Rep says policing experience vital in supporting officers

24 September 2026

West Mercia Police Federation representative PC Dave Hussey says his frontline experience gives him valuable insight when supporting colleagues facing misconduct proceedings.

Dave has been a rep since 2021 and said working as a response officer helps him offer practical, informed support to colleagues.

The Leominster-based officer is trained in conduct, discipline and performance, as well as Post-Incident Procedure (PIP), and has taken on an increasing workload representing officers.

He combines his Federation work with being a full-time officer, a tutor constable, and being trained in a number of specialist operational roles.

 

PC Dave Hussey

 

For a period after the retirement of experienced Fed rep and former branch secretary Leslie Williams, Dave was one of only two trained conduct representatives within West Mercia.

“It was a massive workload,” he said. “I was still working as a response officer, doing my normal shifts, tutoring and doing the Federation work as well.

“I don’t know how I functioned because I never seemed to stop.”

However, he wanted to remain a serving frontline officer rather than move into Federation work on a full-time basis.

Fairness

Dave said: “I like the role that I do because I’m still on the ground.

“I see everything that goes on and get an understanding of what’s happening. When I’m representing officers, I’ve still got that hands-on experience.”

He said that experience is particularly important when challenging assumptions about how policing operates in practice.

Dave said: “You can have somebody from Professional Standards saying, ‘What about such and such?’ and I can say, ‘that doesn’t happen’.

“I can explain how a particular procedure actually works because I’m still doing the job.”

Dave said his Federation work is driven by his belief in fairness.

Case

He says he does not believe Federation representatives should automatically defend officers regardless of the circumstances, but he does believe every officer is entitled to have their case properly heard.

“There are officers who shouldn’t be in the job. I accept that and I don’t condone wrongdoing,” he says.

“But officers who have made a genuine mistake, who haven’t detailed something properly or are going through difficulties which have led to them making a mistake – there is a story behind it.

“I like that officer to get their story out and explain their way of thinking and what the circumstances were, so we can best look after them.”

Even where an officer has deliberately committed serious wrongdoing, Dave said they should still be treated fairly through the process.

“If they’ve done something absolutely horrendously wrong or intentionally committed a crime, I’m not there to defend them,” he said.

 

PC Dave Hussey

 

“But I will still make sure they are treated fairly, because if we don’t treat them fairly, we won’t treat the ones who have just made a little mistake fairly either.”

Dave began informally helping colleagues after transferring to West Mercia from the Metropolitan Police in 2008.

He said the move highlighted to him how difficult it could be for officers to navigate regulations and rights, particularly when they transferred between forces.

Dave, who formally became a Fed rep in 2021, said: “Knowledge on regulations, and the rights and entitlements of officers was limited, and often I was not completely satisfied with the answers previous reps gave.

“I basically became an unelected, unofficial Fed rep in my own right in finding about the rights and regulations to help and support the colleagues on my team.

“And then people were saying that I should be a Fed rep.”

Dave started his policing career with the Met in 2002, aged 21, after previously working for a company putting up marquees and tents at showgrounds around the country.

Seasonal work

He said: “It was a labouring job. I was full-time, but for some people, it was seasonal work.

“You'd have a bunch of people with a colourful background, shall we say, and you learn how to deal with and speak to them.”

Dave transferred to West Mercia in 2008 and moved to Leominster in 2013.

As well as his response role, he is a Taser officer, Level 2 public order officer, public order medic and method-of-entry officer and is initial pursuit trained. He is also a tutor constable.

And he believes more officers could benefit from becoming Federation representatives and said the role can be highly fulfilling.

“I would encourage people to give it a go,” he said.

“It can be rewarding to help those who are going through misconduct proceedings – usually because it’s a mistake, an error or there’s a lack of explanation or justification for something.

He added: “There’s a lot of satisfaction in, as I say, looking after the little man and getting their voice heard.”

READ MORE: 'A passing out ceremony like no other'.