Victor Olisa, 52, a Biochemistry graduate from Warri-Delta State, Nigeria has been appointed the first black Commander for the Rexley local council in London.
Mr. Olisa is one of the three chief superintendents from black minority ethnic background working for the Metropolitan Police.
When asked by a reporter if his colour had help him anyway in getting to where he is today, an elated Olisa said,
“I consider myself first and foremost a police officer. If being black is an advantage, then brilliant; If it’s a disadvantage, I will have to deal with that, I can’t hide it.”
“I am impeccably against anyone who uses racist language or behaves in a racist manner. This will not be allowed under my watch…I believe that everyone should be treated with dignity wherever they come from,’’ he added.
Back in his paternal country Nigeria, the police job is viewed with disdain owing to the corrupt practices of the bad eggs and poor remuneration, but his own foray into the police business can be said to be innate.
“Policing runs in the family and I have always wanted to be a police officer” he noted.
Mr Olisa’s grandfather and two of his uncles have served in the Nigerian Police Force.
Read his profile below
Superintendent Victor Olisa joined the Surrey Police in 1982. He worked in uniform and the criminal investigation department up to the rank of Sergeant. He transferred to the City of London Police in 1990 where he worked in various departments and spent three years in theFraud Squad as a detective inspector in charge of one of the investigative teams.
In September 2003 he went on secondment to the Home Office to work on Stop and Search as part of the Race Unit, a small team in the Office for Criminal Justice Reform. During his two and ahalf years at the Home Office, the team’s work was influential in developing models for improving the effectiveness of stop and search. During that time, he also served at the Police Staff College at Bramshill as a contributor to the Strategic Command course.
He transferred to the Metropolitan Police Service in April 2006 on promotion to Superintendent and worked in Southwark in a variety of senior management roles including that of officer incharge of police partnerships in the borough.
From Oct 2009 to Dec 2010 Superintendent Olisa led the work on one of the Commissioner’s strategic priorities for delivering safety and confidence to Londoners: Professionalism. In December 2010 he took on responsibility for leading the Metropolitan Police Service’s Stop andSearch Team.
In 1982 Superintendent Olisa joined the Surrey Police immediately after receiving a degree in biochemistry. When asked in 2002 why he became a Police Officer, he replied We have a long history of policing in my family. My grandfather and two of my uncles were police officers ‐ all three served in the Nigerian Police. I enjoyed my biochemistry degree immensely because it involved a great deal of practical work, but in occupational terms the tasks were regular, routine, and mechanical, which did not inspire me at all. The police service was recruiting graduates at the time and I was concluding my degree ‐ the lure was irresistible.
Superintendent Olisa was awarded a Ph.D. in Criminology from the London School of Economics
in 2005.