Support from branch chair inspires sergeant to join the Federation

22 November 2023

Sergeant James Stopford has spoken about how the reassurance he received from Hertfordshire Police Federation during a conduct complaint inspired him to help others.

James and his wife were expecting a child when he was the subject of an investigation six and a half years ago.

He described how the email threw him into turmoil, despite knowing he’d done nothing wrong, and how the Fed branch were able to support him.

“When my wife was pregnant I got a complaint and I had to reach out to a Fed rep,” he said. “It happened to be Luke Mitchell, who is the current chair but was a work-based Fed rep at the time.

“The support he offered and that reassurance was brilliant.

“Being at that point where I had a pregnant wife and you get that email drop into your inbox and you’ve got the mortgage, you start fearing the worst straight away.

Sergeant James Stopford has praised the support he received from the Federation.

“To have a Fed rep with a calm head who was able to give you the reality. He didn’t say everything was going to be alright, but he was able to put some grounding and reality in there and then support me through the process.

“You worry when that email drops even though you know you’ve done nothing wrong.

“It was being represented by the Fed that I then wanted to help members who might find themselves in that position.”

James is now a work-based rep. He completed his misconduct course six months ago and can now represent members through situations similar to the one he experienced.

“I wanted to be able to pass it on to other members,” he said.

James said that one of the things that gives him lot of satisfaction as a Fed rep is speaking to members who are off work on long-term sick.

“I’ve found they really appreciate a phone call from the Federation,” he said.

“You can’t solve everything and the underlying factors of why they might be off long-term sick, but they appreciate the phone call from someone else, someone independent who can have a chat away from their line manager calling to talk about daily business or when are you returning to work.

“It can be a lonely place on long-term sick, so that phone call and that conversation can make a difference, and then they’ve got that link so they can always contact me in the future.”

He added: “Without work-based reps and full-time reps, those members might not have anyone they feel is on their side, looking after their best interests and giving them that level of support and assistance.

“And then for me on a personal level, it’s satisfying when officers show their appreciation.

“Sometimes you can just hear it, you don’t need the thank you, you can hear that relief while you’re having a conversation with them.”

James didn’t always want to be a police officer but his plan of going to university deviated while he was studying for his A Levels.

He said that at 18 he felt he’d had enough of education and, instead, followed in his dad’s footsteps of being a Police Community Support Officer (PCSO).

James said: “I turned 18 quite early in my second year in sixth form. I discovered socialising and decided I didn’t want to do my A Levels any more.

“My dad was a PCSO at the time - he was one of the first PCSO in Hertfordshire Police.

“He used to come home every day with stories from Watford town centre, which is where he was the PCSO, about the job being different.

“It sounded exciting so I looked into it. At the time there was a recruitment freeze so I followed directly in his footsteps and became a PCSO.

“Looking back and being honest with myself, I needed those few years to mature and grow up as a PCSO.”

James admitted it was a decision that allowed him to mature into the officer he is today, and to understand younger officers coming into service.

“That set me up perfectly to become a police officer in my early 20s,” said James, who became an officer in 2013.

“I needed that five years to see what the service was about and to mature.

“I didn’t have that perception at the time, which is why I try not to judge officers young in service now. Those five years really helped me to mature and start off on the best foot.”

Describing policing as one of the most difficult jobs around at the moment, James said that he gets a real sense of achievement from support officers not just as a Fed rep but also a sergeant.

“I love being a line manager,” he said. “I like supporting people.

“We’re in one of the most difficult jobs in the country at the moment, we can’t do right for doing wrong, and I like being a line manager and directly looking after people and giving them that support."

If you’re interested in becoming a workplace rep, please email branch chair Luke Mitchell or secretary Al Wollaston.