The Beginning

The Beginning

West Midlands Police was formed on April 1, 1974, with a strength of 5,282 officers. It incorporated Birmingham City Police, West Midlands Constabulary (Dudley Borough Police, Walsall Borough Police, Wolverhampton Borough Police and Oldbury from Staffordshire County Constabulary), Coventry City Police, Solihull, Chelmsley Wood, Sutton Coldfield and Halesowen.

Today, it is the second largest force in the country, covering 348 sq miles and a population of over 2.8 million. 1

1966 – On the 16th March 1966 Mohamed Yusuf Daar (known as Jo) became the first BME police officer in the West Midlands when he joined what was then Coventry City Police.

He was also the first Muslim police officer in the West Midlands.

Young PC Daar on the front page of the Daily Mirror2

He was previously an Inspector in the British Colony of Tanganyika in East Africa. When Tanganyika attained independence, becoming Tanzania, Jo did not want to give up his British citizenship and so moved to England.

Jo states he saw the Chief Constable of Coventry City Police on the TV speaking about how there would soon be ‘coloured’ police officers walking the streets. The next day he walked in to Little Park Street police station and enquired about a job. By the end of the day he had signed up. He was so excited about his new job he forgot to ask about the pay – as it turns out on £14 a week he would earn half of his previous salary as a machine operator. When he was initially shown round the officer asked him if it was ok to call him ‘Mo’ – he said my name is Yusuf which in English is Joseph so call me ‘Jo’ and that was what he was known as by his colleagues.

Jo recalls how he received letters from people all over the world – including one person in Mauritius who sent a letter addressed simply to PC Daar – England. It arrived with the Metropolitan Police Service who sent it on to him whilst on his training at Ryton

The Future is Bright –the Future is BAPA

Celebrating 50 Years of Black and Ethnic Minority Officers in the West Midlands and 20 Years of West Midlands Police Black and Asian Police Association

Jo’s experience of policing in Tanganyika was very different to the UK – over there he was an Inspector at aged 18, in charge of two stations and managing all elements of a crime (e.g. initial report, investigation, prosecution etc). In Coventry he had to do a lot of publicity work, shaking hands and meeting people all the time because of his ethnicity. He saw great value in being able to support other young BME officers but he decided the rest of it was not for him so as soon as he had finished his probationary training, two years into his career with Coventry Police, he left. Whilst he said he experienced no racism, he did feel that his Muslim faith prevented him from rising through the ranks.

PC Daar on the streets of Coventry- image courtesy of Alamy Ltd

Mohamed Yunus Daar (Jo Daar’s brother) joined Coventry City Police in 1968. Yunus served 14 years then left to work with his brother. He also does not recall racism or negative experiences during his time in the police. He served through two amalgamations – the merger of Coventry with Warwickshire in 1969 to make Warwickshire & Coventry Constabulary and the later merge of Coventry with Birmingham City Police, Dudley Borough, Wolverhampton Borough, Walsall Borough and parts of Staffordshire County Police to make West Midlands Police (WMP) in 1974. The only time he could recall his ethnicity being an issue was when he married a white colleague. Even then he only recalls gossip and it being a bit of a talking point.

Yunus and Jo Daar (left to right) in 2016

Yunus remembers one time being in the police van with his colleagues when they were talking about different communities, prejudices and the challenges faced by the mainly white police. He states everyone suddenly went quiet and he was worried that he said something wrong, when one of his colleagues said ‘Sorry Yunus, we kind of forgot you were here and there we are talking about racism and prejudice’ . This incident in particular confirmed for him that colour did not matter. He treated everyone as a human being regardless of their race or ethnicity. He recalls he definitely felt like a part of his team and the wider policing family and he states neither his ethnicity nor his faith ever caused him a problem.

By the time he left, Yunus states that as Inspector, most of his time was spent doing paperwork and he felt detached from operational policing. When his brother offered him a job and asked him to come and work with him, he decided to leave policing behind altogether, although his supervising officer did encourage him to take a break and consider returning.

Yunus feels immense pride that his family were the first Asian police officers in the country, opening up the door for many others to follow. He also feels pride whenever he sees a high ranking Asian or black officer on the television, seeing how far the service has come in 50 years.

1966 – Ralph Ramadhar became the first black officer in Birmingham. In December 1970 he became the first black sergeant in the country, eventually retiring from the force in September 1977 to return to Trinidad.

