Women in policing in the United Kingdom

Last updated

Women began working as police officers in the United Kingdom as early as December 1915 amidst the First World War. [1] As with other countries, police forces in the UK were entirely male at the start of the 20th century. Their numbers were limited for many decades, but have gradually increased since the 1970s. In England and Wales, 31.2% (40,319) of police officers were female on 31 March 2020. Previously, policewomen made up 28.6% in March 2016, [2] and 23.3% in 2007. [2] Women also make up a majority of the non-sworn police staff. Notable women in British police forces include Cressida Dick, the former commissioner (chief) of the Metropolitan Police Service.

Contents

Cressida Dick, former Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Service in London. Keith Palmer's funeral (006) (cropped).jpg
Cressida Dick, former Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Service in London.

Until 1999, women in the police had their rank title prefixed with the word "Woman", or the letter W in abbreviations (e.g. "WPC" for Constable); this construction is still sometimes used in the press and by individuals. [3] [4] From 1919 until January 1993, female officers' warrant numbers also came from a different series from male officers'. [5]

History

Precursors

Police in Birmingham with a matron in about 1919 Women police staff - Birmingham.jpg
Police in Birmingham with a matron in about 1919

The first women to be employed by the police were matrons. In 1883, the Metropolitan Police recruited its first woman in the role, and within six years had 14. [6] They were tasked with guarding women and children, and were usually wives or relatives of the officers. Apart from London's Metropolitan Police commissioning of a report by a "female on females in custody" in 1907, the police forces did not give any consideration to women being employed as officers until the First World War.

In 1910, five women got together as a group and started to draw the attention of the police authorities to the fact that there were no woman constables, even though many women were temporary prisoners in police custody. Two women in particular sought to point out the lack of a woman constable presence was wrong. They each had a relative in political high office. One of these women was Edith Tancred (1873–1957). [7] She became a campaigner for the requirement of women police. The other was Dorothy Peto. Peto later decided to take the 'administrative path' within the Constabulary for promotion. Both Tancred and Peto were well placed in society to get their views heard. They were soon joined by three other women campaigners, and around 1911 started unofficial street patrols from an office in Bristol "to maintain public morality and decency". A Voluntary Women's Force was created in Bath, Somerset in 1912. In 1914 Peto joined the National Union of Women Workers and made patrols herself. [8] Florence Mildred White left her teaching post at the Godolphin School in 1914 to live and work in the newly created Bath office for women police, where Peto had become the Assistant Patrols Organizer). White stayed at the Bath office until May 1918, working under the supervision of Peto, as a Patrol Officer in the city.

The war deprived the country of able-bodied young men and was a major impetus for the arrival of the first female officers, as well as many comparable developments in other professions. At first, women began organising voluntary police police patrols. These included:

Entry into the profession

In August 1915, Edith Smith became the first British woman to be appointed a police officer with full powers of arrest. [12] Her duties were to deal with cases where women were involved. She was particularly concerned with trying to reduce the number of prostitutes in Grantham who were attracted there by the nearby army base. [13] Female officers were also recruited in Hull and Southampton later that year. [14] Salisbury, Liverpool and Glasgow had twenty women constables already attested by 1919.

Sir Leonard Dunning, His Majesty's Inspector of Constabulary wrote an article in Police Review in 1918. About two of the six pages of his annual report concerned the employment of women in professional police work, including the possibility of them having the powers of arrest. [15] [16] Many chief constables saw the role of women as 'Clerks and Chauffeurs' and thought women could possibly be employed as special constables. [17] The chief constable of Wolverhampton wrote an article in Police Review and Parade Ground Gossip in which he listed a range of duties women could undertake within the Force. [18] On 16 November 1921, the Metropolitan Commissioner of Police, Sir Nevil Macready, who was considered to be setting the standard throughout England, issued an order [8] that with the possibility of women being appointed to the Police Service, these would reflect current requirements for male officers; "a minimum height would be established, though at 5 feet 4 inches this was considerably lower than that for men." Florence Mildred White (see below) was officially documented as being 5 feet 5.5 inches (1.66 m) tall. [19] Macready added that women with dependent young children would be barred from service, women officers were not to be sworn in as constables, and they would not have the right to a pension.

