Ensuring officer welfare is put to the fore is the key priority for Hertfordshire Police Federation vice-chair Luke Mitchell.

Luke was elected to his current position in 2018, having been a Federation workplace representative since 2010.

He welcomes the fact that the Federation branch is focussed on putting officer welfare at the heart of everything it does.

“I’m enjoying the challenge and feel we have a strong set of officials, reps and staff willing to help and support Federated officers,” he explains, “We’ve made some great steps over the last 12 months in terms of welfare, buying a holiday home, offering officers extra counselling sessions, donating £10 towards a team event and buying the welfare van. Under the leadership of Geoff Bardell (chair) and Al Wollaston (secretary), we have pushed forward and feel we are better engaging with our officers. The full-time office team we have are, in my opinion, giving members the very best service possible.

“We have a very skilled and experienced board of representatives and I would encourage members to approach us when issues arise. We need to keep safe and ensure we look after each other.”

Luke who is currently the community safety unit sergeant managing high risk ASB, youth and schools, hate crime and licensing for Watford and Three Rivers, subscribed to the Federation when he joined the Force in 2002, knowing that the fact he has dyslexia might lead him to struggle with certain elements of the role.

“Back then, the Force wasn’t as aware of the reasonable adjustments that could be made as it is now,” he explains, “I wanted the security of knowing someone would support me if I had issues.”

Luke put himself forward as a workplace rep at a time when he was happy with the rank and role he was in and thought he could support colleagues.

“Having been through a few issues myself, I wanted to help those who found themselves in similar postions and also to help improve a number of areas of policing. Ensuring the welfare of staff was the top of my priority list,” he says.

Luke, who has undertaken the Federation’s health and safety and misconduct courses, is frustrated with long-drawn-out conduct investigations and the impact these have on officers and their families, adding: “All too often these investigations drag on and on. The police service needs to get to grips with how long officers are under investigation for. It doesn’t seem right how an officer can be investigated for over 12 months and the end result is a written warning. Better, quicker decisions need to be made on cases of misconduct.

“When you’re able to draw a conclusion to cases and see the relief of officers and your thanked for the support you’ve given them it is really rewarding. I’ve supported officers who have been in court and those under misconduct investigations and being able to help them get through a tricky part of their policing career makes the challenges of this role really worthwhile.”

While concerned about the length of conduct investigations, he also believes there are other challenges ahead for the Force including the introduction of the degree entry scheme and retaining officers.

“It feels like we lose officers very quickly and there is now a higher turnover of staff. We invest heavily in training staff and it doesn’t make sense to lose people so quickly. Pay and conditions will need to be reviewed, a pay uplift and an increase the South East Allowance are both moves I feel must happen,” Luke argues. 

Luke’s policing career began when he worked as a cook at Watford Police Station in 2000. He became a Special in 2001 and then joined the Force as a student officer the following year.

He has worked across Watford and Three Rivers on intervention and SNT, spending eight ‘brilliant’ years as the SNT sergeant at South Oxhey and moved into community safety around 15 months ago. He has also carried out custody duties as a sergeant.