South west London community radio station Riverside Radio is going #BehindtheBadge with a series of exclusive interviews with Met Police officers from south west London.
The station, which recently won an award, will air three episodes, each of which features interviews with two officers.
The first programme, which airs this weekend, sees news editor Stephen Menon talk to Detective Superintendent Owain Richards and Detective Constable Scerene Williams about how they ended up serving the people of south west London.
Menon said: “Our volunteer news team are delighted to continue our strong relationship with the Met Police in south west London. We hope these interviews shine a light on both the unseen positive aspects of working in the Met, and discover some of the difficulties our Police officers face on a daily basis.”
Williams has been in the Met Police for the last decade, and told Menon about how it took time to be confident enough to join the force.
She said: “I was born and raised on a council estate in south west London, the very last thing my parents wanted for me was to join the Police.
“My Mum begged me not to join because of what she saw as racism. She thought all Police officers were racist because that was her experience when she was first in this country when she arrived here from Jamaica. She begged me not to do this.”
Richards has a very different story.
He explained to Menon: “I’m from a Welsh speaking family in South Wales. I always wanted to be a Police Officer probably since I was about 10 or 11 and I wanted to try and make a difference, to help people, to protect the public. I joined Dyfed-Powys Police on my 21st birthday actually and here I am still alive to tell the tale, almost 25 years later.”
The #BehindtheBadge series will also feature on the launch of a new podcast that Riverside Radio is producing, called ‘The Ripple Effect’.
For updated times on broadcast, check out Riverside Radio’s social media and website.
Featured image credit: Riverside Radio
