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Lancashire Constabulary’s PC Nikki Nabi has won the Police Federation of England and Wales’ (PFEW) Outstanding Contribution to Women in Policing Award for 2025.
The award — sponsored this year by MetFriendly — was created in memory of Greater Manchester Police constables Nicola Hughes and Fiona Bone who were killed on duty on September 18 2012. It recognises the pivotal roles played by women in policing in the protection of the public and serving of their communities.
This year’s award was hotly contested, with nominations flooding in from Federation branches across England and Wales. But Nikki emerged as the clear winner.
“To be told I’d won a national award was incredible – but what meant even more was the fact that it was in memory of Nicola and Fiona. To be associated with their bravery and sacrifice is truly humbling.”
PC Nikki Nabi.
Nikki’s win adds to a remarkable achievement for Lancashire Constabulary, which has now received this award more times than any other force in England and Wales – winning it three times since its inception. This repeated recognition highlights the force’s continued commitment to championing gender equality, inclusion, and innovation in policing.
A pivotal turn
With over 20 years of service, Nikki’s journey took a pivotal turn in 2021 when she joined the Police Uplift Programme, working to increase recruitment into the police. Having spent most of her career in response policing, this role was a step into the unknown. But as she began sharing her story as both a police officer and a mother, she found it resonated deeply with women in the community.
Her outreach helped dispel common misconceptions about policing and created an open dialogue – particularly with women from diverse backgrounds. One of the most significant barriers she uncovered was the Job-Related Fitness Test, widely known as the “bleep test”.
Nikki discovered the test, which falls late in the recruitment process, left little time for preparation and had a high failure rate. To address this, she introduced mock bleep tests earlier in the process, allowing candidates to assess their fitness in a low-pressure environment. Held at police headquarters, the sessions also helped familiarise applicants with the setting, reducing anxiety.
“I kept it all very positive,” she said. “It wasn’t about passing or failing – it was about understanding their fitness level on the day and giving them time to improve.”
The change led to a noticeable increase in success rates and drew interest from other forces. Building on that success, Nikki launched community-based bleep test events – fun, informal sessions where women could try the test, meet female officers, and have honest conversations about policing careers.
But her work didn’t stop there. Nikki also tackled cultural and religious barriers, particularly regarding the wearing of the hijab. When women asked if they could wear a hijab as a police officer, Nikki knew the answer was yes but also recognised the lack of a designated uniform option.
Determined to change this, she formed a focus group of Muslim women officers, collaborated with clothing suppliers, and drew on her own frontline experience to help design three hijab styles that were both practical and respectful.
These designs acknowledged the personal religious journeys of individual officers and are now officially offered to Muslim women joining the force, whether as police officers, PCSOs, or staff.
Through her work with the Workforce Representation Team, Nikki has not only improved recruitment processes but has also redefined how policing connects with underrepresented communities.
‘Exceptionally well deserving’
Police Federation Women’s Lead Sue Honeywill visited Lancashire Constabulary to present the award to Nikki. She said: “Nikki is exceptionally well deserving of our Outstanding Contribution to Women in Policing Award. Having now met Nikki, I was absolutely blown away by her dedication and commitment to ensuring true equality and inclusion within the service.
“She remains so humble about what she has achieved but hopefully the recognition of this award will show we recognise her dedication and commitment to making a real difference to women in policing, and this should be celebrated.
“As a police service, we have a number of programmes to support our officers once they have been successful in completing the recruitment process, but Nikki’s work has gone further than this and she has reached out to the communities and undertaken programmes to encourage those from underrepresented groups to join, giving them the support, encouragement and confidence to apply.
“We have spoken to an officer who applied to join the service because of Nikki’s work and support, and this is a true reflection of the impact Nikki has had on other people’s lives and how inspirational she has been.
“Lancashire Police now has one of the highest numbers of female police officers and this is in no small way contributed to the work being undertaken by the force and specifically Nikki, who is seen as a real leader in this area.”
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