcomed new reps onto the council and said he looked forward to hearing their ideas on how the branch can better support colleagues.

Luke explained he was very proud to be voted back in and would continue to support chair Geoff Bardell in his challenging role.

He described representing the 1,900 Hertfordshire Police Federation members as a real honour and said the branch would remain focussed on putting officer welfare at the heart of everything it does.

He said: “Now that the dust has settled on the recent elections we have appointed a new council and a new Branch Board. Both have new and old faces with a mixture of experience across our Force and it is exciting to welcome new reps onto our council. All are very welcome.

“In terms of full-time officers nothing has changed, which from my point of view is very positive. At the last elections there were a number of changes so having some stability over the next three years is going to be important. I think the team has done a really good job over the last four years and has covered some really good ground but clearly there is always more to do.”

Luke said some of the larger welfare projects the Hertfordshire branch was undertaking alongside its day-to-day work included the Federation respite home and the welfare van which was successfully deployed to the G7 meeting in Carbis Bay, Cornwall, and the more recent COP26 gathering in Glasgow alongside various local operations.

The branch is also looking at providing additional counselling sessions for officers if their funding runs out and introducing a £10-per-member charge for a team event.

“I would like to say thank you to not only our full-time reps but also to our Branch Board and Branch Council which have pushed us forward and achieved so much for members,” he said.

Luke was first elected as vice-chair in 2018 after becoming a workplace representative in 2010.

His policing career began when he worked as a cook at Watford Police Station in 2000. He became a Special Constable in 2001 and then joined the Force as a student officer the following year.

He has worked across Watford and Three Rivers on intervention and SNT, spending eight “brilliant” years as the SNT sergeant at South Oxhey and moved into community safety. He has also carried out custody duties as a sergeant.

The new reps on the Branch Council are:

Molly Brett

Iain Brunt

Michael Clark

Jay Ferner

Karen Hutchinson

James Luxon

Kate Parker

Frankie Westoby

Robert Wilson

They join the following reps who served during the previous triennial:

Danny Howe and Dean Cornish, who are both full-time.

Workplace reps:

Ben Berkhamstead

Kelly Billington

Kio Bozorgi

Anna Cornish

Mel Cotte

Mike Dring

Iffy Hatfield

Terasa Holden

Dan Jones

Luke Mitchell

Duncan Prior

Ross Paybody

Paul Pickett

Gareth Rees

Jo Skingley

James Stopford

Johnie Streeter

Dean Watson

Shaun Woods.