Once police forces had recruited a small number of women, they tended to organise them into separate units. They were typically given jobs that specifically involved arresting or caring for women and children. In 1919, the Metropolitan Police recruited 110 women to be unattested policewomen (i.e. not having powers of arrest) to serve in the Women Police Patrols, led by Superintendent Sofia Stanley. However, in 1922, their numbers were cut to just 24, after a committee of Parliament recommended disbanding them entirely. Similar cuts to women numbers happened in other forces. Ostensibly a result of budget cuts, these happened at a time when the wartime women's rights movements were petering out and in some cases being undone. [6] In 1923, the Women Police Patrols became attested officers and their numbers were increased to 50. [20]

Policewomen in the Birmingham City Police during the inter-war years. Day 63 - Women in Policing (8528664442).jpg
Policewomen in the Birmingham City Police during the inter-war years.
Women police in Hull City in 1940 Women police constables and non uniformed officers 1940 (archive ref POL-3-11-6-34) (31949811532).jpg
Women police in Hull City in 1940

The Home Office set up the Baird Committee in 1920 on the employment conditions and attesting of women in the service. [21] Two Inspectors of Constabulary gave evidence as did several senior people in the service, including two attested sergeants from provincial forces, Florence Mildred White and Ethel Gale from Gloucestershire. [8] [21]

Although there was little change or recruitment of female officers in the 1920s, more rules and guidelines were published to give them a clearer position. Further guidelines were published by the Home Office in 1931. [22] Dorothy Peto moved to the Metropolitan Police in 1930 and became the first attested superintendent two years later. In her 14-year tenure in charge of its A4 (Women Police) division, their numbers were increased from under 60 to over 200, and it employed half the policewomen in the United Kingdom. In 1948, women were for the first time permitted to join the Police Federation.

Integration

Until the 1970s, police forces segregated its female officers from the men, where they had separate ranks, duties and sometimes facilities as well. The situation changed in the 1970s, which saw the passages of the Equal Pay Act 1970 and Sex Discrimination Act 1975. Around this time, segregation was ended. The Metropolitan Police abolished the A4 division and integrated its female officers in 1973. [20]

Today

In March 2017, the percentage of female officers was 29.1% in England and Wales, [23] 29% in Scotland [24] and 28.5% in Northern Ireland. [25] In England and Wales, women made up a 61% majority of non-uniformed support staff (likewise in Northern Ireland [25] ) and 45% of Police Community Support Officers. The proportion of female special constables is similar to that of fulltime police officers.

Women make up a higher percentage of constables than of higher-ranked officers. The Home Office attributes this to the fact that women make up a higher proportion of the newer officers, who are less likely to serve in the higher ranks. [23] The percentage of women among new recruits was static overall between 2007 and 2017. [23]

The British Association for Women in Policing, founded in 1987, represents female officers and their interests.

Timeline of firsts

RankFirst attested officerForceYear
Constable [26] Edith Smith Grantham Borough Police1915
Full time, paid ConstableWPC, later Sergeant Margaret Hood url=https://www.btp.police.uk/police-forces/british-transport-police/areas/about-us/about-us/women-in-btp/overview/ Great Eastern Railway Police
British Transport Police 		1917
Sergeant Florence Mildred White
Ethel Gale		 Salisbury City Police
Gloucestershire Constabulary 		1920
Inspector Florence Mildred White Birmingham City Police 1930
Chief Inspector Lilian Wyles Metropolitan Police Service 1932
Superintendent Dorothy Peto Metropolitan Police Service 1932
Chief Superintendent Elizabeth Bather Metropolitan Police Service 1949
Commander
Chief officer (of any rank) [27] 		Shirley Becke Metropolitan Police Service 1969
Assistant Chief Constable [22] Alison Halford Merseyside Police 1983
Deputy Chief Constable [28] Sue Davies Dorset Police 1994
Chief Constable [29] Pauline Clare Lancashire Constabulary 1995
Deputy Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis Lynne Owens Metropolitan Police Service 2022
Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis Cressida Dick Metropolitan Police Service 2017

Others:

• In 1968, Sislin Fay Allen was appointed as the first non-white policewoman and joined the Metropolitan Police Service. [30]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Law enforcement in the United Kingdom</span>

