One man's experience of life and racism as a Hampshire Police Officer on the front line

Khurram Masood has faced many highs and lows in his role as a police officer in Portsmouth, but he’d never dream of doing anything else.
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‘I absolutely love my job. Every day I am in uniform I am happy,’ says PC Masood, 43.

‘I cannot see myself doing anything else. You have to be a different breed of man to do this job, you can’t do it for money.’

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PC Masood, who lives at Hilsea, Portsmouth, starts his day shift in the city as a response and patrol officer with Hampshire Constabulary at 6.30am by kitting up, a quick briefing then waiting for the calls to roll in.

Real Life on Life on the front line. Khurram Masood shares his experience of what life is like working as a police officer in Portsmouth.

Pictured: Khurram Masood at Lakeside, Portsmouth on Thursday 11th August 2022

Picture: Habibur RahmanReal Life on Life on the front line. Khurram Masood shares his experience of what life is like working as a police officer in Portsmouth.

Pictured: Khurram Masood at Lakeside, Portsmouth on Thursday 11th August 2022

Picture: Habibur Rahman
Real Life on Life on the front line. Khurram Masood shares his experience of what life is like working as a police officer in Portsmouth. Pictured: Khurram Masood at Lakeside, Portsmouth on Thursday 11th August 2022 Picture: Habibur Rahman

‘Whenever someone is in trouble, the first thing they can think to do is pick up the phone and call 999, regardless of religion, criminal background, race or nationality,’ says PC Masood.

‘All of those people have that trust and faith that when they dial that number someone will come to help them.’

From racist abuse and being spat on, to being recognised by the force negotiator team as going ‘above and beyond’ after he helped stop a suicidal man from jumping off an eighth storey balcony - Khurram has experienced it all.

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‘For me it’s a very privileged position to have that authority and to be able to make a difference to someone’s life.’

PC Khurram Masood talked with a suicidal man in the 2.5 hours he was alone with him on a balcony

Pictured: PC Khurram Masood outside Hampshire Constabulary Eastern Police Investigation Centre, Portsmouth on 22 July 2021

Picture: Habibur RahmanPC Khurram Masood talked with a suicidal man in the 2.5 hours he was alone with him on a balcony

Pictured: PC Khurram Masood outside Hampshire Constabulary Eastern Police Investigation Centre, Portsmouth on 22 July 2021

Picture: Habibur Rahman
PC Khurram Masood talked with a suicidal man in the 2.5 hours he was alone with him on a balcony Pictured: PC Khurram Masood outside Hampshire Constabulary Eastern Police Investigation Centre, Portsmouth on 22 July 2021 Picture: Habibur Rahman

Khurram was born into a working-class family in Lahore, Pakistan, where his father worked hard to provide him with a good education.

In 2001, he left Pakistan to study in Cyprus where he had had his first encounter with racism, being called ‘Mavro’ - Greek for black - instead of being addressed by his name.

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In 2003, Khurram moved to the UK which he says was ‘a breath of fresh air’ and started his first job in London delivering newspapers.

‘I felt acceptance and tolerance from society,’ he says.

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PC Masood worked in different places until 2012, when he joined The National Archives as a security officer.

‘I really enjoyed my role there, so I decided to take my career further by joining HM Prison services as a prison officer,’ he says.

He joined HM Prison Isle of Wight in 2014 and - upon making inquiries to speak with other Muslim officers about where and how to acquire Halal meat – he discovered he was the first Muslim prison officer to ever work there.

During that groundbreaking period in the Isle of Wight, Khurram had his first experience of dealing with criminals and found he was good at it.

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‘Some prisoners use religion to get what they want, but when you have a prison officer like me who is Muslim or from an ethnic background, you can’t fool me,’ says Khurram.

‘During the last eight months I worked in a segregated unit, for prisoners who are either vulnerable or too dangerous to be mixing with other people.’

In 2017, PC Masood felt ready to move on from HMP and start helping people, so he joined Hampshire Constabulary as a police officer, bringing a whole set of new challenges for him.

‘Customer service is in my DNA, I wasn’t getting real satisfaction from my job as a prison officer,’ says PC Masood.

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‘With the police, you help people more than you actually deal with criminals.’

PC Masood soon found that the change between the two roles was more noticeable than he had first realised.

‘When you come out of that job, you have to change your mindset and stop looking at everybody as a criminal.’

‘In the prison service you only have one thing to deal with and that is criminals. In the police, you have to deal with mental health crises, domestics, missing people and crime.’

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The police officer would now be facing a variety of different people, including those who will target him for his religion or race.

‘I have been serving Portsmouth on the front line ever since, and it has been quite challenging,’ he says.

‘You actually see the impact of your actions on the victim and the difference you can make to a person in their time of need.’

PC Masood got that particular chance in July last year, when he was first on the scene at an alleged assault in Northumberland Road, Fratton.

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‘It was just a normal day, I responded to a call to a domestic incident,’ says Khurram.

He raced up to the eighth floor at the block, only to find the suspect outside on a balcony, having barricaded the sliding door back into the flat.

‘When I got there, the suspect had barricaded himself on the balcony of the eighth floor of the building,’ says Khurram.

‘He was threatening to jump if I arrested him.’

For two-and-a-half hours of the six-hour operation, Khurram was alone with the suspect while the on-call Hampshire police negotiator was alerted and made their way to the scene.

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In those 150 minutes PC Masood was doing everything he could to calm the man down, who was also intoxicated at the time of the negotiation and had began climbing on the railing.

‘Usually when the negotiator comes, you hand it over to them and you back off but he wasn’t having it,’ says PC Masood.

‘I had built a rapport with him, so he wasn’t willing to listen to anyone in my absence.’

Khurram had no official training in negotiation, but he used his own experiences along with the advice from mental health advisors to help contain the situation, talking about football and his family.

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‘Sometimes all you have to do is find common ground. That day was the England final, all you’re doing is buying time because the more time you spend talking, the more rational they become,’ he adds.

‘You have to come across calm and collected, inside you are flapping there’s no doubt about that. Your brain is going 100mph.’

While he received well-deserved recognition for his efforts on that occasion, because of race and religion his encounters as a police officer are not always so positive.

‘This role can become more challenging and stressful if you are from an ethnic background. We do not only deal with seasoned criminals but also their hostility and hatred for our religion and race.

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‘I have been racially and religiously abused more times than I can keep track of,’ adds Khurram.

While he receives a lot of support from his colleagues and within the force where he has always been treated with ‘respect and fairness’, prejudice – he says – is not something you ever get used to.

‘It’s not part of our job, but a harsh reality that we have to accept,’ he adds.

‘When someone is shouting extremely abusive and offensive racist comments in your face and you can see the hate in their eyes, it’s a very different ball game.

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‘No matter how thick your skin is, it hurts you every time and makes you feel worthless,’ he adds.

PC Masood says the support of team members is what reminds him he is still very much wanted.

That support encourages others to check in on anyone who has experienced racial abuse with the simple offer of a cup of tea or an ‘are you okay mate?’

‘Post-incident, every one of my team members comforts me personally and reassures me that I am one of them and show their love with small gestures.’

‘That makes a huge difference,’ he adds.