BAPA history booklet

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

2




and 20 Years of West Midlands Police Black and Asian Police Association 

Contents 

Foreword 4 

Introduction 5 

The Beginning 6 

Creation of West Midlands Police BAPA 14 

Founder Members and Early Influencers 16 

Later BME progression in West Midlands Police 25 

The Current Executive Committee 28 

The Future 32 

With Thanks 35 

Achievements in West Midlands Police 36 

Awards 37 

3

Foreword 

‘I want to work in a diverse team’ 

This year we celebrate 50 years since the first BME 

officer joined the police service in the West Midlands 

and 20 years since the launch of WMP Black and Asian 

Police Association (BPA), one of the first in the UK. 

On the 16th March 1966 Mohamed Yusuf Daar became 

the first BME police officer in the West Midlands when 

he joined what was then Coventry City Police. 

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. They saw the need to address the high number of black 

officers leaving the service and from this an informal social network was 

established. The following 12 months saw the BPA go from strength to 

strength. On the 1st August 1997 the West Midlands BPA was formally 

launched in recognition of its achievements by the Chief Constable and the 

Lord Mayor of Birmingham. 

Today West Midlands Police is engaged in an ambitious programme of change. 

It is one that seeks to make us a modern service with traditional values. Those 

values echo the vision of Peel’s 1829 policing principles: the police are the 

public and the public are the police and most importantly the role of the 

police to secure public favour by "A ready offering of individual service and 

friendship to all members of society without regard to their race or social 

standing". Our new values are clear. We want to work in a diverse team and to 

challenge unreasonable and discriminatory behaviour. 

In so many ways we can adopt these values and pursue a stronger agenda on 

fairness and equality because of the struggle of our diverse staff. They stepped 

forward to play an active part in policing. In many cases they have faced 

barriers and discrimination. They have certainly powerfully advocated for 

fairer policing to all communities. I think those efforts are bearing fruit. 

I would like to express my sincere thanks to the people in this book and also to 

all Black and Asian officers and staff past and present who continually display 

strength, courage and compassion. They have made and continue to make 

West Midlands Police an organisation I am proud to lead as Chief Constable. 

Chief Constable David Thompson QPM 

West Midlands Police 

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Introduction 

I am fully committed to make West Midlands Police look 

more like the communities it serves. In addition to 

recruiting officers and staff from more diverse 

backgrounds, that also means improving the retention 

and the progression prospects for people from BME 

backgrounds. 

Over the last 20 years BAPA has been at the forefront of 

that work. BAPA has not just challenged the force, but has 

also put its policies into action through support and mentoring programmes. 

They have not only encouraged new recruits, but given others the confidence 

to work their way up through the organisation. BAPA will also play a 

significant role in helping to ensure that the upcoming recruitment of over 

1,000 staff and officers is as diverse as possible. 

The challenges that some of our first BME officers faced shows us the distance 

we have travelled, but is also a reminder that there is much to do. West 

Midlands Police still have a long way to go and a lot of hard work ahead of us, 

but with the work of BAPA that journey is a little shorter. 

I would like to thank BAPA for its work over the last 20 years and look forward 

to continued success for the organisation. 

Police and Crime Commissioner David Jamieson 

5

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 Mirror 2 

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 

1 https://www.west-midlands.police.uk/keeping-you-safe/about-us/history-of-the-force/index.aspx accessed 16/9/2016 

2 Daily Mirror – Wednesday March 16th 1966 

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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. 

7

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. 

8 

3 The Times, 5th August 1966: 10, quoted in 

Policing, Race and Racism – Michael Rowe





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’. 

4 Birmingham Evening Mail, July 1968 

5 Notes from a meeting of BAPA founders and current members 8th August 2016 at Tally Ho! Police Training Centre, Birmingham 

9

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. 

5 Notes from a meeting of BAPA founders and current members 8th August 2016 at Tally Ho! Police Training Centre, Birmingham 

10





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. 

Formation of West Midlands Police (1974) 

Ramesh Kumar QPM 2016 

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 8/11/2015 7 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 

7 http://www.voice-online.co.uk/article/west-midlands-first-black-police-woman accessed 1/9/2016 

11

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. 

12





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 

An early BAPA Annual Report 

13

1999 – This year saw the conference that officially launched the National Black 

Police Association with a major event being held at the International Conference 

Centre in Birmingham. Founding members of WMBAPA have talked about 

how overwhelming it was to see so much support for local and national 

BPAs. 

National Black Police Association logo 

2000 – During the early 2000s there was heightened suspicion around 

BAPA within the organisation and people didn’t want to publicise the 

fact they were members. Officers and staff outside of the organisation 

didn’t really understand what it was all about. There were many 

misconceptions around its aims and objectives and it was deemed divisive. 

It is fair to say that BAPA has not been universally welcomed within the service, 

although it has the full support of the Chief Constable and the goodwill of others. 

To the unenlightened, it has been seen as divisive, discriminatory and an attempt 

by black members to usurp the various functions of the unions and Police 

Federation. None of these held views could be further from the truth. The truth 

of the matter is, these views are exactly the reason why there is a crucial need for 

a Black Police Association. 

