FEMALE CHAIRS (CONCLUDING PART)


of new representatives and those existing reps who have been successfully elected with training, mentoring and support.


What does it mean to you personally to be part of a record number of women leading Federation branches? Do you feel the increasing visibility of women in these roles is having a tangible effect on your colleagues, particularly female officers or reps? Excited! In my previous force I was a Public Order Instructor and was the only female on my team. When taking the position, I think I initially underestimated how much of an impact my posting would have, and female PSU trained officers were few and far between at the time. It probably helps that due to my height I stand out as well, but my visible presence had the unintentional draw to officers to say, “Well if she can do it, so can I”. I then used this to the benefit of the organisation to encourage, mentor and support female colleagues to join


public order and get involved. This was something I thoroughly enjoyed and to this day am very proud of. This is something I have recently reflected


upon as I have experienced it myself. Seeing National Chair Tiff Lynch stepping into the role was massively inspiring to me and reminded me of my own experiences and


“Whenever I am


community we serve. We should therefore reflect that in our leadership.


approached by a member for advice, I always start the conversation with the fact that I will be brutally honest about what I think about their particular issue.”


how powerful that can be. How can the Federation continue to encourage a wider range of voices in leadership without making representation feel tokenistic? As with the Peelian principles on which our whole existence is based on – “The police are the public, the public are the police”, we are a representative body of the police


HELEN STAMP CHAIR, LINCOLNSHIRE What inspired you to put yourself forward for this leadership role within the Federation, and how did your journey here unfold? I had been a Fed rep for many years and had been the Deputy Chair for around two years, when the Chair’s position became vacant. There had never been


a female Chair, or other executive, in Lincolnshire so I wondered how this would land with the membership. So, I had doubts. I had a word with myself and put to rest those voices in my head that were saying I wasn’t up to it into a box and put myself forward. There were two of us that stood so I then entered what I can only describe as a popularity contest!


36 | POLICE | OCTOBER | 2025


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