Kirk Dawes QPM

Handsworth will always be diverse

Originally from Wolverhampton in the Black Country, Kirk Dawes QPM is a veteran of the Handsworth community having worked as a police officer in the area for a very long time.

When Kirk was 10, his father and uncle had a house on Rookery road which he’d visit often. This would be the first time he’d get to see the Handsworth area, “My father and his cousin had a house in Rookery Road in Handsworth and would you believe it, at 10, I used to go over there to get the rent for my Uncle Roderick and take it all the way back to Wolverhampton on the bus”. Kirk joined the West Midlands police force at the age of 18 where he specialised in undercover work for the police. He says that many of the jobs and missions he had to do were drug-based. During the 90s, he was the chair of the Black and Asian association hence he spent a lot of time in the Handsworth and Lozells area. 

Kirk cites the years between 2000 and 2004 as being the toughest years in Handsworth. This was because there were 108 deaths that year which was all gang-related. Furthermore, Kirk states that these were “black-on-black” murders and that resources were limited in order to tackle these issues. Kirk was also witness to three separate riots: 1977, 1981 and 2011. He noticed that all of them died down very quickly, not taking any longer than a few days. He also admitted that the police worked in “collaboration” hence there wasn’t really a partnership between the community and the police. Furthermore, he says that the press gave Handsworth a bad name, one that it didn’t deserve.

Regarding community responses to these riots, Kirk saw that the disturbances brought different communities together. He noticed that after any sort of disturbance, order was quickly established due to effective communication between community leaders. Despite this, he also says that some go back to their ethnic kin, Asians go back to Asians, and Blacks go back to Blacks.

In terms of the Covid-19 pandemic which hit the Handsworth and Lozells area very hard, Kirk remembers how “it was really tough”. He recalls how it affected ethnic minority groups a lot and he cited communication methods as one reason why BAME deaths were disproportionately higher. Furthermore, he noticed that some hospitals were under-equipped during the pandemic, calling for “proper investment”. In the end, however, “Covid-19 was really hard on everyone”.

Kirk has noticed many changes within the area from the 1960s to now. He feels as though financial investment is needed within Handsworth & Lozells however, he also was of the belief that society needs to invest in today’s youth. Kirk is of the opinion that “The cleaner you keep the streets, the more peaceful your place will be”. Overall, he noticed one thing hasn’t changed over the years and that was Handsworth “will always be diverse”.