BAME AND BAME BELIEF SUPPORT GROUP “ I WANT POLICE TO FEEL COMFORTABLE
DISCUSSING ISSUES OF RACE” Andrew Gold meets DS Nadia Rana, Vice-Chair of PFEW’s BAME and BAME Belief Support Group, who is on a mission to prove that policing is a profession for everyone
F
ed Rep and Detective Sergeant Nadia Rana doesn’t have to struggle to find motivation for the many roles she has at work and home. Her day job as a busy DS on
Leicestershire Police’s Crime and Intelligence Directorate comes with all the challenges and stresses PFEW members recognise only too well. Added to this are positions as Equality Lead and Board Member of Leicestershire Branch council, and as Vice-Chair of PFEW’s Black Asian Minority Ethnic (BAME) Group and our BAME and BAME Belief Support Group.
She has an all-action lifestyle which makes friends wonder how the mum-of- two manages to shoehorn so much into
each day. But, as Nadia readily admits, it makes a massive difference having an understanding partner who is also a bobby and knows the demands of being a 24-hour cop, plus two hugely supportive children aged 14 and 16. When it comes to countering a
tough day at the office, however, Nadia can delve into her experiences growing up in Nottingham. At age six she was accustomed to burglaries in her own home, police vehicle pursuits on her doorstep, and extensive community deprivation. She recalled: “I lived in a really deprived area and our family was routinely burgled loads of times during the 1980s. Funnily enough, it was this background which led me towards being a police officer.
“I can actually relate my interest in joining the police force to my dad’s pride and joy at the time – a gold-coloured Datsun Bluebird. It was parked outside our home when there was yet another vehicle chase involving police, and a car collided with my dad’s precious car. “Although I was only six, the
burglaries and car incident were the final straw. I just thought ‘I’m going to try to sort it out when I’m old enough’ and that’s where my desire to join came from.” It took a chance meeting with a local
beat bobby to reignite the spark which set her on the way to where she is today. She added: “Women from my community background were not expected to become police officers and were encouraged to play a more traditional role. It wasn’t accepted at the time. It was only after I met this bobby by chance and two children later when he thankfully pushed me towards applying. “Due to his badgering, I turned up
for a force seminar six weeks after giving birth. Although I had to repeatedly leave the seminar to breast-feed my child, I had caught the bug. “This began the start of my brilliant journey of over 12 years with the Force, and here I am today as a proud DS with fantastic, supportive colleagues.” Nadia continues to use her personal experience of growing up as an Asian Muslim in a multicultural community to help PFEW members via the BAME and BAME Belief Support Group and her other roles.
She continued: “I really want to
channel the passion my colleagues and I have for society change, so police officers can confront and feel comfortable discussing issues involving race. Sadly, some don’t even want to have a conversation about these hard topics, in case they are wrongly categorised. “Many police officers are worried
Nadia Rana
about saying the wrong thing or asking the wrong question. Members may also feel worried about ‘making a big deal’ out of a matter when they feel they are
26 | POLICE | SEPTEMBER 2020
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