Get to know your reps: Rob Camp

8 June 2020

The most rewarding thing about being a Federation representative is knowing you can make a difference for officers, says Sergeant Robert Camp.

Robert has been a workplace rep for West Mercia Federation since 2015, and still enjoys helping members.

“I put myself forward for the role to help colleagues if they were ever in need, to address poor managers around leadership and abuse of regulations,” he said.

“I’m still enjoying helping to address underlying issues around leadership and breaches of regulations. I enjoy becoming involved in meetings with managers and senior officers and making a stand for colleagues and how they work and how they’re treated.”

He said one of the challenges of the role was making senior figures in the Force realise the value of the Federation to everyone.

Robert said: “It’s making managers and senior officers know that we are there to help them to avert problems and help all the staff.”

He added: “I find the most rewarding thing is creating change to policies and procedures that directly impact officers on a day to day basis; to know that I can sometimes make a difference.”

Robert joined the Federation in 1991 when he was part of Surrey Police. “Everyone did then to guarantee a friend and advice when you needed it,” he said.

He moved to West Mercia in 1999 and has worked for almost a decade in custody, firstly at Redditch and now at Worcester. He’s also a rep on the National Custody Forum.

Robert said he’d recommend joining the Federation, particularly to new officers.

“They’re so busy and so put upon by their supervisors under the current systems, they’re less inclined to push back and stand their ground over breaches of regulations,” he said.

“I’d encourage them to join the Federation to guarantee a friend and advice when you need it. Managers and supervisors can no longer support you as they did when I joined.

“West Mercia Police Federation has made a fresh start and the leadership team bring a genuine honesty and a commitment that’s refreshing and encouraging to all reps,” he added.