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Forced Out: A Detective's Story of Prejudice and Resilience
Kevin Maxwell was a dream candidate for the police force - he had a long-held desire to serve his community, a strong moral compass and a clear aptitude for both the strategic and practical aspects of policing. And, as a gay black man from a working class family, he could easily have been a poster boy for the force's stated commitment to equal opportunities. Joining just after the 9/11 attacks, Kevin entered policing determined to keep communities safe in the face of a changing world. But instead he came up against entrenched prejudice, open racism and homophobia. For more than ten years, Kevin strove against the odds, until he took the force to an employment tribunal - with devastating results. 'FORCED OUT' is a revelatory expose combining deeply affecting memoir with sharp analysis and a fascinating insider perspective on day-to-day life in the force. It is a touchstone for the silent many who have either tried to ignore abuse for the sake of their career or who have been bullied out of their jobs. It paints a sobering portrait of an institution that has not yet learned the lessons of the past and whose prejudice is informing the cases it chooses to investigate and the way it investigates them. And it asks the important question: what needs to change?
RUNNING TIME ⇒ 11hrs. and 19mins.
©2020 Kevin Maxwell (P)2020 W.F. Howes Ltd
RUNNING TIME ⇒ 11hrs. and 19mins.
©2020 Kevin Maxwell (P)2020 W.F. Howes Ltd
Audible Audio
First published May 7, 2020
12 people are currently reading
529 people want to read
About the author
Kevin Maxwell
2 books11 followersKevin Maxwell served as a detective in both the Greater Manchester and London’s Metropolitan Police forces. He now writes and advocates for social justice and equality. He has written for newspapers and magazines including the Independent and the Guardian, and has appeared on television and radio for the BBC and Sky News.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
January 10, 2021
Usually I pay little attention to the readership of a book. But with Forced Out I wanted to know its readership, how people on Goodreads had responded to it and where they were based. David Olusoga has observed (with reference to BLM) that the UK often took its lead from the USA when it came to issues connected to racism. Issues closer to home often were overlooked. (A point that was shown when quite a few BLM interviewees, following the demonstration in Bristol, happily trotted out dead phrases that they did not understand, but the sort of language that rolls from academic books written in the USA, and quoted Rosa Parks as being a key character in UK history!) Interestingly, the readership of this book (on Goodreads) is almost exclusively UK based. That is hopeful: the book has struck a chord in the right place. Not so encouraging, however, are the comments made about the book. It either scores five stars (without any explanation) or attracts explanations that are often critical, describing it as dull, bland, and without charisma.
These negative terms are of course opinions and everyone it entitled to their opinions. But there is something disturbing about these pejorative terms — they assume something about the book, namely, that it should be entertaining and filled with emotion, it should be filled with heart on the sleeve confessions and replete with persuasive charm. Why? There is almost a sense on which a stereotype hangs over this: the Black male as minstrel or hambone, a comedian-commentator, amusing readers with his hysterically black stories.
Forced Out does not operate in this way. Just as Frederick Douglass wrote his Narrative to demonstrate that African-Americans could read and write (and thereby destabilise racist assumptions) so Maxwell’s book proves that a Black male is capable of rational thinking – thinking that is self-reflective and critical and in all ways superior to his masters, the Police Force’s managers. The tone of Forced Out is objective, analytical, forensic, exactly what one would expect of a high achieving detective. Indeed the book was written as therapy, as Maxwell says at the close, but the writing is nonetheless characterised by its author’s wish to follow facts and draw conclusions, not to draw sympathy by manipulative language – he had after all heard enough of that within the police force.
