‘Proud to serve’: Federation member fronts new police recruitment campaign

4 March 2026

A Federation member has spoken of her pride after becoming one of the faces of Northamptonshire Police’s latest recruitment drive.

PC Fez Hibberd is part of the Force’s ongoing ‘Be The Difference’ campaign, which launched earlier this month and is centred around the message that anyone can make an impact in policing.

So far, Fez’s involvement has seen her feature in a promotional video for the Force’s social and digital channels, showing her and a colleague racing to a frontline emergency, accompanied by audio encouraging viewers to ‘be that police officer you once had – or never did’.

The video also tells prospective police officers to consider ‘the lives you’ll change’ by helping victims of crime and the fact that there is ‘a different role, place or skill’ to suit anyone interested in joining the ranks – words Fez says she could not resonate more with.

“When I think about the essence of the campaign and what we are actually trying to get across to people, I feel a big sense of honour in being a part of it, to be honest,” she explained.

Communities

“I am only one individual in a bigger group of people from different professional and cultural backgrounds who have contributed to the campaign – there’s been a mix of high-ranking officers, firearms operators, dog handlers and many more, which demonstrates what we want to show with diversity across the Force.

“Ultimately, we want members of the public from different communities to feel they can reach out to us – not only in terms of serving them but welcoming them into what we do too.”

Fez’s video is set to be broadcast on ITVX – one of the UK’s most popular streaming platforms – while campaign material is also displayed on outdoor media such as billboards.

While the 34-year-old did not volunteer for the project to gain television recognition from friends and family, she acknowledges that her decision to take part was strongly influenced by their support.

 

PC Fez Hibberd

 

“It was off the back of a mentoring meeting that I was told volunteers were needed to help with a recruitment drive. With that in mind, taking part in the campaign was a no-brainer for me, really,” Fez continued.

“My mum is a teacher, my dad was a firefighter, my sister is a social worker, and my wife is a nurse, so I come from a public service background and that has helped inspire me to do the same with my career.

“I’ll always be proud to be a police officer, and I’ll never need to be asked twice about showing that off.”

The former Special Constable added that another motivation for joining the campaign was to make women feel seen in the profession.

“An important thing for me is making sure women don’t feel like policing isn’t for them – especially on the frontline. I’ve always wanted to break down barriers and show that we aren’t lesser than our male counterparts.

Campaign

“There’s been plenty of times on shift where I’ve told the big, burly men I’m working with to step aside while I break the door down, for example. If people say, ‘that might be difficult for you’, I’ll say, ‘yeah, good’ - that’s the kind of attitude I want to encourage within other female officers and aspiring ones.”

The ‘Be The Difference’ campaign marks Fez’s second appearance in front of the camera for official Force channels, following her involvement with some promotion just 10 weeks into life as a regular officer in 2020.

Back then, she was captured carrying out a search warrant as part of a week of action around drug crime.

“It’s been good fun to add to my experience just six years later,” she laughed.

“But as I said, I will never need a second invitation to show off how much I love my job, and I just want others to hopefully come to share that feeling, because everyone has something to offer to policing.”

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