'Discouraged' black ex-PC stopped and searched by colleagues when off duty

1 June 2021, 15:01

'Disappointed' ex-PC stopped and searched by his own colleagues

This black former police officer told Maajid Nawaz that he left the force feeling "discouraged" after he would be stopped and searched and pulled over by fellow officers when off duty.

The conversation came after it was revealed that the Met Commissioner Cressida Dick wants to apply a form of positive discrimination to recruitment to increase ethnic minority recruits.

However caller Sam, who is black Caribbean, told Maajid that his experience working for the police for over a decade left him feeling "discouraged."

Sam joined to show people of his background "not only can you join the police you can do whatever you want and if you don't see yourself represented in there, don't cut yourself off."

He first noticed a bias when his colleague professed shock that he had never been stopped and searched as a young black man growing up.

Officer: Positive discrimination for minority officers 'won't work'

"When I was there I was stopped more by my own colleagues, obviously police officers, than I was before I started," Sam told Maajid, "getting pulled over in my car off duty.

"I never told them. I wanted to see how far it would go and what would happen."

Sam continued: "Certain things I would say, if they were listening, they would understand that this guy understands what he's talking about.

"From a young age I made sure I did everything kosher...and this was solely because I knew the history of the police with my community. If you give them an inch, they're going to take it and run with it."

He said, "I remember once I'd literally just left work, parked my car round the corner from the station and the funny thing is, the same officer that stopped me I passed him in the yard before I walked out through the back gate."