Essentially, the book charts a rise and fall: the rise of a young boy whose ideal presents were Lego police officers and cars; the fall of the young man who saw a professional dream collapse as a result of racism and homophobia. A Black gay identity is not an easy one, especially within institutions that can erase prejudice with comments such as “life is hard.” On a number of occasions, Forced Out refers to the Stephen Lawrence Enquiry and its demand for change. Such is entirely justified. Institutions have not evolved since the Macpherson report. The police, the NHS, teaching, they all have managed to gloss over their prejudices. Most reviews of Forced Out have focused on police corruption. But the book goes much wider than that: it shows bit by bit how the police, the medical profession, those involved in training and education, and the corrupt heart of many institutions, human resources, failed a human being miserably, to the point where they inflicted misery and mental collapse. Heidegger, with great insight, attacked the term “human resources” because it linked individuality to a form of economic production, a link that devalued the intrinsic value of an individual. There is an existential quality to Forced Out as a human being is mocked for being Black, for being gay, for being truthful, and slowly reduced to a resource that can be dispensed with without care or concern.
To read Forced Out as a memoir is a mistake. This is a piece of social research that is informative and incisive. Much like the Stephen Lawrence Enquiry the writing, at times, becomes heavy. But the weighty parts often contain moments of real shock. Racism is not just in the offensive word: it persists in tones, in how medical reports can be worded or how an email might be written – best to deal with the Maxwell case with "a large Malt in hand". A disturbing, unsettling and courageous book.
These negative terms are of course opinions and everyone it entitled to their opinions. But there is something disturbing about these pejorative terms — they assume something about the book, namely, that it should be entertaining and filled with emotion, it should be filled with heart on the sleeve confessions and replete with persuasive charm. Why? There is almost a sense on which a stereotype hangs over this: the Black male as minstrel or hambone, a comedian-commentator, amusing readers with his hysterically black stories.
Forced Out does not operate in this way. Just as Frederick Douglass wrote his Narrative to demonstrate that African-Americans could read and write (and thereby destabilise racist assumptions) so Maxwell’s book proves that a Black male is capable of rational thinking – thinking that is self-reflective and critical and in all ways superior to his masters, the Police Force’s managers. The tone of Forced Out is objective, analytical, forensic, exactly what one would expect of a high achieving detective. Indeed the book was written as therapy, as Maxwell says at the close, but the writing is nonetheless characterised by its author’s wish to follow facts and draw conclusions, not to draw sympathy by manipulative language – he had after all heard enough of that within the police force.
Essentially, the book charts a rise and fall: the rise of a young boy whose ideal presents were Lego police officers and cars; the fall of the young man who saw a professional dream collapse as a result of racism and homophobia. A Black gay identity is not an easy one, especially within institutions that can erase prejudice with comments such as “life is hard.” On a number of occasions, Forced Out refers to the Stephen Lawrence Enquiry and its demand for change. Such is entirely justified. Institutions have not evolved since the Macpherson report. The police, the NHS, teaching, they all have managed to gloss over their prejudices. Most reviews of Forced Out have focused on police corruption. But the book goes much wider than that: it shows bit by bit how the police, the medical profession, those involved in training and education, and the corrupt heart of many institutions, human resources, failed a human being miserably, to the point where they inflicted misery and mental collapse. Heidegger, with great insight, attacked the term “human resources” because it linked individuality to a form of economic production, a link that devalued the intrinsic value of an individual. There is an existential quality to Forced Out as a human being is mocked for being Black, for being gay, for being truthful, and slowly reduced to a resource that can be dispensed with without care or concern.
To read Forced Out as a memoir is a mistake. This is a piece of social research that is informative and incisive. Much like the Stephen Lawrence Enquiry the writing, at times, becomes heavy. But the weighty parts often contain moments of real shock. Racism is not just in the offensive word: it persists in tones, in how medical reports can be worded or how an email might be written – best to deal with the Maxwell case with "a large Malt in hand". A disturbing, unsettling and courageous book.
August 1, 2020
Forced Out is a hard read. It took me weeks. I stopped three times to read other things and every time I went back to it I really had to make myself push on. It's not that it's complicated or stylistically challenging. In fact, the straightforward and precise way Kevin Maxwell writes about his life is part of what makes it so difficult.
He's a normal person who somehow found the abnormal strength to challenge first the endemic prejudice within the Metropolitan Police Service and then their unrelenting attempts to destroy him. He writes with a forensic clarity about why he wanted to be a police officer, what happened when he became one and how the entire establishment turned against him when he was finally signed off with depression and admitted out loud that it was the racism and homophobia he experienced at work that had caused it.
