Women of Colour in Policing chair grateful for support

29 April 2024

The first chair of National Women of Colour in Policing (NWoCiP) has thanked colleagues for their support in establishing the group.

Superintendent Jasvinder (Jas) Kaur has been chair since the group was set up two years ago in May 2022.

Her commitment and passion has been instrumental in establishing the group and in achieving its successes.

Now, as she is stepping down as chair to pursue another challenge, she has thanked those who have also helped to shape the group.

They include Sunita Gamblin QPM, former Deputy Chief Constable of Lancashire Police, and Kerrin Wilson QPM, former Assistant Chief Constable of Lincolnshire Police, who helped with the initial work to establish NWoCiP, and Chief Constable Chris Haward, the then Race Religion Belief lead for NPCC, who supported the group by backing the appointment of an NPCC Lead.

Jasvinder, who joined Suffolk Police in February after 27 years in the Met, said: “Sunita did a lot kick-starting the work and then Kerrin supported its progression.

“Both of them coached and mentored me, and were role models to me. They helped my confidence in developing NWoCiP to where we are now.

“They allowed me to design and drive an inclusive positive group in line with my mantra ‘together we are stronger’, and create a seat at the table for women of colour to ‘lean in’ to positively influence change in policing.”

Jasvinder also thanked Dennis Murray QPM, Assistant Chief Constable of Thames Valley Police, who is the NWoCiP lead with the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) and Anita Grant, Assistant Chief Officer of Sussex Police, who is its deputy NPCC lead.

“Dennis has been instrumental in personally supporting me and the wider the group and in being a mentor to me as the chair” Jasvinder said.

“I owe it to these leaders that have believed in me and enabled me to achieve.”

NWoCiP aims to inspire women of colour in policing to realise their potential. The group wants to improve the voice and position of women of all colour in policing through developing an understanding of lived experiences and barriers to development and progression.

The group is built on five pillars – confidence, culture, characteristics and intersectionality, CPD, and communications – and everyone involved is a volunteer.

Jasvinder said: “Since policing was founded in 1829, we’ve never had such a group.

“The group is focused on the professional development of our women, celebrating them, and getting our women to ‘lean in’ and take a seat at the table.

“I’ve leaned on my experiences, where I did exactly that, and was supported by white men in policing, which is why inclusivity and allyship is key to driving this change, and any demographic can join the group.”

Jasvinder said she was proud of the positive change it has influenced, with far more women of colour securing a space on the executive leadership programme that had not happened previously.

The positive change includes work, supported by the NPCC, to make available suitable prayer rooms for women of colour. Jasvinder said it will help with retention and women of colour feeling they have a space in the organisation.

NWoCiP has influenced the equality impact assessment for the design of the new executive leadership programme and has fed into the Met’s future recruitment programmes after one particular event the group felt was detrimental to women of colour.

Jasvinder said a key part of the National Women of Colour in Policing is to work with forces to help make changes locally, and then to take learning back from forces to influence national changes which would enhancing the voices of women of colour in policing. There has been interest from 28 forces so far.

Jasvinder said: “It’s in the early stages because it’s important we get senior sponsor buy-in from those forces.”

Jasvinder is a first generation born Sikh and began her policing career with the Met in 1995 as a member of the admin staff in the intelligence unit and became a PC in 1997 after being inspired by watching the ITV drama series The Bill.

She became a sergeant in 2009 and an inspector in 2020. In April last year, Jasvinder progressed to chief inspector before moving to Suffolk in February and her current superintendent role.

“I loved my time in the Met and it will always be a fond period of my journey in policing,” she said.

“I passionately care about policing; I owe it to those while serving to help shape and influence the change we need in policing, but for the change to be driven in an inclusive manner.”

Jasvinder is stepping down from the NWoCiP chair to work, again voluntarily, on a new initiative she is developing with a similar brief with associate organisations including the Home Office, Crown Prosecution Service, National Crime Agency and Border Force.

She said: “I feel that due to my work with the NWoCiP there is an opportunity for me to influence and create wider movement in similar sectors for women of colour.

“This work is not part of NWoCiP but I very much see the learning aspect of this work being key to policing, and vice versa, focusing on professional development and celebration.”

Visit the NWoCiP website to find out more about the group.