Black History Month

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Brothers Mike and Carlton Wedderburn – clocking up 60 years of service

In September 1990, brothers Mike and Carlton Wedderburn joined BTP as new recruits, determined to make a difference and serve the public.

To mark Black History Month, they reflect on their policing careers and the changes they have witnessed during their time with the Force.

Both are based in Manchester - Mike is an Inspector and Carlton stepped back from frontline PC duties three years ago and is now the Station Support Officer at Manchester Peninsula.

Mike: When we joined 30 years ago, things were very different for Black officers. It was a massive decision for us to make. Our family were very supportive but we lost about half our friends because we decided to join the police. It just wasn’t the ‘done thing’ in the 90s.

Carlton: There was a lot of peer pressure, but I have no regrets. I thought at the time – if you are on the outside you can’t make a difference and that’s what drives us both – we wanted to make a difference.

Mike: Actually, Carlton owes his career to me…

Carlton: That’s true! Halfway through my training, I almost pulled out but Mike convinced me to stick with it and I’m very glad he did.

Mike: I was the first black officer at Manchester and was welcomed onto the team. There was a family mentality, everyone was supportive, you could count on people and that’s so important.

I’ve always had a good experience in BTP, from leading a response team at Manchester and being a sergeant on the Operational Support Unit to being Officer in Charge at Preston and leading the team in Liverpool. As an Inspector, I was public order commander for the North West, the first Black officer within BTP to hold that post.

Carlton: Policing is a great career. One of my highlights was going to Germany in 2006 for the World Cup when England were playing. They took a dozen officers from each force to help police the event. I applied and was selected. It was a brilliant four weeks and I was very proud to represent BTP.

Mike: It’s has changed a lot since we joined. At the start, if there was an incident involving Black people they would send ‘the Black officer’ to deal with it and back in the 90s that was like pouring petrol on a fire because there was such a high level of distrust in the police. Now, more and more people have joined and it isn’t so unusual to see a person of colour in uniform. It’s become a positive thing and I think that’s a reflection of how society has changed.

Carlton: One of the good things about us both working at BTP is that we understand the pressures of the job, although we were rarely on the same shifts when I was a PC. Mike’s wife Michelle also works for BTP (Operations Inspector at Manchester), so it’s a family thing! We support each other.

Mike: BTP has been good for us and we all get a lot of satisfaction from providing a service as police officers. When someone comes up to say thank you – that makes it all worthwhile.

PC Kingsley Howard

Five years ago, on a hot summer’s day, I was standing overlooking the beach at Bournemouth and I just thought what a great place to live and work! At the station on my way home, I got talking to an officer who said BTP would soon be recruiting and he encouraged me to apply. So I did and six weeks later I was booking on for my first duty.

It was a big contrast to Croydon where I was a response officer but I love variety. I’m always keen to experience new things – with the Met I worked in a gangs unit, a Safer Neighbourhoods community police team and I was a firearms officer for a while in the Parliamentary Protection Unit. I did 10 years with the Met but moving to BTP has been a great decision for me.

I love to travel and work in different parts of the country – after Bournemouth, I moved to Lancaster and I’m currently working in the Positive Action Recruitment Team (PART) based in Manchester. I love change and seeing where life takes me. I became a police officer after wandering into a big careers event in a London park and chatting to an officer on a Met Police stand – I took an application form, passed the interview and the training, and before I knew it I was being fitted for the uniform!

When I started at Bournemouth I was the only black officer there. I was a bit concerned about moving from London to Dorset but I experienced very few incidents of racist abuse from the public, and never anything from colleagues, so it was a good experience.

I’m definitely proud to be a police officer. I’ve had positive comments out on patrol from people saying how good it is to see a Black or Asian officer. I’ve also gone into situations where being Black has helped to diffuse tensions because the person sees an officer who looks like them, there’s a connection. It’s really important for policing to represent the communities we serve.

Changing things for the better is a big motivation for me. My current role with PART gives me an opportunity to support colleagues with the recruitment and promotions process. There’s a lot of misunderstanding about Positive Action - we’re not giving people an extra advantage, we’re levelling the playing field and enabling a more diverse range of people to have the confidence and skills to apply and be successful.