After suffering years of isolation, for which neither the service or staff 

associations, were able to cater fully for the unique needs of black members, 

BAPA’s function is one supplementing all the other support structures. In doing 

so, they also seek to forge closer links with the black community, creating a sense 

of real partnership which can only be for the benefit of the service as a whole. 

2007 – With Sergeant Winston Christie as Chair and with the support of the AMP, 

BAPA went from strength to strength and really started enhancing perspectives 

within the police service and affecting change in key policies that could improve 

the prospects of BME officers, wherever they had been disadvantaged. 

Membership criteria are open to serving officers or support staff from Afro 

Caribbean or Asian origin. 

BAPA recognises the existence of other black organisations within and outside the 

Criminal Justice System and is keen to work with these organisations for the 

benefit of all. 

Ramesh and Tariq (detailed above as some of the first BME officers in the 

Midlands) were key founding members of WMBAPA. Below are the stories of the 

other founder members of WMBAPA and early BME influencers in the force. 

8 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Black_Police_Association_(United_Kingdom) access 1/9/2016 

9 http://www.nbpa.co.uk/about-us/history/ accessed 1/9/2016 

14





Founder members and early influencers 

Stanford Will Bean joined WMP in 1975 and retired as a sergeant in 1999. He 

sadly died in 2007. 

Stan’s daughter Jennifer found a folder her father kept of his career 

achievements after he passed away - including his exemplary discharge 

certificate from the British Army. In this folder she found a copy of a report he 

had written to all Black and Asian police officers about the creation of a Black 

Police Association. The report is dated 29th November 1994. 

In the report, by way of introduction, Stan explained that he joined the force 

in 1975 aged 27, after completing 10 years exemplary military service. He 

explained that for all his service, it has been based in Birmingham (central & 

inner city). At 11 years’ service 

he was promoted to sergeant 

and posted to Queens Road. He 

then spent 6 years as a sergeant 

within the Community Service 

Department and then before he 

retired, the custody block at 

Steelhouse lane. He also 

explained that he had interest in 

working on the OSU and Scenes 

of Crime Department, but was 

unsuccessful in gaining 

attachments to those respective 

departments. 

Sergeant Stan Bean with Chief 

Constable Edward Crew 

In the report Stan stated ‘The 

police service has come a long way since 1975, but there is still room for 

improvement.’ He added ‘some of you might be reluctant to even 

contemplate forming a black police association in this force. Because of 

numerous reasons, for example you don’t want to be seen as a trouble maker, 

worried that joining an association would have a detrimental impact on career 

prospects.’ 

In his report Stan recognised the difficulties of creating and launching such an 

association, as many black officers are apprehensive about socialising with 

each other or even mixing with the black community. He wrote ‘a positive 

attitude is required from you because Black and Asian officers’ experiences 

inside and outside the service are unique’. 

10 http://www.nbpa.co.uk/about-us/history/ accessed 1/9/2016 

15

Stan went on to explain the remit of the Black Police Association and reinforced 

that the association does not intend to replace statutory staff associations. 

He outlined the areas of the association would focus on- 

1. Support network 

2. Social network 

3. Equality of opportunity 

4. Police Community Relations 

5. Recruitment Policy 

6. WMP Policy development 

Stan also outlined goals he expected the association to achieve in its first year. He 

made sure BAPA had a voice and wasn’t afraid to challenge the force. 

Stan Bean loved sport - boxing, rugby, football & cricket. He played cricket for 

West Midlands Police and played for West Midlands 

Police Cricket Veterans. Since his death, every June a 

memorial cricket match is played between WMP Vets and 

Handsworth Park Cricket Club - held at alternate 

locations of Handsworth Park and Tally Ho! A team 

cricket photo hangs in the Tally Ho Social Club bar. 

On retiring from the police Stan continued to give back 

to the community. He was passionate about mentoring, 

supporting and developing young black boys. He worked 

at Wheelers Lane Boys School and latterly Holte School 

(2002-2006), before his illness took hold and he died in 

2007. 

The late Sergeant Stan Bean 

Paul Lewin, who joined the force in 1977 was an influential original 

member, bringing others together to start formal meetings. Tariq 

Somra was the first Chairman of the organisation and he remained in 

post until Paul Lewin took over in 1998. Other founding members 

included Mohammed Kiyani, Ramesh Kumar, Max Lewin, Matt Ward, 

Althea Rhodd, Andrea Reynolds, Marcia Ore, Daphne Christie, Karpaul 

Sihota, Kirk Dawes, Stan Bean, Shindo Barquer and Vicky Smith. 

Founding member Inspector Paul Lewin 

There was lots of secrecy around the early meetings – whilst people were grateful 

for the support, they didn’t necessarily want their colleagues knowing they were 

a member as they didn’t want a reputation as a trouble maker. 

Daphne recalls the early meetings being held informally in the Lloyd House 

canteen. 

16





Founder members and current executive team at Tally Ho 2016 documenting 

the history of BME officers and WMBAPA. 

