"I’m here to break down barriers between us and the travelling community" - #BehindTheBadge
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"I’m here to break down barriers between us and the travelling community"
Martin Rone-Clarke is our in-Force liaison with the Gypsy, Roma, and Traveller community, and has been with Warwickshire Police since 1990.
He kindly spoke to us about his role-turned-vocation in this week's #BehindTheBadge.
Stay with us to the end to see where you can find out more about Gypsy, Roma, and Traveller communities throughout June, and to let us know what you think we should do with #BehindTheBadge next.
"I’m a Gypsy, Roma, and Traveller (GRT) Liaison Adviser, so that means that anything to do with the gypsy or traveller community and the police, I will nearly always have some form of involvement.
"I’m here to break down barriers between us and the travelling community, building and sustaining trust and confidence.
"In 1990 I joined Warwickshire Police – I did my first five years on the beat.
"It wasn’t until I started as a Community Cohesion Officer in 2005 that I started to really understand and work with the community.
"I became fascinated by the history, rich culture and diverse way of life, cultures that have been maintained through the long historic Gypsy and Traveller journey over hundreds of years.
"I retired as a cop in 2019 after 29 years’ service, but I came back after a couple of months to continue in this role, which had become a huge part of who I am.
"It is encouraging to see the significant changes in our engagement with the GRT community in Warwickshire.
"Through education and people understanding more about the reality of who Gypsies and Travellers are, we have encouraged officers to look at things differently, to go onto sites and engage with the community
"My views of Gypsies and Travellers as a young cop was very different. Like the majority of the general public, I only saw the negatives.
"As soon as I started that engagement process and started to meet people that had similar values to me, I realised what I had been missing.
"In 1990 I did not have any training to educate me on GRT culture and the History.
"I had never had the opportunity to speak to a Gypsy or a Traveller other than in an enforcement capacity.
"I never got to share a cup of tea in a spotless caravan.
"I certainly would never have believed that Police colleagues and other professionals or even Michael Caine and Charlie Chaplin were Gypsy or Traveller heritage people.
"I had no idea that so many have to mask their ethnicity in order to succeed and avoid persecution.
"If I had the knowledge and understanding that I now have, my perception and response would have been very different.
"My experiences have shown me the evidence that levels of criminal activity or antisocial behaviour are no different within the Gypsy Roma Traveller Communities than any other community.
"I am proud to be one of few Gorgers (non-Travellers) who are members of the Gypsy Roma Traveller Police Association.
"I am pleased that in Warwickshire we are seeing some of those changes take place.
"Prejudice against gypsies and travellers is one of the last bastions of racism that is still widely acceptable within society.
"It is still somehow widely acceptable to use derogatory language against Gypsies and Travellers, which is shocking.
"We should be challenging racism wherever we find it.
"This is part of why I’m so passionate about it.
"I have always wanted to help and make change where I can, and sometimes the changes take a long time.
"I’m now in a place where there’s people that I call friends within the community, who I speak to every week.
"I’ve spent 20 years building up relationships, my phone is full of numbers – I’m not ready to let that go yet, so retirement will have to wait for now.
"I’m often asked – “how do we engage with Gypsies and Travellers?” My answer is always, go and speak with them – bring an open mind, and take it from there. You will be surprised what you find out.
"If you want to find out more about people from our Gypsy, Roma, and Traveller communities, we’re running roadshows up and down the county during Gypsy Roma Traveller History Month (June).
"Come and say hello to members of the GRT communities, who will be more than happy to chat and answer any questions you have."
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Gypsy, Roma, and Traveller History Month Roadshows
Monday 16 June
10am – 2pm
Walsall Central Library
Lichfield Street, Walsall, WS1 1TR
Thursday 19 June
10am – 2:30pm
Rugby library and Information Centre
Little Elborow Street, Rugby, CV21 3BZ
Friday 20 June
10am – 2:30pm
Refugee event: Shire Hall, Warwickshire County Council
Shire Hall, Market Place, Warwick, CV34 4RL
Tuesday 24 June
10am – 2:30pm
Bedworth library and Information Centre
18 High Street, Bedworth, CV12 8NF
Wednesday 25 June
10am – 2:30pm
Leamington Spa library
Leamington Library, Royal Pump Rooms, Parade, Parade, Leamington Spa CV32 4AA
Thursday 26 June
10am – 2:30pm
Stratford Upon Avon library
12 Henley St, Stratford-upon-Avon, CV37 6PZ
Friday 27 June
10am – 2:30pm
Bidford on Avon library
Bramley Way, Bidford-on-Avon, Warwickshire, B50 4QG