Met Police Chief Inspector whose dedication to her communities has opened doors previously closed to the police.

East Area police and its communities is very proud to have a new Chief Inspector for Neighbourhoods, one that clearly stands out in the crowd. Chief Inspector Jaz Kaur set her heart on making a difference as a police officer in the Metropolitan Police and she has done just that.

The Chief Inspector saw as women reported their safety concerns on the Street Safe scheme, there were many whose voices were silent and not heard. These women were often left out and feared coming forward as they felt uncomfortable to reach out to police officers.

In an interview with the Havering Daily Jaz said: “We we ran the Street Safe scheme, I saw that many of the women in our communities were not coming forward to report their safety concerns. Disabled women, vulnerable women, members of the Asian community all failed to come forward.

“I realised that something had to be done to support all women, that there were many silent voices that needed to be heard.”

Being the hands on, proactive police officer Jaz is, she decided to jump in and rectify this problem and find a way to reach out to these women.

“I began a scheme that is now used Met wide, called GWEN-Girls Women Engagement Network. I set up workshops across a variety of communities to encourage the women whose voices were silent to have the opportunity to come forward and most importantly feel comfortable in talking to us and sharing their worries.”
Jaz joined the police as a staff member in 1995 and then as a police officer in 1997. She is an old fashioned style officer who likes to work on the ground with her community and really make a difference.

“I was inspired to join by Sunita on the Bill and thought I wanted to be like her.”
GWEN was launched in 2022 and has gone from strength to strength, with these workhops taking place right across London.

“The Met’s priority is tackling violence against women and it is important that we reach out to those silent voices in our communities.

“I have numerous single points of contact across the Met who work on GWEN with me. This is something I am very passionate about.

“As a Sikh woman, I know many Asian women do not come forward and report their concerns, that is why I work with all members of our communities.”

GWEN has received a fantastic response from the local communities, with many groups opening doors that had previously been closed to the police.

Jaz is a great role model for women in policing, her drive and determination to make a change not just for women of colour, but for all women in the police.

She is not a behind the desk type officer, she is out on the street listening to her community.

Jaz is also the Chair of the first National Women Of Colour in Policing.

“Assistant Chief Constable Kerry Wilson before retiring approached me to set up a national group for women of colour in policing. She was at the time the most senior woman of colour in policing. I jumped at the chance as I want to leave a legacy for other women, and really make a difference.

“I have a daughter and want her and her friends to know that they can join the police force too and make that change.”

Jaz has worked extremely hard with all members of the community gaining their trust and opening closed doors.

“I am happy to share my experience as a police officer with others and show them that if they join, they too can make that difference. It really is about gaining the trust and confidence of all our community members.”
Chief Inspector Kaur is the most sensior Indian frontline officer in the Met and by far the most respected due to her hard work and incredible passion.

East Area will benefit enormously from having Jaz here to work across our various communities and we look forward to seeing her on our streets!

If you are interested in knowing more about GWEN, please email us and we can put you in contact with Jaz and her team.

Support Local Journalism
We at The Havering Daily appreciate your support of quality journalism. Your generous donation, no matter the size, allows us to continue bringing unbiased and informative news to the community. Your contribution helps us maintain our independence and allows us to continue providing high-quality journalism. Thank you for valuing the work we do and for supporting our mission

Thank you

Stay up to date with all of our latest updates and content by following us on our social media accounts!

We have created community pages where we will share our up-to-date stories happening in the area. Add the area closest to where you live.