The trauma of his subsequent quest for some kind of accountability is relentless. I found it deeply upsetting, bewildering, infuriating and terrifying. I am so pleased he eventually found the strength to tell his story. If you can find the strength to read it, I urge you to, though if you have any faith left in our justice system this will be the end of it.
He's a normal person who somehow found the abnormal strength to challenge first the endemic prejudice within the Metropolitan Police Service and then their unrelenting attempts to destroy him. He writes with a forensic clarity about why he wanted to be a police officer, what happened when he became one and how the entire establishment turned against him when he was finally signed off with depression and admitted out loud that it was the racism and homophobia he experienced at work that had caused it.
The trauma of his subsequent quest for some kind of accountability is relentless. I found it deeply upsetting, bewildering, infuriating and terrifying. I am so pleased he eventually found the strength to tell his story. If you can find the strength to read it, I urge you to, though if you have any faith left in our justice system this will be the end of it.
June 8, 2020
Kevin Maxwell, a black gay man who grew up in Toxteth in the wake of the riots, only ever had one ambition: to join the police. When he grew up to do so he found, despite the 1999 MacPherson Report and the subsequent BBC programme The Secret Policeman, an organisation that was institutionally racist and homophobic. For over ten years he avoided making trouble, knowing that making complaints about the everyday prejudice he witnessed would make him out among his colleagues as a "snitch". During this time he rose through the ranks to join the CID and eventually become a counter-terrorism operative at Heathrow airport.
Eventually the stresses of the job and the experience of working so long in a racist environment triggered a severe and incapacitating depression. Rather than give him the time he needed to recover, the Metropolitan Police cut his wages and put him under constant pressure, including secretly briefing journalists at News International to publish lies about him.
This book is a thorough and gripping chronicle of Maxwell's time in the police, unmasking the shocking levels of prejudice that are baked into the organisation. I read it all in one sitting.
Eventually the stresses of the job and the experience of working so long in a racist environment triggered a severe and incapacitating depression. Rather than give him the time he needed to recover, the Metropolitan Police cut his wages and put him under constant pressure, including secretly briefing journalists at News International to publish lies about him.
This book is a thorough and gripping chronicle of Maxwell's time in the police, unmasking the shocking levels of prejudice that are baked into the organisation. I read it all in one sitting.
January 19, 2021
Despite only giving it 3 stars, I would still recommend people read it. The content and the author's experiences are really important, I just found the writing style quite dry and at times confusing, particularly in relation to the employment tribunals. Employment tribunals and general legal proceedings are confusing at the best of times so to have them explained by anyone other than a lawyer made it frustrating to read. Understandable though given that Maxwell's neither a lawyer nor an author (in the sense that he didn't intend to be an author, he is clearly in a very literal sense an author...). As I say, still worth reading though. Maxwell's experiences of racism, homophobia and general dickheadery from the police is sadly unsurprising but nonetheless important to read about.
July 7, 2020
This book questions to the core how an establishment with such clear prejudice and racism can really protect and serve the people? After all, this book shows that they don’t even respect the differences in ‘their own’.
More than anything else after reading this book, I feel disappointment. I’ve had questionable experiences with the police, read articles, and seen way too many videos that show how police discriminate certain groups of people, but to read so clear cut from an insider’s first-hand account how they treat their staff and intentionally target people is madness. I hate tick boxing exercises but HELLO!!! This is someone who could have really helped the force. A gay, black man, from the hood who signed up to the force off of his own back, and the results. STOP IT!
On a side note, I appreciated the information but found the writing tone of this book to be really bland. the exposé was informative, but the memoir was dry, there was no charisma to it. The information and insight that came from the book are the most important, so I can live without it being engaging.
Full review over at my website: https://www.frizzandgo.com/blog/force...
Gifted by Granta Books.
