Families front police recruitment drive

In a quest to break down one of the known barriers to people pursuing a career in policing, London’s Metropolitan Police has put family at the forefront of its latest recruitment adverts

The Met knows that the approval of family, friends and the wider community can be highly influential to people considering joining the police.

In two new TV adverts, playing on catch up channels throughout December, the grandmother and a brother of two Met Police officers talk candidly about the worries they had when they found out their loved ones were joining “the Job.”

In one advert, Ubaid - the older brother of 37-year-old Detective Constable Asma Muazu - says: “When she told me she was going to join the police I was really shocked – what are my friends going to say; will she have to move out of the estate; racism?

“When people did find out she was a police officer, all my fears never materialised. I don’t even think of how I used to think. Since she joined the Met, she’s become this really confident, young, Black, Muslim woman. For me, I was really proud of her.”

June, grandmother of 23-year-old PC Dominik John, an emergency response officer in Redbridge, Barking and Dagenham and Havering, said: “I did fear for him - the racism, from getting it from Black people and White people, but now not so much.

“Some family members didn’t like the police but they’ve changed their attitude. They realise that Dom wants to be a policeman and he wants to help make a difference, and he worked hard to get where he is and I’m very proud of him.”

The Met hopes these honest accounts from relatives of real-life officers will encourage people with policing ambitions to follow their dreams; and reassure their friends and loved ones.

The adverts are part of the Met’s wider ‘Now More Than Ever’ recruitment campaign, which was launched in the summer as part of the Met’s ongoing work to reflect London by attracting even more diverse candidates to sign up for the unique and rewarding role of Met police officer.

DC Muazu joined the Met 15 years ago after writing a dissertation on institutional racism as part of her criminology degree. She said: “Studying institutional racism inspired me to join the Met, to get a real idea of the issues within the police. I feel representation really matters – people need to feel that they can identify with those around them – but often you need to take a large dose of courage to be the change.

“As a police officer, I find helping the most vulnerable in society extremely rewarding, be that getting a conviction or just getting someone out of a dangerous or traumatic situation they wouldn’t have been able to escape on their own.”

PC John became a police officer just over a year ago, having been a police cadet for five years. He said: “When I told my family and those I considered friends that I was joining the police, I received mixed reviews but I love my job. Every day I go into work I’m faced with new experiences and challenges. No two emergency calls are the same and I enjoy being one of the people out there, dealing with situations and making people like my gran proud.”

The Met has set ambitious aspirations to make the Met even more diverse and more representative of the communities it serves.