"There was so much hate and resentment towards me"
A Muslim police officer who has faced racist abuse whilst doing her job will receive a police bravery award.
PC Zara Basharat has suffered more than 40 racial slurs, abuse and assaults during her five-year career on response in Sandwell.
Despite this, she has been trying to improve support for colleagues in similar situations.
PC Basharat said: “Officers in general face abuse all the time, but ethnic minority officers get it more.
“I’m female, I’m South Asian, I wear a headscarf, and some see me as an easy target.
“I’ve already been racially abused twice this year by members of the public – it happens too often.
“My experiences are not the only ones. There are so many officers that face it day in, day out.”
Attacks included having her Hijab pulled off. She has also been called the ‘P’ word, been told to “go back to your prayer mat” and has even had threats made to burn her headscarf.
“The West Midlands Police Federation member said: “I have faced abuse even in my own community.
“I have been labelled a ‘traitor’ and been subject to harassment, and have also been videoed and posted online while on deployment for the pro-Palestinian protests.
“There was so much hate and resentment towards me, which did upset me.”
PC Basharat is using her experience to improve support for colleagues who have been racially assaulted or abused.
This includes developing a resilience programme, which will focus on improving the way supervisors and the organisation support colleagues who are subject to abuse at work.
She is working with West Midlands Police’s Black and Asian Police Association on the programme and has had support from its chair, Chief Inspector Chris Grandison.
PC Basharat said: “He has really motivated me to keep going.
“The purpose of the programme is to help officers to build their resilience, to expand it and grow, as well as to build a network and make meaningful connections between officers and offer that support to each other.”
Her work has now been recognised with the Sam Hughes Inspiration in Policing Bravery Award, which she will receive later in January 2025.
PC Basharat added: “As police officers, we don’t get recognition often but when we do, it’s a nice feeling, especially coming from the senior leadership team, and them recognising their staff and what they go through.
“But while it is nice to receive, we don’t do it for awards. A quote that resonates with me is from Gandhi, who said ‘be the change you want to see in the world’.
“There is a gap in training and support for officers around physical and racial abuse during frontline duties.”
“The support needs to be consistent from the first assault onwards. If the well-being support is not right from the beginning, this may have a detrimental effect on an officer’s well-being.
“I believe this training is needed to help improve the way supervisors and the organisation support colleagues who face abuse.
“This may have a positive overall lasting impact on officer’s welfare and staff retention issues.
“It is so important to have a diverse police force, as we need to have a police force that represents the community that we serve.”
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