Back row left to right: Corinne Brazier, Verley Tyndale, Yunus Daar, T/Insp 

Winston Christie, Mohamed Yusuf Daar, PC Michelle Ugwueze, Chief Supt 

Matt Ward 

Middle row left to right: Tariq Somra, Mohammed Khalid Kiyani, Max Lewin, 

Vicky Smith, DC Marcia Francis 

Bottom row left to right: Sgt Audrey King, Insp Karen Geddes, Ramesh Kumar 

QPM, PC Andrea Reynolds, Althea Rhodd, Daphne Christie, Marcia Ore 

1976 – In October 1976 Althea Rhodd joined the force working as a member 

of police staff in recruitment. She had the offer of two jobs, one with West 

Midlands Police and the other with Birmingham City Council. She was offered 

a position with the police which she accepted. She recalls being one of only a 

handful of BME members of staff at the time. Eventually she was promoted to 

a senior police staff position of Business Manager and she was one of only 

three BME Business Managers out of 26 in total. 

She made a point of supporting other BME officers and staff and actively 

seeking them out. She would invite them to come to meetings where they 

could sit in her office, share problems and help each other. She remembers 

other people walking past and wondering what was going on. 

17

As one of the original members of BAPA she recalls initial meetings being poorly 

attended, with many not wanting to go for fear of reprisals. Even when meetings 

were held across the force area there were not many staff who were confident 

enough to attend. Althea eventually left WMP after almost 34 years with the 

force. 

Althea Rhodd 

Also in 1976, Kirk Dawes joined West Midlands Police. He served as a 

Detective Constable in a number of specialist roles across the 

Robbery Squad, Special Patrol Group and eventually the Drug Squad. 

After the publication of the McPherson report into the racially 

motivated murder of Stephen Lawrence in 1993, Kirk moved into 

training other CID officers in issues of racial diversity issues. He 

became the WMBAPA Chair in 1998 and unfortunately had to leave 

policing in 2004 due to a lung condition. 

1982 – Mohammed Khalid Kiyani joined in 

1982 to make a difference in the community. 

He experienced many difficulties as a practicing 

Muslim. Neither the training centre nor the 

police service catered for dietary or religious 

needs of Muslims. He experienced many incidents of racism 

and discrimination from both within the organisation and 

from the members of the public. He felt that he and many 

other BME officers had to develop coping mechanisms in 

order to survive. He always wanted to affect change from 

within and he was one of a group of Asian officers who 

used to get together informally. The suggestion of setting 

up a formal group to support BME colleagues, from this 

group, was met with swift negative response from senior 

officers. At that time there was no appetite to tolerate any 

such organisation and the idea was put to rest until the 

later work of the Metropolitan Black Police Association 

became known in the mid-1990s. He was subsequently one 

of the founder members of West Midlands Police Black 

Police Association and he suggested the initial name 

change to be more inclusive to Asian officers, which was 

later adopted, leading to the WMP Black and Asian Police 

Association. 

Kirk Dawes 

18





He worked in the recruitment department in 1985 and was part of a very 

successful recruiting campaign for WMP to increase the BME officer numbers. 

He also worked on many force committees and working groups to help bring 

about many changes internally and externally. Despite experiencing prejudice, 

racism and discrimination in the service from some people, he has also had the 

pleasure of working with some very fair-minded, 

committed and forward thinking people who helped to 

develop him at a professional level to work in various 

specialist areas and achieve promotion. 

Although he worked as a Temporary Detective Chief 

Inspector in Force CID for 18 months, his biggest regret was 

not getting through to higher ranks in order to make a 

bigger difference in influencing policing decisions that 

affect the communities. Despite all the difficulties, he does 

however feel a huge sense of satisfaction from the work he 

did, in particular that what he and fellow early BME 

officers went through was worth it to pave the way for 

new and future BME officers to follow. He states that it has 

been a pleasure to serve the diverse communities of West 

Midlands. There is no other job in the world that gives you 

such an experience in life and would recommend it to any 

young person thinking of joining the Police. 

Temporary Chief Inspector Mohammed Khalid Kiyani 

before his retirement 

Marcia Ore (nee Edwards) also joined the force in 1982. She was influenced by 

the 1981 Brixton riots and the recommendations in the Scarman report, and 

didn’t want to go into a stereotypical job of nursing, office or factory work. 

She promptly gave up her A levels, quit college and signed up. She recalls her 

early years being very challenging and the support of one BME officer in 

particular motivated her to keep going. That officer was Judy Clements (now 

OBE) who has since had a distinguished civil service career after spending 10 

years with West Midlands Police. 

Marcia recalls that in the very early days, black officers felt they couldn’t even 

acknowledge each other in the corridor, because it started conversations that 

they were getting together and conspiring. One event in particular has been 

recounted – where a few BME officers decided to go out socially together for 

a curry and personal letters were sent to officers to invite them. Senior officers 

became aware and it suddenly blew up into a massive incident with several 

officers being told off and deemed ‘troublemakers’. 

19

After joining BAPA at the request of Paul Lewin in 

1998 she eventually progressed on to the National 

BPA, taking up the portfolio of gender and sexual 

orientation. Together with another colleague from 

Leicestershire she organised the successful Women 

in the Shade conference in 2001 but later left the 

national group due to a lack of support. In 2003 she 

transferred to West Mercia Police where she retired 

as a Sergeant in 2012. 

