An officer who is always available to help colleagues and uses her passion and knowledge to improve processes across the force has been recognised on both the local and national stage for her outstanding Federation work.

PC Tania Kirby was named Federation Rep of the Year at the 2026 Gloucestershire Police Federation Recognition Awards before going on to win the national Police Federation Rep of the Year Award, which was presented at the Police Federation Annual Conference and sponsored by Police Friendly and Metfriendly.

A long-serving Federation Rep, Tania gives unwavering support to colleagues. She tenaciously challenges the organisation when it falls short, but equally, where officers need to be held accountable for their actions, she carries out her role with professionalism, passion and determination to ensure the right outcome is reached.

Tania carries out all this work on top of her full-time role as an assessor in learning and development, and supports the majority of student officers who go through Regulation 13 processes.

Her contributions in this area have earned the respect of senior leaders, supervisors and HR managers alike. Tania's support has helped the organisation make better use of Regulation 13 and ensure it retains the right recruits.

Tania said: "I've always enjoyed helping people. Every role that I seem to do involves me supporting and helping people."

Tania has also been instrumental in changes to the force's promotion process, helping bring it in line with modern requirements. She advocated for members who raised concerns and played a key role in securing an approach that has been widely welcomed across the organisation.

She added: "All I really want from the organisation is to make sure that their processes are fair and consistent. I've worked with different people within the organisation at different levels to try and make the process better, to give people a fairer opportunity at promotion, and to develop themselves."

One colleague said: "I would be happy to go to Tania with any Federation issue and be confident that she would know the answer or know where to get the answer for me. I would happily direct any of my team to Tania if they had an issue that I could not solve."

Another officer said Tania had supported him in a number of situations, including advice about paternity leave and a departmental move. In both cases, she followed up personally to make sure he was being treated fairly.

Tania added: "I was really shocked to win the award. Massively honoured. Still can't really believe it. I think it's incredible. It's really humbling that people think so highly of me."

Adam Williams, Chair of Gloucestershire Police Federation, said: "Tania is a true role model and a prime example of what a Federation rep should be. She works tirelessly to support officers and always provides sensible and direct advice, whether or not she is on duty.

"She constantly fights to improve the working conditions of officers in the force and is a deserving winner of this award."

He added: "To see Tania's dedication and commitment recognised nationally with the Police Federation's Rep of the Year Award at Annual Conference was fantastic. It reflects the huge difference she makes to the lives of officers across Gloucestershire every day."