More than anything else after reading this book, I feel disappointment. I’ve had questionable experiences with the police, read articles, and seen way too many videos that show how police discriminate certain groups of people, but to read so clear cut from an insider’s first-hand account how they treat their staff and intentionally target people is madness. I hate tick boxing exercises but HELLO!!! This is someone who could have really helped the force. A gay, black man, from the hood who signed up to the force off of his own back, and the results. STOP IT!
On a side note, I appreciated the information but found the writing tone of this book to be really bland. the exposé was informative, but the memoir was dry, there was no charisma to it. The information and insight that came from the book are the most important, so I can live without it being engaging.
Full review over at my website: https://www.frizzandgo.com/blog/force...
Gifted by Granta Books.
June 8, 2020
Maxwell adopts a documentary style memoir, to share with the reader his experience as a black gay policeman in the UK.
Maxwell’s tells his story gently, with complete honesty and openness, and calm and dignity. He takes his time to provide detail, even cross referencing to a notes section, detailing newspaper articles, letters and reports that I intend to use to continue my education and awareness of the prejudice and discrimination still so present in our world, and on our doorstep.
Maxwell is kind, honest and just, and it is quite frankly terrifying to think that the very place you expect to uphold these values, dedicated so much effort to oust them from being displayed.
As much as this book evokes frustration, shock, sadness and anger...throughout it all, through Maxwell’s strength and resilience, it feels more a story of hope, and of a man who has and is inspiring change.
I certainly feel more reflective, and more inspired to contribute to change, although I need to take time to consider what and how that may be.
Maxwell’s tells his story gently, with complete honesty and openness, and calm and dignity. He takes his time to provide detail, even cross referencing to a notes section, detailing newspaper articles, letters and reports that I intend to use to continue my education and awareness of the prejudice and discrimination still so present in our world, and on our doorstep.
Maxwell is kind, honest and just, and it is quite frankly terrifying to think that the very place you expect to uphold these values, dedicated so much effort to oust them from being displayed.
As much as this book evokes frustration, shock, sadness and anger...throughout it all, through Maxwell’s strength and resilience, it feels more a story of hope, and of a man who has and is inspiring change.
I certainly feel more reflective, and more inspired to contribute to change, although I need to take time to consider what and how that may be.
July 18, 2022
Kevin Maxwell, from Liverpool, had always wanted to be a policeman. He is mixed race (father Black, mother white) and gay, and he had no idea of the racism and homophobia that existed (and probably still exists) in the UK police force. This book is an exhaustive account of his time in the force, the impact it took on his mental health, and finally, their attempts to force him out.
As in the US, the UK is trying to attract minority applicants to its police force before it has rooted out the racism and homophobia in the rank and file, which has caused a number of high ranking officers to leave, though perhaps none so publicly as Maxwell.
The book is written in a somewhat calm, matter-of-fact style and contains a lot of detail about the police, his training, and the legal maneuverings to try to quietly get rid of him. This detail did two things for me: there was so much of it made me lose the thread of the narrative at times, especially as an American, and it confirmed the truthful nature of the account of his treatment.
I don't know why I expected something different, but it was so depressing to read that the police force in the UK is not so different from that in the US.
This should be required reading for everyone in the UK and US and everyone who is in any kind of position of power.
4.5 rounded to 5
As in the US, the UK is trying to attract minority applicants to its police force before it has rooted out the racism and homophobia in the rank and file, which has caused a number of high ranking officers to leave, though perhaps none so publicly as Maxwell.
The book is written in a somewhat calm, matter-of-fact style and contains a lot of detail about the police, his training, and the legal maneuverings to try to quietly get rid of him. This detail did two things for me: there was so much of it made me lose the thread of the narrative at times, especially as an American, and it confirmed the truthful nature of the account of his treatment.
I don't know why I expected something different, but it was so depressing to read that the police force in the UK is not so different from that in the US.
This should be required reading for everyone in the UK and US and everyone who is in any kind of position of power.
4.5 rounded to 5
June 24, 2020
It's a good book about how prejudice and, more importantly the dishonesty, and manipulative cynicism that the police use to evade scrutiny. The only problem is that employment law and tribunals are a bit dull all in. Glad I read it, admire the author, but didn't love it.