Retired Sergeant Marcia Ore as a probationary PC 

in 1982 

Another BME officer who joined in 1982 and 

became heavily involved in early BAPA meetings 

was Karpaul Sihota. He states there were very few 

BME officers at this time and the only way they 

could support one another was to 

meet in secret in a pub as the 

organisation would not approve. Ethnic minority officers faced 

big challenges and often just sharing similar experiences would 

help them to remain focused and realise they were not alone in 

their experiences. 

One of the highlights of his career was becoming chair of BAPA 

and being able to support colleagues, being a critical friend to 

the organisation and being able to influence policies and 

procedures. 

He states he also enjoyed working closely with communities. This 

often prevented disorder as officers were able to mediate with 

different groups. 

Karpaul retired in 2012 at the rank of Inspector. 

Karpaul Sihota 

1983 – Verley Tyndale joined WMP. After being strongly influenced by police TV 

programmes at the time, Verley joined to make a difference in his local 

community. 

He recalls that he didn’t experience any racism from the force at that time, even 

though he was the only black officer in his station, but members of the 

community were not always supportive. In particular, he recalls during the miners’ 

strike being the only black officer amongst c20,000 officers who were deployed. 

20





Despite passing his Sergeant and Inspector exams relatively early in his career 

(6 and 7 years respectively) it took him a while to secure promotion to these 

ranks – he did not become a substantive Inspector until 22 years into his 

service. 

He was instrumental in being the first officer to engage with a pirate radio 

station to seek witnesses in a 

murder investigation. He also 

played a key part in securing a 

number of difficult witnesses that 

were required at a murder trial in 

relation to black on black murders. 

He received a Chief Constables 

Commendation for his efforts. 

Verley left WMP after 30 years’ 

service at the rank of Inspector 

when the A19 policy (requiring 

officers to retire at 30 years) was in 

place. 

Inspector Verley Tyndale with Chief 

Constable Sir Edward Crew 

Max Lewin also joined in 1983. He was the Social Secretary of BAPA and 

organised many of the social events that aimed to bring people from all 

backgrounds together. One particular thing about BAPA as an association is 

that its events have always been inclusive and they have never excluded 

anyone. 

Max recalls putting up an advert for a BAPA event when his 

colleagues saw him. Their attitude was quite negative towards the 

association and they used words to the effect of ‘we didn’t realise 

you were one of them – we thought you were ok’. This demonstrates 

the negative perceptions of BAPA that existed at the time. He took 

the opportunity to highlight how useful the events were for 

networking and connecting with colleagues and to demonstrate how 

inclusive the organisation was as the invite was open to all. He 

convinced his colleagues to come along and as it turned out the 

whole shift went, they had a great time and kept asking when the 

next one was! 

He retired in 2013 at the rank of Sergeant. He has returned to the 

force as a member of police staff working in Force Contact. 

Max Lewin 

21

1985 – Police staff member Daphne Christie joined 

the force as a temp recording injury and damage 

only RTC data. Almost two years later she was 

employed as a permanent member of staff. She 

now works within the Records Management team 

as an Information Assurance Officer. 

After initially being heavily involved in local and 

national BAPA activities she took a step back but 

recently got involved in helping to organise the 

very successful 2015 national BAPA conference held 

at Tally Ho! Police Training Centre in Birmingham. 

Daphne Christie with her brother Winston 

1987 – Shindo Barquer became the first Sikh woman to work for West Midlands 

Police. She joined at the age of 21 and worked her way up to ranks to her current 

rank of Chief Inspector. In 2010 she won the Chairman’s Award at the prestigious 

Asian Woman of Achievement awards after being nominated in the Public Sector 

category. In 2011 she won the Uniformed and Civil Service award at the Asian 

Achievers Awards. 

1988 – Audrey King joined WMP in October 1988. She wanted to be in a position 

to help people and recalls there was a big recruitment drive for BME officers. Her 

family had originally convinced her to obtain the qualifications to become a 

pharmacist but after starting work in an office and being horrified at the prospect 

of spending the next 40 years there, she became a special constable in Balsall 

Heath. She enjoyed it so much she went on to become a regular constable. She 

qualified for the rank of Sergeant after moving to the Major 

Fraud Unit in 2001 and after some time in an acting post left to 

join Leicestershire Police to gain a substantive Sergeant’s post. 

During the riots in 2006 she felt BAPA actively made a difference 

in the local community through work they were doing engaging 

with local church groups and they were able to deal with issues 

faced by the BAPA members. 

Audrey is still serving with Leicestershire Police and tries hard to 

mentor new BME officers and increase the numbers of BME 

officers within her force. She feels very strongly about existing 

officers doing all they can to improve things for the officers who 

will be following in their footsteps. She says it would be nice to 

get to a point where seeing high ranking female BME officers is 

not such a phenomenon. 

Sergeant Audrey King 

22





Andrea Reynolds joined West Midlands Police in 1994. 

After a very difficult and traumatic introduction to 

policing with innumerable negative experiences Andrea 

proffered her resignation after successful completion of 

her probationary period. She was eventually persuaded 

to return by ACC Wardle who investigated her case. 