PC Ralph Ramadhar

When his appointment was announced Jo Daar sent him a letter of support and the two of them met up to share their experiences and support each other. Jo recalls they went to an Indian restaurant in Digbeth and they almost got thrown out because the waiter perceived that Ralph had been rude to him!

He initially experienced quite a bit of racism – contrary to the experiences of Jo Daar. Within two weeks of The Times reporting that he was to become Birmingham’s first ‘West Indian’ policeman, it was reported that the head of the National Socialist Movement had written to Ralph, advising that he ‘think again’ about his career prospects. 3

The father-of-two from Cotteridge won over the public through his work in the community - which included supporting young people and his involvement with his local church. His skills as a police officer also shone through including his apprehension of a criminal while on holiday in Great Yarmouth.

His wife Nelly said: "He was very pro-active and wanted to improve himself. He had some difficulties - there was racism. There were slogans painted outside our house saying 'no black officers. ' But he was determined and he became friends with the people. The racism stopped and he built up respect. Ralph joined the police force to be an officer first and foremost and he had no idea he would be the first black officer. He enjoyed his work immensely and did the best to bring everyone together.

He was a big advocate of recruitment, I think he would believe there is more to do but he would be proud there are more ethnic minority officers now.

The Future is Bright –the Future is BAPA

Celebrating 50 Years of Black and Ethnic Minority Officers in the West Midlands and 20 Years of West Midlands Police Black and Asian Police Association

An early assessment of his performance as a sergeant shows that he was a strong leader and able to deal with difficult situations such as being a newcomer sergeant onto an already established shift –something which any sergeant might struggle with, let alone the only non-white one on the force. The report indicates he handled the situation well and built up strong relationships with his constables, gaining their respect and trust.

After returning to Trinidad, Ralph sadly passed away in 1987.

Ralph’s widow Nell

1968 – In July 1968 Herman Lokey became the first black special constable in Birmingham. In an article in the Birmingham Evening Mail in July 1968 he talked about how he wanted to be a ‘member of an active and useful organisation benefiting the community’ . He said he was very proud to be the first immigrant special constable in Birmingham and he would ‘do his best to uphold the fine traditions of the service’ .

Special Constable Herman Lokey, 4 image courtesy of Mirrorpix

1969 – Tariq Somra became the first Indian officer to join Birmingham City Police. Born in Kenya to a family with Pakistani heritage, he followed his father to Birmingham in 1966. Originally his father had been a reserve police officer in Kenya fighting Mau Mau terrorists and Tariq remembers the high esteem with which the British bobby was held in the community.

PC Tariq Somra before he retired

Tariq recalls initial struggles of racism where he received many jeers and negative comments from his colleagues and was left out of social activities like going to the pub at the end of a shift. He has spoken about working in Handsworth where he was largely accepted by the Asian community but many Afro-Caribbean community members saw him as a ‘race-traitor’ .

Tariq remembers when he was a serving officer the highest rank you could aspire to would probably be a Sergeant. He thinks the future looks pretty good, the more black and Asian Officers who have joined the service the better it will be for the whole of the community that we serve. ‘There’s still a stigma which is attached to the police service amongst the minority communities and that is an historical thing it always has been and I think it’s the same all round the world, but in this particular country there are people who are who are forward thinking who have visions which people in the past perhaps lacked. It is good that the organisation and BAPA can do a lot of good with the police service and edge it further forward as far as it can go’ . 5

He became the first Asian officer in the country to reach 30 years’ service before retiring in 1999 after spending 8 years in the recruitment department for West Midlands Police. At the time, the force was credited with having the second highest number of ethnic minority officers in the country .

In 2016, many years after his retirement, Tariq still plays cricket for West Midlands Police.

Tariq Somra 2016

1973 – Ramesh Kumar QPM became the first Asian officer in the West Midlands Constabulary after three years as a police cadet. His father was a Senior Police Officer in the Punjab Police, India so he had a positive perception of the police from a young age and always wanted to be a police officer.

Ramesh Kumar

He remembers arriving from India in 1965 not being able to speak, read or write English. However he pursued his ambition to join the police and whilst it was very hard, he eventually joined the regular officers. Ramesh was proud when both sons joined the police force. Anil was a regular officer for 10 years and Sunil was a Special Constable for 4 years.

From an early stage in his service he was engaged in supporting fair play and equal opportunities for the few minority officers in the police service. From an international perspective he has been involved in building better links with overseas police in particular with India, hosting many Police Chiefs and delegates.