Law enforcement in the United Kingdom is organised separately in each of the legal systems of the United Kingdom: England and Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. Most law enforcement duties are carried out by those who hold the office of police constable of a territorial police force.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">City of London Police</span> English territorial police force

The City of London Police is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement within the City of London, England, including the Middle and Inner Temples.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Special Constabulary</span> British volunteer police force

The Special Constabulary is the part-time volunteer section of statutory police forces in the United Kingdom and some Crown dependencies. Its officers are known as special constables.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Avon and Somerset Police</span> English territorial police force

Avon and Somerset Police is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement in the five unitary authority areas of Bristol, Bath and North East Somerset, North Somerset, Somerset, and South Gloucestershire, all in South West England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">City of Glasgow Police</span> Former police force of Glasgow, Scotland

The City of Glasgow Police or Glasgow City Police was the police covering the city and royal burgh of Glasgow, from 1800 to 1893, and the county of city of Glasgow, from 1893 to 1975. In the 17th century, Scottish cities used to hire watchmen to guard the streets at night, augmenting a force of unpaid citizen constables. On 30 June 1800 the authorities of Glasgow successfully petitioned the British Government to pass the Glasgow Police Act 1800 establishing the City of Glasgow Police. It served Glasgow from 1800 to 1975, when it was amalgamated into Strathclyde Police.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dorothy Peto</span> English police officer (1886–1974)

Dorothy Olivia Georgiana Peto was an English police officer. She was a pioneer of women policing in the United Kingdom who served as the first attested woman superintendent in the London Metropolitan Police, from 1930 to 1946.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alice Stebbins Wells</span> American policewoman

Alice Stebbins Wells was one of the first American-born female police officers in the United States, hired in 1910 in Los Angeles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary</span> National police force

The Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary (RPNGC) is a national police force with jurisdiction throughout Papua New Guinea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Policewoman of Malaysia</span>

The Policewoman of the Royal Malaysia Police was first established during the Malayan emergency period, when local women were recruited as Special Police. In August 1955, the Policewoman Unit was officially organised.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of the New York City Police Department</span>

The New York City Police Department (NYPD) originates in the Government of New York City attempts to control rising crime in early- to mid-19th-century New York City. The City's reforms created a full-time professional police force modeled upon London's Metropolitan Police, itself only formed in 1829. Established in 1845, the Municipal Police replaced the inadequate night watch system which had been in place since the 17th century, when the city was founded by the Dutch as New Amsterdam.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edith Smith (police officer)</span> First woman police officer in UK with full powers of arrest

Edith Smith was the first female police officer in the United Kingdom with full power of arrest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ernest Frank Richardson</span>

Ernest Frank Richardson (1871–1952) was a Chief Constable of Salisbury, Wiltshire, England. He joined the Police Force in 1893 at Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, and rapidly achieved promotion to Chief Constable. He came from a family many of whom served in the police, and three family members served concurrently in the office of Chief Constable, at Salisbury, Hereford and Halifax.

Florence Mildred White was an English policewoman. She was likely to have been the first documented woman to join a police force in England and Wales, and to be attested immediately as a Constable. Later she was to become the first attested woman officer holding the rank of Inspector, and the first female police officer to receive a pension on retirement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Women in law enforcement</span> Female police unit (post I World War)

The integration of women into law enforcement positions can be considered a large social change. A century ago, there were few jobs open to women in law enforcement. A small number of women worked as correctional officers, and their assignments were usually limited to peripheral tasks. Women traditionally worked in juvenile facilities, handled crimes involving female offenders, or performed clerical tasks. In these early days, women were not considered as capable as men in law enforcement. Recently, many options have opened up, creating new possible careers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fay Allen</span> British police constable (1938–2021)

Sislin Fay Allen, known as Fay Allen, was a British and Jamaican police officer who was the first black woman police constable in the United Kingdom, serving in the Metropolitan Police in London from 1968 to 1972. She also worked for the Jamaica Constabulary Force.

