Published on | General
October marks Black History Month, and this year’s theme is ‘Honouring our Communities’.
Over the four weeks of October, we will be honouring the West Midlands Police community by showcasing the stories and achievements of some of the Black officers who have been part of our history and in week three of these features, we are looking the first Black female officer to join West Midlands Police, Pauline Campbell-Moss.
Jamaican-born Pauline Campbell-Moss joined West Midlands Police as a cadet when it was first formed, after passing her entrance exam in summer 1974. Pauline was 17 years old and was the only Black officer in her cohort of 155 new recruits.
When she was growing up in Birmingham, Pauline witnessed an officer kicking a Black youth for speaking to him in Patois. She was so angry because of the injustice of this one act that she decided there and then that she need to become a police officer. She felt that her initials proved that she was destined to be a PC.
Life as a serving officer was never easy for Pauline. Indeed, members of the public would refer to her as ‘the coloured girl’, instead of with the respect that the uniform deserved. She faced a number of dangerous incidents while on duty, and she reflected on two of them an interview with Black British newspaper ‘The Voice’, in November 2017. On one occasion, she was threatened with knives by a group of youths on a bus and on another, in an attempted abduction, she was bundled into the back of car and had to throw herself out of the moving vehicle in order to escape.
Pauline valued her time spent as a part of West Midlands Police, but after three years, she left the force to join Social Services in Birmingham, where she felt she would be more able to help young people in need.
This Black History Month, it is important that we remember the trailblazing officers that we are reflecting on, because with each of their hard work and sacrifice West Midlands Police moved a step towards the incredibly diverse and inclusive force that we see today, with the highest percentage of Black officers of any force outside of the capital.
Pauline Campbell-Moss, pictured front and centre of her WMP intake.
Information courtesy of ‘The Future is Bright – the Future is BAPA Celebrating 50 Years of Black and Ethnic Minority Officers in the West Midlands and 20 Years of West Midlands Police Black and Asian Police Association’ ; Pauline Campbell-Moss, West Midlands Police 1974 – 1977 – Black History Month 2026 and Police workforce – GOV.UK Ethnicity facts and figures