Forced Out: A Detective’s Story of Prejudice and Resilience – Kevin Maxwell
£9.99
Roedd Kevin Maxwell yn ymgeisydd breuddwydiol i’r heddlu – roedd ganddo awydd hirsefydlog i wasanaethu ei gymuned, cwmpawd moesol cryf a thueddfryd clir ar gyfer agweddau strategol ac ymarferol plismona. Ac, fel dyn du hoyw o deulu dosbarth gweithiol, gallai yn hawdd fod wedi bod yn fachgen poster am ymrwymiad datganedig yr heddlu i gyfle cyfartal.
Gan ymuno ychydig ar ôl ymosodiadau 9/11, aeth Kevin i mewn i blismona a oedd yn benderfynol o gadw cymunedau’n ddiogel yn wyneb byd sy’n newid. Ond yn lle hynny fe ddaeth i fyny yn erbyn rhagfarn sydd wedi hen ymwreiddio, hiliaeth agored a homoffobia. Am fwy na deng mlynedd, fe wnaeth Kevin ymdrechu yn erbyn yr ods, nes iddo fynd â’r heddlu i dribiwnlys cyflogaeth – gyda chanlyniadau dinistriol.
Mae Forced Out yn ddatguddiad dadlennol sy’n cyfuno cofiant sy’n effeithio’n ddwfn gyda dadansoddiad craff a phersbectif mewnol diddorol ar fywyd beunyddiol yr heddlu. Mae’n garreg gyffwrdd i’r llawer distaw sydd naill ai wedi ceisio anwybyddu camdriniaeth er mwyn eu gyrfa neu sydd wedi cael eu bwlio allan o’u swyddi. Mae’n paentio portread sobreiddiol o sefydliad nad yw eto wedi dysgu gwersi’r gorffennol ac y mae ei ragfarn yn llywio’r achosion y mae’n dewis ymchwilio iddynt a’r ffordd y mae’n ymchwilio iddynt. Ac mae’n gofyn y cwestiwn pwysig: beth sydd angen ei newid?
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?
