Doncaster police officer building trust and connections with the Polish community one conversation at a time
A Doncaster neighbourhood officer has spoken of his mission to strengthen ties between the force and the city’s Polish community - using his own heritage and background as the driving force behind his ambitions.
PC Michal Kolasa, who is 24, moved to Doncaster from his native Poland when he was 11 years old.
From a young age, he’d always had aspirations of joining the police and when he saw police officers in Doncaster he knew where his career was heading.
“It lit a spark in me when I saw police officers over here and in the communities, and I thought ‘I want to be part of that’.”
That spark never faded. At 17, PC Kolasa joined the police cadets, spending a year learning the foundations of policing before heading to university.
While studying, he volunteered as a Special Constable, gaining frontline experience and a deeper understanding of the communities he hoped to serve.
After graduating, he joined South Yorkshire Police as a regular officer, starting out in response before moving to Doncaster Central Neighbourhood Policing Team in January last year.
Although he enjoyed the fast pace of response policing, PC Kolasa found himself drawn to the problem‑solving and relationship‑building that came with being part of a neighbourhood policing team.
Working proactively in this role, he has used his lived experience and language skills to support Doncaster’s sizable Polish population, making sure they felt seen, heard and supported.
One of his first initiatives was arranging for himself and colleagues to attend a major Polish community event at a local church. Knowing how valuable face‑to‑face engagement can be, he organised for Central NPT to have a stall at the community event so attendees could speak directly with officers about concerns or questions.
“Over 200 people were present at the event which is an important event in the Polish calendar and it set the benchmark for showing that officers care about the views of the Polish community in Doncaster and inspired greater integration and connections between them.”
Building on that success, PC Kolasa arranged a second engagement session – this time with a Polish scout group in Intake. Alongside two colleagues, he spoke with 30 to 40 children aged eight to 12, helping to build trust with younger members of the community and showing them that police officers are approachable, supportive and part of their world.
Language, PC Kolasa says, remains one of the biggest barriers. As a fluent Polish speaker, he often acts as an interpreter, helping residents feel comfortable enough to share concerns.
“The reactions and the look on people’s faces when they realise I can speak in Polish is brilliant; it’s particularly important for the older generation who can’t speak English well.”
He wants people to know that a language barrier should never stop them from reporting anything to us or voicing any concerns they might have.
“It’s a shame because I think people are scared or embarrassed to report incidents to us or tell us anything because they’re worried they won’t be understood but people need to know that we have interpreters who can get involved when they report a crime.
“Even if your English is broken or you don’t know any at all, help is there for you, so please don’t let that stop you from speaking to us because we are always ready to listen.”
The response to his work has been overwhelmingly positive, and PC Kolasa says he feels completely at home in neighbourhood policing.
“I think it’s something I was born to do. I like helping people and to be able to engage with communities across Doncaster, including my native Polish community, is just fantastic.”
Looking ahead, he hopes to make these engagement events a regular fixture.
“I hope to see more members of the Polish community engaging with us. I’m already planning more events and I would love to make it a regular thing every month or so.
“I want to focus on continuing to strengthen those relationships and show Polish people living in Doncaster that we are here, we will listen and we care about you.
“At the same time, please speak to us, engage with us and let us help you. Let’s trust each other and solve problems together.”