PC Andrea Reynolds 

Andrea was one of the 

founder members of 

BAPA and as part of the 

committee she 

represented them in a Public Relations 

capacity. She took a leading role in organising 

the national BAPA conference in 1999 and 

due to the significant amount of work this 

created for her, started to struggle with the 

demands of her BAPA role and her day job so 

decided to step back from the organisation 

for a time. 

She did not however step back from her 

passion for change and building community 

bridges. Challenging racism has always been 

at the heart of what Andrea did and she continued to do work within the 

community. This involved speaking to young people who felt they had been 

affected by the issues around stop and search and going into churches to talk 

to people about their rights regarding stop and search. Andrea continued in 

her quest addressing many issues through her gift of poetry, as a public 

speaker and as a trainer. She managed to represent her community and the 

organisation locally, nationally and internationally and was awarded many 

accolades for that area of work. 

Andrea returned to BAPA when the current Chair, Karen Geddes, was 

appointed and started planning a number of activities for BAPA and its 

members. She has once again committed to helping the organisation to 

increase BME representation within the service through various initiatives and 

is now on the Procedural Justice Team who are poised to influence some of 

the most impacting cultural change in the history of policing in the West 

Midlands. 

23

1995 – Matt Ward joined West Midlands Police in 1995. In 2016 he is the only 

BME Chief Superintendent within the force. From an early age Matt knew he 

wanted to be a police officer. Whilst studying Law at Cambridge University he 

had the opportunity to undertake a six week work placement with West Midlands 

Police which gave him the opportunity to shadow Response Officers in 

Wolverhampton. This experience fuelled his interest in pursuing his childhood 

dream. 

His early policing career took him from Wolverhampton to Handsworth to 

Birmingham City Centre where he undertook a range of operational roles 

including Response, Neighbourhood Policing, CID, Custody and Operations 

Centre. Matt also worked as the staff officer to former Chief Constable, Sir Paul 

Scott-Lee, before joining the Force CID. He had the responsibility for investigating 

murders and major crimes across the Black Country. 

Matt later undertook the role of Operations Superintendent at 

Birmingham West & Central local policing unit and specialised in 

managing the night-time economy, policing protests and working 

with partners to protect the city from terrorist attacks. From this 

role he moved onto Force Intelligence where he led on the force’s 

response to organised crime, threats to life and human trafficking. 

Currently Matt is the LPU Commander of Sandwell, with over twenty 

years’ service he has had a vast career and has enjoyed policing a 

wide range of challenging operations and complex investigations. 

As a founding member of WMBAPA, he remains committed to 

making West Midlands Police more representative of the diverse 

communities it serves by increasing the representation of black and 

minority ethnic officers and staff at all levels. 

Chief Superintendent Matt Ward 

Winston Christie joined West Midlands Police in 1997. After hearing a number of 

people complain about racism within the police following the Stephen Lawrence 

enquiry and believing that the police needed to change – he decided the best way 

to do that was to join up himself and effect change from within and in September 

1995 he put in his application. 

It wasn’t until January 1997 that he was sworn in and he recalls the first couple of 

years being quite challenging until in 1998 a few more experienced officers saw 

he was struggling and offered their support. 

Once he had gotten past the initial hurdles and was signed off and confirmed as a 

constable in November 1998, his success story began. He qualified as a detective 

and passed his exams for sergeant quite early on and he was commended for 

24





bravery after he and his partner tackled a man who threatened 

to shoot them after killing his wife. 

In 2006 Winston became Vice-Chair of WMBAPA and national 

rep alongside Althea Rhodd. In 2007 he became the Chair and 

working alongside the Association of Muslim Police (AMP) 

affected much change including changes to the recruitment and 

promotion process, developments in stop and search policy and 

changes in how Professional Standards dealt with black 

colleagues. He feels his greatest achievement is that when he 

stood down as Chair he had taken BAPA to a stronger and more 

influential position than it was before and he saw other 

determined and enthusiastic people ready to continue the good 

work. He is now working as a Temporary Inspector and aspires 

to be a substantive Inspector or Chief Inspector by the time he 

reaches 30 years’ service. 

T/Insp Winston Christie 

Later BME progression in West Midlands Police 

1981 – Anil Patani began his policing 

career with Nottinghamshire Police. He 

made history when in 2003 he joined West 

Midlands Police and became their first ever 

Assistant Chief Constable from a BME 

background. 

Assistant Chief Constable Anil Patani, now 

retired 

He has had a number of secondments to 

Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of 

Constabularies on a series of national 

thematic inspections on policing and 

diversity. 

With West Midlands Police, he held the Force’s Operations portfolio as well as 

the territorial policing responsibility for Birmingham. He chaired a number of 

policing and partnership boards addressing the safety and wellbeing of 

Birmingham’s communities. During this time, Birmingham achieved the status 

of ‘safest major City in the UK’ in terms of crime. 

25

He was a member of the UK Police Counter Terrorism Board as well as the 

Professional Reference Group for Police Leadership, with national lead for the 

High Potential/Graduate Entry Scheme. He has been an assessor for Senior PNAC 

and HPDS for a number of years. 

He was also the Chair of the British Police Cricket Club from 2005 to 2011. 

