Kirk Dawes

Kirk Dawes QPM (born c. 1957) is a former Detective Constable with West Midlands Police who now runs The Centre For Conflict Transformation (TCFCT) formerly West Midlands Mediation and Transformation Services, a company involved in trying to reduce gun and gang violence in the United Kingdom.[1]

Early life and police career

Born in Wolverhampton, one of six surviving children of Caribbean immigrants. An early memory is of moving to a new house in a council estate in Bilston where most residents had signed a petition against black families moving in. Educated at Willenhall Comprehensive School he then joined West Midlands Police in 1976. After three years as an ordinary constable in Willenhall and Walsall, he moved into specialist units, initially the robbery squad from 1979 until 1981, then the special patrol group, then from 1985 the drugs squad, before joining Sutton Coldfield and Castle Vale CID in 1989 as a Detective Constable. After the publication of the Macpherson report in 1995 he moved into training other CID officers in racial diversity issues. In 1998 he became the regional chairman of the Black and Asian Police Association.[1] A lung condition curtailed his police career in 2004,[1] and on 12 June 2004 he was awarded the Queen's Police Medal (QPM) in the Queen's Birthday Honours.[2]

Mediation

After leaving the police he set up his company which mediates between principally Birmingham's gangs and others across the UK, and also tries to disengage youths from gang culture. His lung complaint also reduced his involvement in basketball, he played for the British police team and coached national league sides, and still uses basketball in his mediation work. He is also on the board of Birmingham Royal Ballet.[1][3]

The work of Dawes and the WMMTS is regularly reported in the British media;[4][5][6][7][8][9] he was a "witness" interviewed by the "Street Weapons Commission" organised by Channel 4 and chaired by Cherie Booth which in 2008 investigated youth violence in the United Kingdom;[10] he has also appeared as a witness before the House of Commons Home Affairs Select Committee;[11] and he is a regular conference speaker.[12][13]

References
  1. Arnot, Chris (10 September 2008). "Interview:Kirk Dawes—The players' player—He is a former police officer who now heads a service with the unenviable task of mediating between some of the most violent gangs in the UK. But, he tells Chris Arnot, he easily could have been a member himself". The Guardian, Society section. London. Retrieved 10 September 2008.
  2. "No. 57315". The London Gazette (Supplement). 12 June 2004. p. 25.
  3. "Birmingham Royal Ballet". Charity Commission. 2009. Retrieved 3 April 2009.
  4. Flintoff, JohnPaul (31 August 2008). "That's right, son, put the gun away—Mediators had gang gun crime under control in Birmingham, but now the killers are back. What's gone wrong?". The Times. London. Retrieved 3 April 2009.
  5. "'Words not weapons' tackle city gangs". BBC News. 17 February 2009. Retrieved 3 April 2009.
  6. "Red tape stifling attempts to tackle Birmingham gun crime—claim".
  7. "Close-up on gang culture". Yorkshire Evening Post. 19 March 2009. Retrieved 3 April 2009.
  8. "Who's afraid of the hood?". BBC Birmingham. 17 July 2008. Retrieved 3 April 2009.
  9. "Former Birmingham police officer Kirk Dawes on helping young people to avoid gang life". Sky News. 31 December 2008. Retrieved 3 April 2009.
  10. "Street Weapons Commission—Birmingham—Tues 13 May 2008".
  11. "UNCORRECTED TRANSCRIPT OF ORAL EVIDENCE To be published as HC 112-vi House of COMMONS MINUTES OF EVIDENCE TAKEN BEFORE HOME AFFAIRS COMMITTEE KNIFE CRIME". 10 March 2009. Retrieved 3 April 2009.
  12. "Gangs, Young People and Violence" (pdf). London South Bank University. 2007. Retrieved 3 April 2009.
  13. "Young black people and criminal justice". King's College London. 7 December 2007. Retrieved 3 April 2009.


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