BAPA history booklet

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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
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 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
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BAPA history booklet

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