Exclusive Interview: Chief Inspector Lukvinder Singh insight into policing in Hackney and Tower Hamlets

Bangla Sanglap Report:
Chief Inspector Lukvinder Singh insight into policing in Hackney and Tower Hamlets. Here is an Exclusive interview with Bangla Sanglap about Behind the Badge of police services:

Question: Name and role
Answer: Lukvinder Singh Chief Inspector Partnership at Central East Command Unit.

Question: How long have you been in the MPS?
Answer: 22 years

Question: Why did you decide to join the MPS? What were you doing before?
Answer: I have always wanted to be a Police Officer and the opportunity arose where the Metropolitan Police were recruiting so I applied. I had just finished a Btec in public services in preparation for joining the service and was also a special constable in Avon & Somerset

Question : What was the reaction from your family when you decided to become a police officer?
Answer: My entire family was over the moon and extremely proud and supportive. My parents have always encouraged me and my siblings to take on professions that give back to the community. (This is a big part of the Sikh faith SEVA)

Question: What does your work entail? What does a typical day look like?
Answer: My work entails overseeing partnership engagement over the entire BCU (Basic Command Unit. In this case, Central East; Hackney and Tower Hamlets), ensuring that my teams are resourced with the right staff and skills to ensure that we are meeting the core objectives of tackling violence with injury and ASB which is often a pre cursor for the violence piece.
A typical day for me will be to review the Occurrence Book and Duty Officers Hand Over to review any critical issues effecting the BCU overnight, a team conference call with the heads of my departments to ensure that we have identified any community tensions associated with any of the critical incidents or any other area of concern that may affect community confidence. This meeting also gives me the opportunity to link in with my department heads to capture any staff concerns or staffing issues. A large portion of the day will be meetings with partners discussing joint initiates and reviewing Key Performance Indicators. I will always then walk the floor from where ever I have positioned myself that day, I typically like to work from various sites across the BCU to increase visibility. Walking the floor allows me to engage with staff and capture some of the barriers and concerns they are facing outside a formal setting.

Question : What are the challenges you and your team are facing at this time?
Answer: The biggest challenge is to continue to build trust and confidence with partners and the public, especially with the younger ethnic minority communities. One of the measures I am looking to introduce to deal with this is the implementation of youth scrutiny panels which will give young people the opportunity to discuss how the police service can improve their engagement opportunities with them, but also will provide them with a platform to discuss policing tactics that are frequently used.

Question: What’s the most satisfying part of being a police officer?
Answer: Taking pride in building trust and confidence within our communities so that people from all walks of life can walk the streets of London and enjoy them without fear of any form of injustice.

Question: What’s the part that is least enjoyable?
Answer: The amount of emails that I receive on a daily basis & teams meetings, I would love to spend the greater portion of my time with the staff and engaging with partners & public.

Question: What would you say to any members of black and minority ethnic communities who have aspirations to join the police service?
Answer: If you want a police service that is truly representative of the communities we serve, a service that understands cultural diversity a service that respects and protects our families, friends & wider communities then there is no better way than to join. Significant and positive change is most successful from within.