‘I used to be scared I would not make it to the age of 15’
WEST Area BCU (Basic Command Unit) Commander Paul Martin is a big character. It’s a good job, really, as he has just been appointed to run policing in the whole of Ealing, Hounslow and Hillingdon.
When I go into his office he has got soul music blaring from speakers on his desk and is talking animatedly to a couple of colleagues. It is soon clear that soul is what he is all about.
As he leaps up to shake my hand, I see he’s a big guy. Not just physically big – he clearly keeps himself in shape – but also with a big welcoming handshake and massive charisma.
As he starts talking he reveals an even bigger passion for policing and for the people he is tasked with looking after.
He immediately orders me some tea and cake and starts talking 19 to the dozen about his huge job.
The self-described “son of a preacher man” – his father was a pentecostal minister – Paul, now 51, tells me about his direct experience of racism and hate growing up in Mitcham, in south-west London, at a time when black people were a tiny minority.
“I know what it’s like to be a victim of crime,” he laughs. “I used to have five different routes to school and I would go a different route every day.
“I was racially abused at school, in classes, at break times, all the time. I would never walk past a pub because if you did you were going to get attacked and chased by white skinheads.”
Incredibly, because he does not look like any sort of victim, Paul tells me he was stabbed and even lost a close friend to knife crime.
“I used to be scared that I wasn’t going to make it to 15 years old,” he said.
“I used to self-present at hospital after I’d been attacked and tell them I’d been run over.”
Paul says this stark experience shaped his life, driving him to join the police force and work hard at his career, so now he can help make sure others do not have to suffer the appalling treatment he did. His passion for this is powerful.
“My vision for policing is that every human being has the right to be free to strive to achieve whatever they want to do in life.
“The most important responsibility we have is to create an environment where people can live their lives and feel comfortable and safe. We want to protect your brothers, sisters, communities and the vulnerable. Can we say we’ve delivered better outcomes for people who are vulnerable? Can we say we’ve left a positive footprint?”
It’s also made him value the diverse communities he works in west London and the officers from a wide range of ethnic backgrounds who are on his team.
“25 years ago when I started in policing, it was a case of ‘spot the non-white face,’ but now we’ve got loads of black, Asian, white, Polish and Russian officers.
“That’s why I love west London, because it’s one of the most diverse areas in the country. I love it.”
He slams his hand on the table. I’m convinced.
“It means we’ve got a shared cultural experience with our communities and it reassures people because we know where they are coming from. We’ve got officers here from Africa, Asia, Japan, Russia, Poland just about everywhere you can mention and I love it,” he repeats. He’s also determined to drive out the age-old image of white police stopping and searching black people just because they are black – and has piloted a scheme bringing body cameras in for every single stopand-search mission in west London so the actions of the officers and suspects is all recorded on camera.
“I want to be on the front foot in terms of reassuring communities,” he says.
One of the most striking things about Paul is that he does not fit the data-driven image of modem policing that many complain about – the one where officers are chained to desks looking at crime stats.
He is a people person and his staff know it.
While I am there he is constantly calling to colleagues, who all have their office doors open, making demands, cajoling and questioning, but also enjoying some high level banter. There is lots of laughter and lots of camaraderie alongside the serious task at hand.
It is clear he also sets high expectations that his staff follow his passion for putting the people first.
“I always say to my officers, ‘if you didn’t join this service to make life better for people and protect your brothers and sisters and cousins then you’re in the wrong job,’” he says emphatically.
“People should not have to go out and run the gauntlet of violence and drugs. I’m passionate about that. I don’t like bullies.
“When I was out on the beat, I used to always make sure I went straight to the domestic abuse cases myself because I wanted children to see it isn’t right for someone to hit their mum.”
Paul’s experiences have clearly made him a driven man. He says he is owed 50 days and has not slept much in that time either. He follows the example of his dad, who always had two jobs to support him and his brothers and sisters.
His parents came to the UK from Jamaica during the Windrush years. When his dad worked for London Underground, he remembers going out with him even on Christmas Day because he insisted he had to clear debris from the tracks.
He is grateful that his father and mother were able to go back to their homeland.
He has a lot of work to do. The new tri-borough policing scheme means that he is now in charge of Ealing, Hillingdon and Hounslow rather than just Ealing, as before, but he rejects the criticism suggested by many that these new Met Police divisions are just cost-cutting measures.
“I don’t think it’s a change, it’s an opportunity,” he says emphatically. “It means we can deal with things in a more joined-up way.
“We haven’t lost any officers in west London, we’ve actually gained some, and gained experience, too.
“Resources are not bound by geography and the boroughs are now not being policed as separate silos.
“We’re in the same position as the rest of the country where we have to deliver value for money, but it’s allowed us develop policing to better meet the needs of our communities.”
And what about the knife crime spike that seems to have become a London epidemic this year, leading to more than 70 murders in the capital?
“Actually, Ealing is doing better on knife crime than many other areas,” he says.
“It’s about working with youth through schools and cadet groups to create diversions and think about how we can take them away from what they were doing.
“He points out that West Area BCU has dedicated ward officers for each school in the boroughs who are building a relationship with youngsters from a very young age so pupils can see “the police aren’t the enemy”.
“We’ve got junior citizens’ groups and cadet groups which are helping teach youngsters about tolerance and respect,” he said.
“Many of the schools also have volunteer police cadet groups and officers have been working with groups who are seen as being on the periphery of crime to help divert their attention to better things.”
He says many youngsters have gone on to become police officers through this route.
“Why would you not want to be a police officer here?” Paul grins. “It’s the west London way – west is best.”
People criticise the centralising of police commands into tri-borough areas and bemoan the cuts in resources that police have had to endure, but one thing’s for certain – if anyone can dispel our doubts, make us feel positive about policing, and believe it is not turning into a data crunching club, then it is Paul Martin.
And it would be harder to find anyone with a bigger passion for protecting us from crime.
Though Paul claims his father was disappointed that he did not follow him into the religious life, he can take pride in the fact his son gives a cracking sermon on positive policing.
■ More on the West Area BCU online at Facebook by searching for Ealing Police, Hounslow Police or Hillingdon Police.
My vision for policing is that every human being has the right to be free to strive to achieve whatever they want