Behind the Headlines

The Thames Valley Muslim Police Association (TVMPA) has been formed specifically to help and assist Muslim police staff and officers, as well as providing support for the wider organisation.

The Chairman of the TVMPA, PC Raja Yousaf spoke to BBC Three Counties Radio Morning:MK Presenter Helen Legh and explained why there was a need for this organisation in the Thames Valley…

"Thames Valley Police is committed to achieving a high quality of service for all the communities we serve, and we believe this initiative is an important step in achieving that.

"We hope it will help in the recruitment, retention and progression of Muslim police officers and staff, and strengthen the bridges that have already been built between the police and local communities.

"Through its ongoing drive to recruit more black and Asian officers, Thames Valley Police has shown that it values diversity, and the creation of this association will help to cultivate a better understanding of Islam and Muslim culture within the organisation. This is bound to help neighbourhood policing teams as they engage with and build trust with communities."

Helen then went on to ask PC Yousaf if, with Muslim staff and Officers meeting regularly already, was a formal Association necessary?

"We were meeting generally beforehand to help each other, but we didn't feel that we were getting out into the Force as much as we should have been. We were coming across serving officers who had never heard of us.

"As a Muslim Police Officer, just turning on the TV every day and seeing the word Muslim being synonymous with terrorists, fundamentalists and extremists – it does have a wearing effect. These are very difficult times for Muslims working in this country, not only working internally to try and route out these people but also externally to show other people that we're not all like that. When you add to that, the challenge of being a serving police officer as well, it does make for an interesting scenario…"

PC Yousef then went to say how supportive his non-Muslim colleagues were of the organisation: "Surprisingly, I've met a lot of non-Muslim officers who want to be members to help them understand the concept of Islam and gain a better understanding of where we come from as Muslim officers as well."

Listen to the full interview here:

There are currently around 60 Muslim officers in Thames Valley Police, but the TVMPA is open to all officers, not just Muslims.

Muslim officers in the Thames Valley had met in an informal way, but it was decided to follow the recommendations of the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) that any police force with a sizeable Muslim staff should have a formal Muslim Police Association.