In January 2017, Stephen was elected to the Northumbria Police LGBT+ Association as a committee member with specific responsibility for Senior Leadership Liaison within the Force. He had a huge impact in this role, he establishing a Senior Leadership Team (SLT) Allies network. Since coming together, Northumbria Police LGBT+ Association members have reverse mentored Chief Officer Team members on LGBT+ issues, and co-hosted a shared learning event focusing on Domestic Violence within same sex relationships together with Lesbian & Gay Lawyers Association (LAGLA) with speakers & research from Sunderland University. Finally, the Northumbria Police LGBT+ Association has been shortlisted in the 2018 Pink News Awards – Public Sector Equality category and secured 69th position within the Stonewall Workforce Equality Index 2018.