Birmingham – 1 December 2024
Preet Kaur Gill, MP for Birmingham, Edgbaston, and the Chief Constable for West Midlands Police, Craig Guildford, have been working with Gurdwaras in the West Midlands to rebuild the relationship between the Sikh community and West Midlands Police.
Preet Kaur Gill MP alongside new Chief Inspector of Smethwick, Amandeep Singh Sanghera, and Chief Superintendent of Sandwell, Kim Madill, were welcomed by the congregation and management committee at Guru Nanak Gurdwara (GNG) Smethwick.
The Gurdwara is well regarded for its interfaith work and supporting local communities. It provides vital services to the Sikh community in Sandwell and the West Midlands, with a weekly congregation of approximately 10,000. It is an iconic place of worship that also functions as a community hub open to all.
Preet Kaur Gill and Craig Guildford have co-ordinated meetings at GNG Smethwick since February 2024 with representatives of Gurdwaras from West Midlands and representatives of Sikh organisations to address community concerns, before the meeting on Sunday.
These concerns have included those relating to the Sikh identity, security and safety of Sikhs in the West Midlands and hate targeting Sikh activists and religious institutions.
Preet Kaur Gill and the senior leadership of West Midlands Police discussed the role of the Gurdwara as a third-party reporting centre for hate crime and the ongoing support the police can provide to the community.
Preet Kaur Gill, MP for Birmingham, Edgbaston, said:
“I welcome the Chief Constable’s commitment to working with the wider Sikh community to build trust. It’s vital that we work together so that the police can better understand our community.
“This is an important moment for Sikh Gurdwara’s to have direct links with police officers, given a previous breakdown of trust.”
Acting Chief Constable Scott Green said:
"We're proud to work alongside our communities across Sandwell and we're continuing to rebuild stronger relationships with members of the Sikh community.
"It's important we fully understand any issues and concerns so we can take action to deal with them and recognise that there had previously been a break down in trust and confidence from the Sikh community to West Midlands Police.
"Our Sandwell Local Policing Area commander Kim Madill, and her local teams, are working tirelessly to keep the borough safe for everyone. They will continue to engage with diverse communities and tackle issues in Sandwell including developing their relationship with the Council for the Gurdwaras to build on the conversations held over the last 12 months with representatives from the Sikh Community in the West Midlands.”
Kuldeep Singh Deol, President of Guru Nanak Gurdwara said:
“Over the last year we collectively as gurdwaras across the West Midlands engaged in numerous meetings with Preet Kaur Gill and senior officers from West Midlands Police (WMP) to address our concerns about the safety of Sikhs. Sikhs have increasingly been worried about crime, safety of places of worship, transnational repression and use of schedule 7 stops at borders under the last government.
“These ongoing dialogues aim to strengthen our relationship with WMP and build collaborative efforts to improve the safety and well-being of Sikhs, as well as all other communities.
“We thank Preet Kaur Gill and Craig Guildford for the engagement and rebuilding of this vital relationship. Their leadership should be commended.”
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