Anil says he always wanted a career in public service, and a career in protecting 

people and their rights was challenging and worth considering. ‘Going to work 

and not knowing what the shift held in store - and how I/we would deal with 

those incidents – made it anything but a routine job. My initial posting to a busy, 

urban station got me hooked’. 

‘I was lucky to work in good team in my early years. The challenges came, not 

from any public reaction, but when I applied for specialisation and promotion. 

Racist language, whether direct or disguised as humour, was both overt and more 

common in those days. It would be many years before the service would recognise 

institutional racism as an issue. Someone who was willing to challenge unfairness, 

particularly in policing, was probably a tag that I retained for the rest of my 

career – and probably came at a price.’ 

Anil believes the service has taken big strides in addressing many of the problems 

that were endemic a couple of decades ago – both in terms of equal 

opportunities and service delivery. 

In 1989, he was one of four officers (one Black and three Asian) who accused the 

Nottinghamshire Force of racial discrimination in the workplace. It was the first 

such case to be brought by serving officers in anywhere in Europe, eventually 

becoming the longest running Employment Tribunal in the UK. Their victory in 

that case became a watershed for equality in employment, and was a catalyst for 

subsequent changes in policy and procedures. Channel 4’s Dispatches reconstruction 

(Oct 1990) of the case gave it a national profile. 

His most lasting memory, however, comes from a routine policing job as a 

constable. Following the arrest of a couple of young offenders, Anil found a 

hoard of stolen items in their garage, including a number of garden gnomes! He 

scoured through carbon copies of paper crime reports and identified that they 

had been stolen from a local address. With a couple of these gnomes under his 

arms, he knocked on the door. An old lady saw me and collapsed in tears on the 

doorstep. Her late husband had collected these over the years and had been a 

happy memory for her till they were stolen. She sent me a Christmas card every 

year until she herself passed away. That, to me, is quintessentially what policing is 

about. 

Anil would say the following to anyone considering a career in policing: 

‘Policing is a challenging career but a good officer makes a difference to people’s 

lives. Often, this is at some of their most significant moments. 

26





The best officers have a passion for what they do – it’s much more than a job. 

Operational competence is a pre-requisite for trust and confidence of the 

public, as is the need to reflect the communities that we serve. They invest 

extraordinary powers in us – so don’t be surprised when they demand 

extraordinary standards. 

Being right is not enough, you also have to be effective. This combination is 

what gives credibility to leadership as well as networks such as BAPA. Be 

prepared to be an outlier on issues of values and integrity as you may well be 

standing alone till others catch up! As such, there is latency effect in the 

impact that you may have – and it’s the legacy you leave that may be the best 

reward. 

The UK still has the best police service in the world – and WMP is at the 

vanguard of modern policing. Its diverse, cosmopolitan, globalised and 

networked context is precisely where I would encourage someone to embark 

on a policing career.’ 

1984 – Surjeet Manku joined West Midlands Police. His parents were devout 

Sikhs and instilled a sense of duty and service in him, he said it was inevitable 

he would end up working for the police or doing something else trying to 

help others. 

He became West Midlands Police’s first Chief Inspector and Superintendent 

from a BME background – becoming commander of Birmingham East in 2010 

before heading up the department responsible for identifying improvements 

to how the force operates and the 

service it delivers. 

He received the QPM in 2013 which 

he states was a real honour and 

totally unexpected. 

Chief Constable at the time Chris 

Simms (who nominated Surjeet for 

the award) stated ‘he has changed 

the face of community 

engagement and local policing’. 

He retired in 2014 after completing 

30 years’ service. 

Chief Superintendent Surjeet 

Manku receives his QPM at 

Buckingham Palace 

27

Norman Bean worked for the force from 1985 -2004. Norman’s brother was 

former sergeant Stan Bean and he is the Uncle of serving officer Jennifer Bean. He 

completed 19 years’ service as a Special Constable. Norman enjoyed being a 

Special Constable, working the F3 area. He felt included and as part of a team. 

He recalls giving evidence in a court case about a police road accident- his police 

officer colleague was driving a police car, when taxi driver (on his mobile phone) 

crashed into them. The officer became partially sighted as a result. Norman 

recalls, that his testimony in court determined a positive outcome at court and a 

conviction. 

Jennifer Bean (Stan’s daughter and Norman’s neice) joined West Midlands Police 

in 1993 and currently works as a Detective Inspector within the Public Protection 

Unit. 

Jennifer states her Dad was her inspiration for joining the 

police - West Midlands Police in particular: ‘As a university 

student in Leicester, I wanted to stay and apply there. Dad 

persuaded me to come home and apply to West Midlands 

Police.’ 

At the family home, the living room wall is covered in 

police related photos (awards, class photos, uniform 

photos of her and her Dad and sports- cricket!!!). 

Detective Inspector Jennifer Bean 

Current WMBAPA Executive Committee 

The current WMBAPA Exec Team – general secretary Marcia Francis, chair Karen 

Geddes and vice chair Kin Devi 

28





1992 – Karen Geddes joined West Midlands Police. She was 

working in KFC when she saw an ad in the paper. At the 

time she had no aspirations to be a police officer but 

thought the job looked good and the money was better so 

applied. 

