'I Love Being A Police Officer Despite Racist Abuse'

25 March 2026

PC Mourad Karaouani, the Humberside Police officer who recently spoke about the racism he has faced while carrying out his duty, says he also worries about its effect on his family.

At one point, Mourad was the victim of the most recorded hate crimes in the East Riding area. Humberside Police Federation’s campaign, Protect The Protectors: Stop Racism Against Police, aims to raise awareness of the racist abuse suffered by minority ethnic officers and staff, and ensure that politicians and chief officers offer more support and protection.

When asked why he stays in the job when he’s facing so much abuse, Mourad said: “To be honest with you, I sometimes ask myself the same question. Sometimes, I get two or three jobs the same night, and I come back to the station and say to myself: ‘Why am I putting myself through this? Was changing from the fire service to the police the right call for me?’.

“But then I remind myself that I chose to do this job because I've always wanted to be a police officer, and I actually enjoy the job. The satisfaction you get from helping vulnerable people, the satisfaction you get from knowing that you've helped someone change their life, these things make a difference, and I love that about the job.

“Also, every day is different. You could be going to a traffic collision in the morning, then a fight in the afternoon, and before you finish your shift it could be something totally different, a domestic abuse incident where you were able to protect the victim, you were able to offer them a bit of support, to point them in the right direction. Yes, there are a lot of issues, but then there are a lot of rewards.”

Mourad said that, in his first year as a police officer, his wife worried about the abuse he was facing and asked him: “Why don't you just leave? You can find different work, you don't need to do that job.”

But he explained: “I said that it does matter to me and that I enjoy this job – just because someone else doesn't like seeing an officer with a different skin colour doesn't mean I need to go by that rule.”

He continued: “My wife is understanding and supportive, and I'm grateful for that. Now, after more experience of dealing with these kinds of incidents, I try not to let it affect me. Although, of course, sometimes you can't just ignore it at that particular moment. But I do my best to not let it affect my personal life, or how I deal with members of our community.

“But I think my biggest worry is for my two sons. Sometimes they come home and ask me, ‘Daddy, why am I called this?, or ‘Why am I called a foreigner?’. To be honest, I don't know what to say. My sons don’t know any language other than English, they were born here, all they know is this country. If you don't belong here, and you don't belong anywhere else, where do you belong? That is my worry.”

Mourad said he hoped his experience wouldn’t put off other people from minority ethnic backgrounds from joining the police.

He explained: “As an officer, you are trying to do your best for your colleagues, for your community, for vulnerable people in general. When you get that kind of [racist] response, it is not nice, it can be really heartbreaking. But what I would say to anyone who would like to be a police officer is: that's not something that should put you off. It's a great job. To me, it's the best job in the world.”