Sal Naseem is an award-winning public servant and best-selling author.
He is the former Director for London at the Independent Office for Police Conduct, where he spent the best part of a decade working in the police accountability framework in England and Wales. Sal is currently a Senior Associate Fellow at The Police Foundation and served as an independent panel member at the National Fire Chiefs Council, supporting their work on culture and inclusion, and on the board of the Electoral Commission.
Through Sal’s work in policing as the first South Asian to hold his post at the IOPC, he gained remarkable recognition. Notably, his pioneering efforts exposed the toxic culture inside the Metropolitan Police. As a result, he directly challenged discrimination in all forms and addressed racial disproportionality on both regional and national levels.
Sal has worked on some of the most high-profile misconduct cases featuring the Metropolitan Police Service in recent years. As the Strategic Lead on Discrimination, his work focused on stop & search, racism, misogyny, and police culture. His portfolio of work has been cited by Parliamentary Select Committees, respected academics, and major media outlets. For example, the Guardian highlighted his stop and search work as one of the “key moments in police relations with Britain’s BAME communities since 1999.”
Sal is the author of True North: A Story of Racism, Resilience, and Resisting Systems of Denial. The book explores his life and career and how values-based leadership and moral courage are the catalysts for change, both personal and professional. He has also contributed to several documentaries on policing and appeared in both national and international media.
Sal has been recognised as one of the top 10 voices in the world on anti-discrimination on LinkedIn by Favikon in 2024. Honoured as one of the 50 most influential people driving change in the UK through inclusion in the Diversity Power List 2023/2024, and also recognised as one of the most inspirational leaders on inclusion by D&I Leaders 2024.
As a recognised thought leader and best-selling author, Sal regularly speaks at conferences, universities, and corporate events across the UK and internationally. Because of his storytelling ability, audiences connect with him on challenging issues like leadership, inclusion, and changemaking. As a result, his talks inspire people to reflect on their responsibility in creating a fairer, more inclusive world.
Sal holds a law degree from the University of Glasgow and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. He is the founder of True North Leadership and is currently a Trustee at the Centre for Justice Innovation and Prince Albert Community Trust. Sal is also an Ambassador for White Ribbon UK.
When asked about what anti-racism means to you, Sal says:
“Anti-racism to me it means more than just saying I’m not racist. What it actually means is taking those words and how do you manifest that commitment? What is it you’re actually going to do? And when I say what you’re going to do, it’s about tackling the systems, the cultures, and the conditions which allow racism to not just manifest itself, but actually for it to flourish and exist and impact the lives of so many of us that live in this country.”
