‘Let the Federation help you’: new rep outlines commitment to members

25 September 2025

New workplace representative Chris Milburn has highlighted openness as the key for members to get the best possible service from the Federation.

Chris, who is a PC, has already ‘hit the ground running’ as a West Midlands Police Federation rep, immediately getting to work supporting fellow officers in tough circumstances and fulfilling a long-term ambition in the process.

With a track record of guidance and tutorship in a West Midlands Police career which dates back almost two decades, he had been informally advising colleagues on issues around Police Regulations for many years.

This led him to first put himself forward as a rep in 2019, when an election did not materialise.

 

New workplace representative Chris Milburn

 

But this did not deter Chris from remaining dedicated and approachable for the benefit of others in policing.

“I’m really happy to be in this position of workplace rep and, so far, I am fully embracing the challenge – it feels good to now be able to do so,” he said.

“Of course, it was never undermining the Federation’s work, but I used to be seen as a bit of an expert on regs, so I would always make time for a quick chat with whoever needed some information or a sounding board.

“I got a satisfaction from doing this, so it made sense to look at doing something similar in an overarching structure and on a bigger scale. It didn’t happen straight away, but now it has, some colleagues have already told me, ‘I’m glad you’re a rep now, Chris’. That really motivates me to be the best I can be, and I’m very much looking forward to the future.”

Commitment

Setting out his commitments to members, Chris described his priorities as ‘being in the discipline and conduct world’.

Despite this, he is ready to support members on any issue – big or small – including personal matters, as well as diversity and equality.

The 40-year-old is currently part of the Force’s student officer assessment team in the Coventry Local Policing Area (LPA).

Here, he is responsible for guiding cops fresh out of training school through their operational portfolios before they can be confirmed in rank – and he says he can help Federation members through similar moments of pressure and uncertainty.

“Throughout my career, I have been a leader and a mentor in different guises,” Chris continued, “Before my current role, I worked in the Birmingham LPA as a safer travel officer, where I was part of a Force-wide team covering all modes of public transport in conjunction with the British Transport Police. I eventually became second-in-charge, and then coordinator. 

“And before this, I was based exclusively in Coventry for the first 10 years of my career across neighbourhood policing and city centre response.

Frontline

“I have always had my own thirst for professional knowledge, too. What I do now allows me to keep updated with what officers are dealing with on the frontline, and I think that can also boost what I’ll be doing as a rep.”

For all Chris’ experience of being there for others in the profession, however, he has also needed to fight his own corner before.

In between his two bids to become a workplace rep, he was supported by the Federation in a misconduct case brought against him for an off-duty incident.

The matter was eventually resolved positively but, for Chris, it was the backing he felt during the process which was just as vital as the end result.

“Through this case, my Fed rep was an absolute rock of support. He kept me up to date with everything that was going on and whenever I needed an answer on something, he went away to get me it, so I wasn’t thinking ‘what if’,” he explains.

Battle

“That was half the battle for me – it made a huge difference. This was the first time I saw the Federation in a totally different perspective, in terms of the sheer lengths it went to, to protect me. That motivated me even more to be part of the Fed set-up myself one day.”

From his early days as a police officer, Chris says it was ‘drilled into me’ to speak to the Federation should he ever ‘get into trouble’.

And he rounded off his thoughts as a new rep by appealing for a similar attitude from branch members themselves.

“Now more than ever in the Force, what I do means I see mistakes up close all the time – and mistakes are fine, but I would urge people not to cover them up and risk making them into something bigger.

“We can all get it wrong, but please don’t hide it. Let the Federation help you.

“As your representative, I will relate to what you’re going through, and I will do everything I can to get you back on your journey to being the best officer you can possibly be.”

READ MORE: Federation seeks appropriate legal powers for officers involved in stopping vehicles.