To mark International Women’s Day (Sunday 8 March), we spoke to Federation workplace representative April Cooper about the importance of leadership, resilience, and empathy in policing.
April joined Cambridgeshire Constabulary in 2018 with a clear vision of what her life in the Force would like: a career dedicated to the frontline, which quickly took off with response duties in Peterborough.
But while she found her work fulfilling and valued its public-facing nature, she was also being gradually drained by the harsh realities of dealing with violence, trauma, and the pressures of day-to-day policing, which left her in a difficult position.
“Even though I know what kind of things to expect, I was becoming more and more worn down by the role, which I didn’t foresee happening,” said April.
She added: “Don’t get me wrong, I felt a lot of good in what I was doing, but I think what was really getting to me was knowing those factors existed and yet still being expected to produce a positive outcome on everything, which just isn’t always possible on response.
“It gets to the point where you’re butting heads with yourself.”
April decided to ‘take a step back’ and joined response investigations, followed by time in the CID’s volume crime unit. During this period, she sought other areas in policing where she could channel her drive.
This opportunity arose in 2021, when she became a Federation representative, and she wanted to use her experiences of adversity, which also included a distressing misconduct investigation, to help colleagues navigate their own professional challenges.
“In terms of key moments during those first few years on response, there was nothing bigger than the investigation I was subject to in 2020,” she explained.
“It went on for nine months, and it was the worst time of my life. When it finally ended, the Force apologised to me for dealing with the incident at hand incorrectly from the start.
“But you can’t let it defeat you, and I have since poured a lot of energy into being a Fed rep and supporting members with conduct and performance matters.”
Since joining the branch as a workplace rep, the 32-year-old has boosted the welfare of numerous colleagues, supporting them every step of the way with the Professional Standards Department (PSD).
After five years in the role, April continues to make an impact, believing the Federation is seeing ‘more positive outcomes than negative ones [to misconduct cases] right now’, while also focusing on equality and uniform issues.
Her frontline experience remains central to her work, particularly after returning to response duties as a sergeant in 2023.
“Ultimately, it’s my passion – it’s why I joined the job and it never truly went away,” April said.
“Neither have those same stressors and pressures as before, though, so how do I deal with them now? As a sergeant, I’m big on building morale and truly being there for my team, which I get just as much benefit from as they do.
“I’m now on response in Fenland, and I’m loving it. I want other people to feel the same, which is why I’m using my Federation capacity to liaise with senior leadership, push for the right change, reverse the wrong change and help make response better for everyone.”
It is this sense of care and empowerment across both her Federation and frontline duties that motivates April to go the extra mile for her fellow officers.
And she did not rule out the possibility of building on this with future progression in the Force.
“One of the positives of Cambridgeshire is that opportunities have always felt fair and forthcoming to me, which is perhaps not something that can be said by women in every force.
“There are still some challenges for us – despite some changes being made, body armour for female officers is still inadequate, and this is one of my next projects to look back into – but I think with some determination, there’s nothing we cannot do in this profession.
“If you do feel something is holding you back, make sure you talk to your Fed reps, because we can help. Whether it’s department, role, working pattern or something else, we can explore what options are out there for you, together.
“As I’m testament to, there’s always a way for you to get back to your best.”