Bexley Special Constable gets an MBE
Friday, 28 October, 2011
One of the longest serving Specials in the Metropolitan Police Service has received an MBE after 38 years of volunteering. Gurcharan Singh Dhesi, a 62-year-old father-of-three, joined the Met in 1973.
The Special Sergeant - known as Dhesi - works with young people and the local community in Bexley Borough.
He said: "It is wonderful to get this award. It's not every day you get the chance to go to Buckingham Palace.
"I met Prince Charles who asked me how long I'd been volunteering, when I told him he was astonished and said well done."
Commissioner Bernard Hogan-Howe said "After 38 years volunteering with the Met by patrolling the streets as a Special, this MBE is thoroughly deserved. I'd like to thank Special Sergeant Gurcharan Singh Dhesi for this commitment to the Met. He has made a fantastic contribution to the policing of London. We are very proud that he has been recognised by such a prestigious award."
Dhesi - a grandfather-of-five, who came to the UK in 1960 after his father died, said: "It is great to see how things have developed in the Met over the past four decades. When I joined there were hardly any people wearing turbans and now there are lots of us."
The Special Sergeant has received other awards from the Met including an Assistant Commissioner's Commendation for dedication and community leadership to policing.
He said: "I have spent more than half my life at the Met and I really love it. I regularly work between 700 and 1000 hours a year. I was asked to work at the Royal wedding in April, which was a real highlight, as the crowds were fantastic.
"I'm not planning to retire just yet and even when I do I'll carry on working with cadets. Being a Special means everything to me."
