New Westminster police chief: Racist and sexist banter I suffered is no longer acceptable

 
P18 Alison Newcomb Pic: Alex Lentati
Justin Davenport28 November 2012
WEST END FINAL

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A Police officer who has been appointed to one of Scotland Yard’s top jobs told how she fought racism and sexism in the early years of her career.

Commander Alison Newcomb, the new chief of Westminster, said when she first joined the police in Cambridgeshire 25 years ago, racist and sexist “banter” was accepted.

She said : “A lot of what I experienced was what you might term banter but actually it was discriminatory and it made me, and I know other colleagues who I worked with, feel different. Some of it was based on gender, some was racial, but those things are no longer acceptable.”

Mrs Newcomb, 44, a mother of two, was speaking after being appointed head of Westminster police, which with a total of 1,470 police officers is larger and more complex than many rural forces.

After growing up in Huntingdon she joined her local force in the early Eighties — the period featured in the TV series Ashes to Ashes, which drew on casual sexism and racism in its main characters — before working in CID and uniform roles in Essex and Norfolk.

She becomes the second most senior black woman officer in the Met behind Deputy Assistant Commissioner Pat Gallan.

Her appointment comes amid criticism that few black or ethnic minority officers are reaching senior positions in the Met. Only four out of 42 senior officers are black or ethnic minority.

Mrs Newcomb said: “Things are significantly different now, the culture of the service has changed, it is unacceptable now to act in a racist way whether that’s with our colleagues or, clearly, out on the street with members of the public. When issues are identified the Met is very clear on its stance and most things get dealt with very robustly.

“I did have issues early in my career. I think I was more disappointed at the time but it made me determined, it helped shape me as a senior leader.

“My values now are around treating people fairly, making sure we do not have a bullying culture, whether it’s racist or sexist.

“Even when I was a much lower rank at the start of my service I was not afraid to put my head above the parapet and stand up for things that were not right.”

Mrs Newcomb said she wanted to be a policewoman from the age of 12 and joined up at 18. Now with two young children, she juggles work with home life with her husband Tim Newcomb, an assistant chief constable in Suffolk.

Her appointment at Westminster comes as police are being forced to find 20 per cent budget cuts while her detectives are fighting rises in robbery and burglary in the borough.

She wants to get more officers out on the street, particularly in the West End, and is running a drive against street robbers who are using bikes to target pedestrians carrying smartphones.

She added: “I really have been welcomed. It’s been really positive and I hope communities will see that the service is changing.”

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