The Future is Bright –the Future is BAPA

Celebrating 50 Years of Black and Ethnic Minority Officers in the West Midlands and 20 Years of West Midlands Police Black and Asian Police Association

He had a long and distinguished career, working in traffic, on motorbikes and in the murder squad where he received many commendations from the Chief Constable and various judges. In 1974 he received the Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award at Buckingham Palace from Prince Phillip. He received a Royal Humane Society Award for life saving in 1978 and in 2002 he was awarded the Queen’s Police Medal for Distinguished Police Services.

Ramesh Kumar QPM 2016

Formation of West Midlands Police (1974)

1974 – Pauline Campbell-Moss became the first female BME officer in the West Midlands when she joined West Midlands Police as a cadet. She experienced a lot of difficulty because of her ethnicity, from members of the public who often referred to her as ‘the coloured girl’ . In an article in The Voice from 8/11/20157 she refers to two incidents – one where she was threatened with youths with knives on a bus and one where she was actually bundled into the back of a car and had to escape by throwing herself out whilst the car was still moving.

She left after three years to work with social services in Birmingham where she felt better able to support troubled youths.

Pauline Campbell-Moss in 1974, seen at the front of her intake class

Also in 1974 special constable Balbir Singh Dhami joined WMP. He was born in India in 1946 and recalls the British Police being mentioned very regularly and says he always wanted to join them. In 1974 he was walking through Birmingham City Centre when he came across a colleague who happened to be working as a special constable. After finding out a bit more about the role of special constable he joined up and recalls the best 25 years of his life working in that capacity for WMP. He states if he was 18 once more he would do it all over again.

1978 – Surjit Singh Sihota joined the force. Whilst he was not the first Sikh officer to join West Midlands Police he was the first to wear a turban. He completed 30 years’ police service and retired in 2008 at the rank of sergeant.

Surjit Singh Sihota

Creation of West Midlands Police BAPA

1993 – Murder of Stephen Lawrence. Following the racially motivated murder of Stephen Lawrence in 1993, the subsequent public enquiry in 1998 identified widespread racism in both the Metropolitan Police and Crown Prosecution Service. The enquiry has led to significant changes in attitudes towards racism and the police service, with key changes to policing policy being delivered. A number of our BME officers who joined in the 1990s have highlighted the Stephen Lawrence enquiry as a trigger for them wanting to join the police and affect change from within.

1994 – In September 1994 the Metropolitan Black Police Association (BPA) was formed. The organisation was created in 1994 by Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Paul Condon, who declared that its formation was the only way forward in tackling the significant amounts of BME police officers and staff leaving police forces across the country. 8

1996 – On the 1st January 1996 black officers and support staff met for the first time to explore their reality in the police service and to share openly their feelings and experiences. The basis of these discussions was to address the disproportionately high number of black officers leaving the service and from this an informal social network was established. The following 12 months saw BAPA go from strength to strength frequently being called upon to participate in training conferences and address 'misconceptions within the black community' . Representatives attended all functions in their own time, without any financial support or formal recognition.

The Future is Bright –the Future is BAPA

Celebrating 50 Years of Black and Ethnic Minority Officers in the West Midlands and 20 Years of West Midlands Police Black and Asian Police Association

This year also saw the formation of the National Communication Network. 9 The network consisted of BME staff members from different forces right across the country. Their motto was ‘One Voice, Strength in Unity’ and this remains the National Black Police Association (NBPA) motto.

1997 – In 1997, 12 months after WMBAPA was created it was formally launched in recognition of its achievements by the Chief Constable and the Lord Mayor of Birmingham.

Chief Constable Edward Crew officially launches BAPA at Tally Ho! with the Lord Mayor of Birmingham, Councillor Sybil Spence, her consort Mr Dante Spence, PC Tariq Somra (BAPA Chair) and Insp Paul Lewin from the Equal Opportunities Unit

1998 – Early in 1998 members of the National Communication Network met with RT Hon Jack Straw (then Home Secretary) to discuss the role of BPAs. He was very supportive and further meetings were held to discuss how to progress the associations. In November 1998 the first interim executive committee was elected to launch the National Black Police Association. 10 The executive committee consisted of 14 members from 12 different police forces, as recollected by the history section of the NBPA. Daphne Christie became the WMP Police Staff rep and sat on the Interim Executive Committee. Andrea Reynolds was also on the Interim Executive and she was instrumental with the support of Chief Constable Edward Crew and the Home Secretary Jack Straw, in effectively launching the NBPA at the ICC.

The Interim Executive Committee for the NBPA