October 24, 2025
Kevin Maxwell opens Forced Out with stories of his very happy childhood, raised by a single mother in Liverpool. His one dream is to become a police officer. So much so, he memorises the ranks of police officers, has police themed toys and lists his many youth achievements which all seem to be geared towards him signing up to the force. This context is important and is very much needed, as it is important to understand why Maxwell stayed despite all the hardship he faced during his time with the force.
The role of the police in the UK has always been contentious and without a doubt controversial. From Hillsborough to Stephen Lawrence, Mark Duggan and cases like Sarah Everard, there has been multiple documented cases of the UK police force exhibiting systemic racism, misogyny, transphobia and homophobia. Taking into account this history, it is hard to understand why Maxwell wanted to join the police. He understands the context yet despite everything, he stays for much longer than one ever should.
Although the conclusion from this book is clear, that all the faults of the police is systemic, Maxwell is at great pains to show that he is different. Some of the anecdotes about him being different from his colleagues, at times feel a little self serving? Although Maxwell may be different, initially there is little accountability in his role in perpetuating a system that has actively harmed people. However, it is during his time with the counter terrorism unit at Heathrow, that Maxwell becomes a whistle blower and seems to realise the harms of policing, even if he is "one of the good ones".
We follow Maxwell as he begins his training, starts with the Greater Manchester Police moves to the to the Metropolitan police and eventually at his employment tribunal against the police. Maxwell is a Black and gay, as far as the police is concerned, he has a target on his back. Maxwell recounts countless incidences of racist and homophobic abuse in pain-inducing detail. No matter what he does, no matter how brilliant he is at his job (which he clearly is), he is constantly shamed and targeted.
Maxwell is clearly a stickler for the details and it is no more apparent in this book, every incident is laid out clearly with no emotion. But it is Maxwell's steely determination which gives colour to the book. Despite this, it is hard to not feel devastated for Maxwell, at every turn, the force try to make his life as miserable as possible, stopping his pay, leaking his details to the Sun ultimately this causes such psychological distress that Maxwells' marriage breaks down and he is forced to live in sheltered accommodation, ironically called the Clink. Maxwell's battle with the police is bitter and I hope he is now living a much more peaceful and healthier life. What is disappointing, is that this book could have been written right now, despite the events affecting Maxwell occurred in the early 2000s. The recent events in Charing Cross Police Station suggests that little has moved and the police force is entrenched in its own bitter ways.
The role of the police in the UK has always been contentious and without a doubt controversial. From Hillsborough to Stephen Lawrence, Mark Duggan and cases like Sarah Everard, there has been multiple documented cases of the UK police force exhibiting systemic racism, misogyny, transphobia and homophobia. Taking into account this history, it is hard to understand why Maxwell wanted to join the police. He understands the context yet despite everything, he stays for much longer than one ever should.
Although the conclusion from this book is clear, that all the faults of the police is systemic, Maxwell is at great pains to show that he is different. Some of the anecdotes about him being different from his colleagues, at times feel a little self serving? Although Maxwell may be different, initially there is little accountability in his role in perpetuating a system that has actively harmed people. However, it is during his time with the counter terrorism unit at Heathrow, that Maxwell becomes a whistle blower and seems to realise the harms of policing, even if he is "one of the good ones".
We follow Maxwell as he begins his training, starts with the Greater Manchester Police moves to the to the Metropolitan police and eventually at his employment tribunal against the police. Maxwell is a Black and gay, as far as the police is concerned, he has a target on his back. Maxwell recounts countless incidences of racist and homophobic abuse in pain-inducing detail. No matter what he does, no matter how brilliant he is at his job (which he clearly is), he is constantly shamed and targeted.