Karen recalls getting measured up for my uniformed and my 

photo for my warrant card. At the time she states she had a 

wicked afro which her hat did not fit on – ‘the police do not 

make hats for afros!’ 

Inspector 

Karen 

Geddes – 

current chair 

of WMBAPA 

She loved her time at Ryton – she met a lot of good people 

and learnt a lot. Lifesaving stands out at something she 

struggled with. She remembers having to ‘save’ this girl 

called Deb. Not a confident swimmer (and Deb was not a small girl!) Karen 

valiantly swam out from the side with Deb on her belly as instructed – but very 

quickly the roles were reversed and Deb ended up saving Karen! She spent the 

rest of the summer practising her backstroke and passed the exam. She states 

luckily she has never had to put it into practise! 

She remembers really fun times being on shifts at Steelhouse Lane and 

meeting some good people. But life was also a challenge. She would apply for 

things and get turned down. ‘You can’t do surveillance because you will stand 

out in Solihull’, ‘You can’t join CID because you are a trouble maker’. She 

subsequently became disillusioned and wanted to leave. 

She remembers when BAPA was launched in Birmingham – it was a wonderful 

event which she was proud to be part of. There were a lot of fine black folks 

in their tunics – she states she had never seen so many black officers. 

BAPA has provided her with a lot over the years – good support, good 

company and some good social events. Over the years she fell away from 

BAPA for no particular reason – she just did not have the desire or realisation 

that she had something to offer to the organisation. 

A few years ago she was going about her business when this high voice (and it 

is a high voice) shrieked at her ‘Karen you should run for Chair and I will run 

for Vice Chair’. I am so glad that I listened to that voice - that was PS Kin Devi. 

Karen says ‘I have been chair of BAPA for three years and I cannot express how 

much value it has added to my life. BAPA has allowed me to rise above many 

challenges’. In the words of Maya Angelou: 

Out of the huts of history’s shame 

I rise 

Up from a past that’s rooted in pain 

I rise 

I’m a black ocean, leaping and wide, 

Welling and swelling I bear in the tide. 

29

BAPA has lifted her and rebuilt her self-confidence. It has allowed her to help 

others in ways she never thought possible. It has helped her to achieve goals that 

she thought were beyond her reach, it has made her live again and be proud to 

be an officer in West Midlands Police serving the community. 

In 1998 Kin Devi joined West Midlands Police. After seeing her sister start a career 

with the police she felt inspired to do the same. She states she has faced many 

challenges which other staff did not and she believes it was down to the fact that 

she was not in the influential networking group. 

She is confident that with the new Chief, David Thompson, BAPA now has a voice 

and she has every confidence they will together make the difference that is 

required within the force and ultimately make West Midlands Police more 

representative of the community it serves. 

Kin states she needed the support of BAPA whilst in her probationary period as 

she was being treated differently to other colleagues. She recalls if it had not 

been for the team around her and Insp Paul Lewin Chair of BAPA at the time she 

would have left the organisation. She states ‘when you are not in the majority 

you begin to doubt yourself and the organisation you have joined. The police 

force was not a career that was discussed when I was growing up even though my 

Grandad was an Inspector in the Punjabi Police Force. I can only put this down to 

the negative experiences my father had when he came to England in the sixties 

and because the police force was made up of mainly white males.’ 

She therefore joined BAPA as a member and went to the meetings where she 

could, but felt the need to keep her membership secret from colleagues as she 

thought she would be alienated. Having attended several meetings she could 

really see the benefits in that they could share personal experiences, engage with 

community members and have a voice. As her confidence grew, she would often 

get requests to support BME officers through challenging times and this put them 

at ease. 

Insp Paul Lewin then left the organisation and Insp Karpaul Sihota became chair 

of BAPA. Karpaul continued to support Kin and BME officers in the challenging 

times. When Karpaul left the organisation, BAPA lost it focus through no fault of 

anyone. Sgt Winston Christie was made temporary chair but had no vice chair to 

support him. He struggled to keep the momentum going and BME staff and 

communities were suffering due to the lack of voice in BAPA. 

It was at this time that Kin briefed Insp Karen Geddes about BAPA and suggested 

she applied for the chair’s role. Subsequently after a vote Karen became chair, Kin 

became vice chair and Winston Christie became general secretary. 

BAPA now has a full committee of members and has gone from strength to 

strength. They work closely with other staff networks and the community at 

large. 

30





Kin feels their biggest achievement is the National BAPA conference last year 

and the walk through Lozells. This was her neighbourhood and she was so 

proud and pleased to see how the community reacted to this march. 

She does regret that they haven’t achieved more. BME officers are not well 

represented at many ranks and the force is not yet representative of the 

communities it serves. 

Sergeant Kin Devi 

Nevertheless, there was some 

organisational recognition as Kirk 

Dawes became the first full time 

Chair of the association. Funding was 

also obtained from the force for the 

first time. 

