Bulwell sergeant shares his story of being a black man in policing for Black History Month

By his own admission some of Sgt Jerone Taylor’s family and friends were wary when he told them he was planning to join the force 17-and-a-half years ago.

That decision to become an officer had been inspired by another one of his mentors growing up in the form of his childhood karate teacher PC Dennis Stewart – who himself worked for Nottinghamshire Police at the time.

After overcoming a number of challenges during his time with the force as well as concerns from some of his loved ones about policing not being a career for black people, Sgt Taylor has himself tried to challenge those misconceptions.

He said: “I’d just like to say first of all that policing is for everyone.

“Some friends and family members were a little bit sceptical about me joining, almost thinking that it wasn’t a career for black people.

“I’m not going to stand here and say policing is perfect, because it’s not, but which organisation is?

“I’ll be honest, policing has definitely presented some challenges for me along the way and at times earlier in my career, I did actually think about leaving.

"But I'm glad that I'm still here and what I will say now is being an officer for over 17 years, the majority of times have been fun, really entertaining and rewarding.”

Sgt Taylor joined Nottinghamshire Police four years from Leicestershire Police and is now stationed at Bulwell Police Station as part of the City North Neighbourhood team.

He now has ambitions of one day becoming an inspector after passing the College of Policing's national police promotion framework (NPPF) inspectors' exam back in May.

Sgt Taylor added: “I grew up in Sherwood and am Nottingham born and bred, so I’m actually really passionate about policing this area as I know it really well.

“In terms of wanting to become a police officer, I watched The Bill as a child, so that kind of gave me an idea of what the role entailed, while my karate instructor was also a police officer.

"PC Dennis Stewart sadly died in 2015 but he often used to come round and see me in his police car, turn the sirens on and pretend to the neighbours that he was arresting me, so that kind of gave me the insight and the inspiration to join.”

Sgt Taylor, who himself is the vice-chair of the Nottinghamshire Black Police Association, elected to tell his story as part of Black History Month, which runs throughout October, and as part of this, he explained why the month is so important to him.

He said: “My grandparents were part of the Windrush generation, coming to England in the early 1960s.

"I know first-hand the challenges they faced and unfortunately, I know black people are still facing some challenges today.

“I know Nottinghamshire police is working really hard to build bridges with the black community and I’d definitely recommend policing as a career.

"It’s a job for life and is a great, wide-ranging profession.

“Just give it a try – what have you got to lose?

“Like myself, if you give it that opportunity, you might really enjoy it.”