A LONG-SERVING sergeant and two former officers from West Midlands Police have been recognised in the King’s Birthday Honours List.
Sgt Harvy Rai who co-founded both the West Midlands and National Sikh Police Association was awarded an MBE.
Former chief superintendent, Dave Sturman, who oversaw the policing operation for the Commonwealth Games and a former detective inspector, Bob Denaro who’s work put criminals behind bars for hundreds of years have both received the King’s Police Medal (KPM).
Harvy joined West Midlands Police almost 30 years ago and in 2013 he helped form the force’s Sikh Police Association and has led it for many years.
In 2019, he also co-founded the National Sikh Police Association and became president.
And by working with other policing bodies, Harvy has developed a reporting portal which launched last year to improve the Sikh communities ability to highlight hate crime via third party reporting.
He said: “I was honoured to be nominated, let alone receive such an award. I feel blessed and this is a very happy moment for myself and my family.”
Dave Sturman led the largest police operation in our history of West Midlands Police during the Birmingham Commonwealth Games last summer.
More than 3,500 officers and staff from across the UK joined worked to ensure the safety of spectators, athletes and organisers during the games.
From 2013 to 2022, Dave was the chair of the West Midlands Police Superintendents’ Association and worked to improve working relationships.
Bob Denaro helped secured sentences of more than 230 years against some of the most prominent criminals while with the Regional Organised Crime Unit (ROCU) between 2019 and 2022.
This included leading a unit who tackled online crime. Bob also instigated a mentoring scheme within the unit to provide officers with an insight into the specialist roles and help guide their professional development.