There were several incidents where 

members would ask for support for 

an issue where perhaps they were 

already receiving Police Federation 

support which created tension with 

the Federation. Some members of the 

WMP Federation felt that BAPA was 

duplicating their work and didn’t 

understand what made BAPA 

necessary. It took a while to convince some of the Federation representatives 

that actually BAPA could enhance the support they were already offering, by 

proving a BME perspective and support to a colleague who felt that it was 

relevant and necessary. It could be that the individual was the only BME officer 

in their team or felt that they were being targeted for their ethnicity. Either 

way a BAPA representative could offer additional support in a way that the 

Federation could not. Indeed, BAPA colleagues pushed the fact that rather 

than duplicate their work they could enhance the support offered by the 

Federation by providing a different outlook. 

The founders of BAPA would also like it recorded how instrumental retired 

Chief Superintendent Mick Layton was and to thank him for all of his support 

for BME officers and the organisation. They recall him being very supportive, 

raising awareness and generally helping to progress the good work of BAPA. 

31

2005 – Marcia Francis joined West Midlands Police in 2005 after 

quite a varied career including being a midwife, forensic scientist 

and even spending some time working in a prison. She became a 

detective early on and she now works within Public Protection 

doing bespoke work around digital and on-line crime. She recalls 

being encouraged to join BAPA from her early days with the force 

but it wasn’t until recently that she decided to join and became the 

General Secretary. 

DC Marcia Francis 

The Future 

In 2015 the National BPA conference was held at Tally Ho and was a 

resounding success. Speakers included Chief Constable David 

Thompson QPM LLB and Home Secretary Theresa May, who spoke of 

her disappointment that the police service as a whole had not done 

more to improve the representation of BME officers in its ranks. This is the first 

time a Home Secretary attended a BAPA conference, which demonstrates its rising 

importance and influence. 

WMBAPA members at the 2015 National BAPA conference held in Birmingham 

32





2015 conference attendees along with Home Secretary Theresa May 

Theresa May arriving for her speech at the 2015 conference 

Today WMBAPA has a wide and varied membership with full and associate 

members to include anyone working within West Midlands Police who wants 

to help further the progression of BME representation within the service. 

Retired members of the force are also welcome. 

West Midlands Police has a number of initiatives in place to increase BME 

representation including a Positive Action programme for BME recruits and 

officers aspiring for promotion. Michelle Ugwueze is a part of this and 

together with other officers offers vital support for officers at all stages of the 

recruitment/promotion process. 

33

Student officers at the BAPA student development event 2016 

Inspector Karen Geddes is the current Chair and the group is well placed and 

influential in key decision making and activities to help WMP become more 

representative of the communities it serves. 

As Winston Christie puts it: 

‘The future is bright, the future is BAPA’. 

34





With thanks… 

Particular thanks to the following: 

Karen Geddes (BAPA Chair) 

Kin Devi (BAPA Vice-Chair) 

Marcia Francis (BAPA General Secretary) 

Winston Christie 

Daphne Christie 

Marcia Ore 

Audrey King 

Max Lewin 

Andrea Reynolds 

Althea Rhodd 

Mohammed Khalid Kiyani 

Verley Tyndale 

Ramesh Kumar QPM 

Tariq Somra 

Mohamed Yusuf Daar 

Yunus Daar 

Matt Ward 

Michelle Ugwueze 

Paul Lewin 

Kirk Dawes 

The late Stan Bean 

Karpaul Sihota 

Thank you to the serving and retired officers who supplied photographs for 

use in this publication. 

Much of this material was gathered from a meeting held on the 8th August 

2016 at Tally Ho! Police Training Centre between current and retired officers, 

many of whom were original founders of BAPA. Huge thanks to these 

individuals for their time and commitment to this project. 

BAPA would like to thank Corinne Brazier for her time and effort writing this 

booklet on behalf of the West Midlands Police Museum. 

35

Achievements within West Midlands Police: 

First BME male and female Sergeants – Ralph 

Ramadhar and Julia Walsh 

Sergeant 

Ralph 

Ramadhar & 

Sergeant Julia 

Walsh 

First BME male 

and female 

Inspectors – 

Paul Lewin 

and Julia 

Walsh 

Lewin 

Inspector Paul 

First female BME Chief 

Inspector – Shindo 

Barquer 

First BME male Chief 

Inspector and 

Superintendent – 

Surjeet Manku 

Chief Superintendent Surjeet Manku QPM 

(now retired) 

36





*No female BME officer has yet been promoted to a rank above Chief 

Inspector within West Midlands Police 

First male BME Chief Superintendent – Max Sahota, 

now ACC with the College of Policing 

Assistant Chief Constable Max Sahota 

First and only BME male Assistant Chief Constable Anil Patani 

Assistant Chief Constable Anil Patani (now retired) 

Awards 

2002 – Ramesh Kumar becomes the first West Midlands Asian officer to receive 

the QPM 

2004 – Kirk Dawes receives the QPM 

2010 – Shindo Barquer won the Chairman’s Award at the Asian Woman of 

Achievement Awards 

2013 – Surjeet Manku receives the QPM 

2015 – Karen Geddes wins Diversity award at force Diamond Awards 

2016 – Kiran Patel wins Student Officer of the Year award at force Diamond 

Awards 

37

Dedicated to the memories of Sergeant Stan Bean and Sergeant 

Ralph Ramadhar – true pioneers and trail blazers. 

Stan Bean 

1948-2007 

Ralph Ramadhar 

1937-1987 

©West Midlands Police Black and Asian Police Association 

38





39

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