Maxwell is clearly a stickler for the details and it is no more apparent in this book, every incident is laid out clearly with no emotion. But it is Maxwell's steely determination which gives colour to the book. Despite this, it is hard to not feel devastated for Maxwell, at every turn, the force try to make his life as miserable as possible, stopping his pay, leaking his details to the Sun ultimately this causes such psychological distress that Maxwells' marriage breaks down and he is forced to live in sheltered accommodation, ironically called the Clink. Maxwell's battle with the police is bitter and I hope he is now living a much more peaceful and healthier life. What is disappointing, is that this book could have been written right now, despite the events affecting Maxwell occurred in the early 2000s. The recent events in Charing Cross Police Station suggests that little has moved and the police force is entrenched in its own bitter ways.
February 7, 2021
I thought I'd kick off LGBT+ History Month with a bit of recent history. Forced Out is the autobiography of Kevin Maxwell, a black, gay man and a former Metropolitan police officer, who took the force to an employment tribunal and won due to their entrenched culture of homophobia and racism. Maxwell's story is honestly a deeply dispiriting read, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't read it. Essentially it tracks his disillusionment with the force, opening with him as an optimistic and precocious child who has dreamed of serving his community as a police officer from an early age. Even when his colleagues treat him atrociously, excluding him, hurling slurs in his direction and denying him promotions, Maxwell is driven by an incredibly resilient desire to fulfil his childhood dream and serve the citizens of his community. The book is written with very little emotion, in spite of the emotional and upsetting nature of its subject matter, which I think might put some people off. But for me, the detailed and forensic nature of the writing makes it clear that Maxwell must have been a hell of detective and that the force lost one of their brightest the day they forced him out. Forced Out is a damning indictment of the culture of the British police force, and while it offers very little hope to its readers that change is incoming from within the force, I think the issues it raises are important for people to be aware of in order to build the demand for a police service that is inclusive to all.
June 5, 2024
Struggled to get through this one. Definitely an important account of racism in modern policing, however for all of the injustice done to Maxwell, he just can't tell a story, and/or the book was not edited enough.
The start of the book is done well enough and explains Maxwell's upbringing and basis for his perspective, but the book loses the plot after the first 4 or 5 chapters, falling away into what feels like a convoluted mess of complaints, reports, tribals, hearings and accusations.
I don't doubt Maxwell suffered racism and homophobia at all, but I feel he does not do a good job of getting the reader to follow him along and 'feel for him'. A lot of times, I was reading passages that came across as...
'Inspector Plod referred me to the DFF due to my failing to submit form H54 on time, which was contra to section 5C of the Compliances Act 2018 but not regulation 233A of the associated legislation, which I was well aware of due to my stint as a compliance officer for the MPS Compliance Board who met every Thursday morning before 11am but not after 10:30am due to a scheduling clash. I was to be reprimanded by an independent panel who were not independent as one of the members had served cakes to Commissioner Wallace at a morning tea event in 1974. I was shocked to realise that despite the promise of fair treatment, I would, in fact, receive unfair treatment.'
I think the injustice and harrassment/bullying experienced by Maxwell is/was abhorrent, but the read was not engaging or personable.
The start of the book is done well enough and explains Maxwell's upbringing and basis for his perspective, but the book loses the plot after the first 4 or 5 chapters, falling away into what feels like a convoluted mess of complaints, reports, tribals, hearings and accusations.
I don't doubt Maxwell suffered racism and homophobia at all, but I feel he does not do a good job of getting the reader to follow him along and 'feel for him'. A lot of times, I was reading passages that came across as...
'Inspector Plod referred me to the DFF due to my failing to submit form H54 on time, which was contra to section 5C of the Compliances Act 2018 but not regulation 233A of the associated legislation, which I was well aware of due to my stint as a compliance officer for the MPS Compliance Board who met every Thursday morning before 11am but not after 10:30am due to a scheduling clash. I was to be reprimanded by an independent panel who were not independent as one of the members had served cakes to Commissioner Wallace at a morning tea event in 1974. I was shocked to realise that despite the promise of fair treatment, I would, in fact, receive unfair treatment.'
I think the injustice and harrassment/bullying experienced by Maxwell is/was abhorrent, but the read was not engaging or personable.
