UK COP MANJIT ATWAL GETS ROYAL HONOUR
LONDON: Manjit Atwal, who joined the Leicestershire police in 1996, and rose to various roles in the east Midlands, has been named for the Queen’s Police Medal (QPM) after being nominated for being a ‘truly inspiring woman in policing’.
Described as a ‘role model’, Atwal, who joined the force with the drive to do something for herself, is currently chief inspector in the city of Leicester with a large population of Indian origin. She is also chair of the Sikh Police Association.
During her 24-year career, the police said she has worked in 18 areas of policing – including neighbourhood, youth offending, operational planning, intelligence gathering and counter terrorism. She is also a trained hostage and crisis negotiator.
Until July 2019, she had spent more than two years as the Commander of the City Neighbourhood Policing Area before taking up roles working with partners to help tackle and prevent serious violent crime. The QPM will be handed over in the coming months.
Atwal’s force said she has been highlighted as an ‘ exemplary advocate for those underrepresented in policing’, providing coaching and mentoring to a number of officers through promotion and personal development programmes.
After being named on the royal honours list, she said, “It is such an honour and I feel truly grateful to have even been nominated, especially when I think of all the amazing people who deserve recognition for the incredible work they do... It sounds like a cliché but policing was something I’d always wanted to do from a young age.”