REPS AT WORK
New Reps Spotlight
A personal experience of being under investigation and receiving help from a Fed Rep led to Police Sergeant Paul Linpower deciding to give something back and fulfil the role himself
“My focus as a Fed rep would ideally be conduct and performance, having been through the processes myself
previously. I want to be there to provide reassurance, support, and advice during difficult times”
Police Sergeant Paul Linpower joined Dorset Police in 2006 and worked on patrol in Bournemouth town centre for the first four years as a PC, he was encouraged by his inspector at that time to consider the sergeants’ exam, decided to take it, and passed the exam in 2010. “I delayed applying for promotion and
was an acting/temporary sergeant for eight years because I loved working with the team, but in 2018 I finally went for promotion and was successful. I completed my CMI and was posted to Winton to run
my own team. Whilst working there he was nominated
for a National Police Bravery Award and won the Southwest Regional Award alongside his colleague PC Lee Mather in 2021. In 2022, things changed for Paul
and his partner (who is also an officer) when they had twin girls. Paul moved to a performance role responsible for analysing overall performance within its Local Policing Area before moving to custody to develop laterally. “I’ve since returned to my performance
role which requires me to look at local policing and how they are performing within different departments and see what can be done to try and increase our positive outcomes,” he continued. Paul’s motivation to become a rep was due to his previous experiences. “During my time in patrol policing, I went through two post-incident procedures and two gross misconduct complaints which thankfully ended with absolutely no wrongdoing found. All of these were extremely stressful experiences and in the early stages I never felt as though I was overly supported,” he explained. “The positive factor in all these experiences was the support offered by my Fed rep Simon Kempton who kept me updated regularly, chased for updates, and just called from time to time to check that I was okay.” After spending time with the branch Chair James Dimmack and Secretary Karen Stacey, Paul expressed an interest to join as they discussed his positive interactions with Fed reps in his time of need. He applied when there were vacancies and was selected to be a rep. “The takeaway for me was how stressful and upsetting it can be as a police officer to be told you’re under investigation when you’ve done your absolute best in a given situation and the importance of having some support when you’re in that situation, both professionally and from a personal - human perspective”, said Paul. “Knowing that you’ve got Fed reps who can make time, sit down with you, and you know they’ve been in that situation before, and they can talk you through things
they can offer you for support - even if it is just support at that time, it is really valuable.”
When asked if he had a particular area he was interested in, he said: “My focus as a Fed rep would ideally be conduct and performance, having been through the processes myself previously. I want to be there to provide reassurance, support, and advice during difficult times.” “Policing is a family; we operate in shades
of grey, making decisions often with elements of ambiguity and uncertainty with the best intentions where, sadly, sometimes the outcome is not favourable.”
47 | POLICE | FEBRUARY 2023
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