May 22, 2023
A book that pulled me out of my reading funk - didn’t have to force myself to read along, I genuinely couldn’t get enough of it. I’ve never been naive enough to think racism and homophobia doesn’t exist within police forces but seeing Kevin Maxwell’s experiences laid out from start to finish made for quiet a harrowing read. Has left me sceptical to the possibility of change within institutions who’s core values not only allow racism and homophobia to taint their motives but also encourage and reward it. The ‘Force’s’ insistence of inaction has had devastating consequences for multiple of their dutiful officers but this book sheds a glaring light on the ugliness that has so long been hidden. Maxwell’s honest and emotive recount is both brave and saddening. A tough but necessary read.
May 12, 2021
This was a fantastic read. It is incredibly honest and you really empathasise with Kevin as he shares his story of racism & homophobia and the depression it led to in his life. Such a loss of talent. The book shows how the MET and Manchester Police pay lip service to inclusion and diversity in their respective organisation.
Frightening to see how endemic racism and homophobia is the British police forces.
Frightening to see how endemic racism and homophobia is the British police forces.
August 23, 2023
An interesting insight in to policing, before the forcing out - as the title states.
Whilst I deplore what happened to Maxwell, the book for me was just slightly over detailed and I found it quite hard going.
It’s still a recommendation for anyone interested in this genre, but for me, three out of five.
Whilst I deplore what happened to Maxwell, the book for me was just slightly over detailed and I found it quite hard going.
It’s still a recommendation for anyone interested in this genre, but for me, three out of five.
August 11, 2024
Important to consume this to increase awareness. It was digestable despite the somewhat difficult and what one could consider heavy topic, but having everyday relevance. I appreciate the candidness of the author, as well persistence to shed light on this level of discrimination and continuous tendency of the police to create a working environment perpetuating hate, power-tripping, discrimination and allowance of police brutality even when unacounted for - all often hidden, dismissed, with price paid by those who dare to call out the unhealthy and unacceptable practices.
June 30, 2025
The more I read this book the more bored I got.
It seemed everyone the author encountered was either racist or homophobic.
I went from having sympathy for him to becoming really quite drained by hearing his constant misery.
If this really is how it happened it must have been intolerably awful.
It seemed everyone the author encountered was either racist or homophobic.
I went from having sympathy for him to becoming really quite drained by hearing his constant misery.
If this really is how it happened it must have been intolerably awful.
July 25, 2020
Kevin’s story is shocking and needs to be told. I feel proud on his behalf for his resilience and determination to fight what I was right. The police clearly have systemic homophobia, racism and sexism which needs to be addressed ... yesterday
August 20, 2021
more like a 3.5 for me.
Really interesting account but so very detailed that it tired me in parts.
I guess the story is meant to convey frustration with the legal system as well and that is surely coming across on paper.
Definitely a necessary read for everyone.
Really interesting account but so very detailed that it tired me in parts.
I guess the story is meant to convey frustration with the legal system as well and that is surely coming across on paper.
Definitely a necessary read for everyone.
January 17, 2023
A truly insightful and educational insight into Maxwell's experience of racism in the force and was captivated by his account to begin with. However, the writing style did become dry in places and particularly during the end when discussing the employment tribunal, the book was hard to follow.
August 22, 2020
This book was ok at best
Read
September 21, 2020An important book, but not the most interesting one.
However, I hope it will do something to challenge racism/homophobia/sexism in one of GB's most established institutions.
However, I hope it will do something to challenge racism/homophobia/sexism in one of GB's most established institutions.
September 30, 2020
A must read for anyone wanting to understand systemic racism in UK policing. Not just against members of the public, but its own officers. Harrowing and damning.
November 27, 2020
This book is important and highlights a problem that needs to change.
December 1, 2020
In depth writing of the racism in the police and the strength of the boys club and Mason's. Show how drip drip of bullying can crush the brightest star. Black lives do matter.
March 3, 2022
Insightful however not an objective read
May 25, 2022
Nobodys safe, unless you're white British
September 18, 2022
Very insightful but was hard going to complete. Wasn’t a book could enjoy in a few sittings.
January 15, 2023
fantastic and heartbreaking - i would recommend everyone read
Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews