Meet York Regional Police Member: Sergeant Jeremy Brewster

Sergeant Jeremy Brewster began his policing career in the United Kingdom, serving as a police officer for seven years before moving to Canada and joining York Regional Police.

In recognition of Black History Month, we joined Sergeant Brewster to reflect on his career and his experience as a Black police officer.

He now serves in the York Regional Police Recruiting Unit, where he continues to build on his early career experience by supporting and inspiring the next generation of officers in York Region.

For Sergeant Brewster, family support played an important role in his decision to pursue policing.

“If they weren’t supportive, I don’t know that I would have survived,” he said. “But they just said to keep strong and keep moving forward because they knew that there needed to be more Black police officers, because then the relationships would ultimately get better.”

He noted that experiences can vary for Black officers in policing.

“Some other Black officers that I knew lost friends and family members over their decision to join the police, which was always a shame,” he said. “But the only way to combat that is diversity and to have more representation, and for Black police officers to be up front and centre so people can see that. And when they do, they’ll want to join because it is a great job and a great career.”

Sergeant Brewster has served the York Region community for nearly 20 years and continues his work in recruitment, helping future officers pursue careers in policing.