Women began working as police officers in the United States as early as the 1890s. Women made up 12.6% of all U.S. sworn police officers in 2018. Employed largely as prison matrons in the 19th century, women took on more and increasingly diverse roles in the latter half of the 20th century. They face a particular set of challenges given the history of their entry into the profession, their low rates of participation, and the complex identities they negotiate in the work place. Women who work in law enforcement have struggled for years to gain acceptance in their workplace. Some of their biggest challenges are their lack of representation, stereotypes around women, and intersectionality. Despite these challenges, women have proven to be more calm and use less force. Women go into situations more level-headed than males, and are able to deescalate situations better.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Georgia Ann Robinson</span> American police officer (1879–1961)

Georgia Ann Robinson was an American police officer and community worker who was the first African American woman to be appointed a police officer at the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD); she was also one of the first Black policewomen to be hired in the country. She joined the force in 1916 as a volunteer jail matron and was appointed an officer in 1919. She worked on juvenile and homicide cases, as well as cases with black women. She often referred the people she came in contact with to social agencies. Her police career ended when she permanently lost her sight after being injured by a prisoner. Robinson was also an activist who founded the Sojourner Truth Home, a shelter for women and girls, while working on the force. After retiring, Robinson continued her community activism, working with the NAACP, volunteering in shelters, and campaigning to desegregate schools and beaches. She was married to Morgan Robinson, and had a daughter, Marian. She died in Los Angeles at the age of 82.

The Women's Police Service (WPS) in the UK was a national voluntary organisation of women police officers which was active from 1914 until 1940. As the first uniformed women's police service in the UK, it made progress in gaining acceptance of women's role in police work.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southampton City Police</span>

Southampton city police were a police force that operated between 7 March 1836 and 1967 when they were merged into Hampshire Constabulary.

Marion Paterson Macmillan was an officer in both the Metropolitan Police and Royal Ulster Constabulary, notable as the first head of the latter's Women Police Branch from 1943 to 1965.

References

  1. ↑ May, Theresa (2015-12-02). "Women in policing: The Home Secretary's speech celebrating women in policing". Home Office, UK.
  2. 1 2 "Police workforce, England and Wales, 31 March 2016" (PDF). Gov.uk. 21 July 2016. Retrieved 18 July 2017.
  3. ↑ Day, Elizabeth (2012-09-22). "The terrible deaths that make us ask: should women serve on the frontline?". The Observer. ISSN   0029-7712 . Retrieved 2019-05-07.
  4. ↑ Campbell, Duncan (2012-09-18). "Fiona Bone and Nicola Hughes were the true face of a brave police force | Duncan Campbell". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 2019-05-07.
  5. ↑ "Warrant Nos". www.historybytheyard.co.uk. Retrieved 2019-05-07.
  6. 1 2 Cartron, Audrey (24 June 2015). "Women in the police forces in Britain: 1880-1931" (PDF). Retrieved 20 July 2017.
  7. ↑ Edith Tancred. Record 1 of 1 Code NA61.
  8. 1 2 3 Peto, Dorothy Olivia Georgiana (1993). "Peto, Dorothy (1993). The Memoirs of Miss Dorothy Olivia Georgiana Peto".
  9. ↑ Kramarae, Cheris (2000). Routledge International Encyclopaedia of Women. Routledge. ISBN   978-1135963156 . Retrieved 19 July 2014.
  10. ↑ \Allen, Mary S. (1925) The Pioneer Policewoman (London: Chatto and Windus)
  11. ↑ Hanmer, Jalna; Radford, Jill; Stanko, Elizabeth, eds. (2013). Women, Policing, and Male Violence. Taylor and Francis. pp. 28–38. ISBN   9781134100873.
  12. ↑ Kelly, Kay (2012-11-27). "First police women in UK". Grantham People. Archived from the original on 2014-02-23. Retrieved 2014-02-11.
  13. ↑ "Town remembers first policewoman". BBC. 2006-01-13. Retrieved 2014-02-11.
  14. ↑ \ Williams, Clifford (2016) A history of Women policing Hampshire and the Isle of Wight 1915-2016 (HCHS;Hampshire) ISBN   978-0-9568508-1-2
  15. ↑ Article, Women Police. He concluded that such employment was a matter for individual police authorities.Police Review and Parade Ground Gossip 5 April 1918. Page 110. Viewed June 2014.
  16. ↑ The magazine Police Review and Parade Ground Gossip later printed a lengthy editorial on the possibility of employing women police officers. 12 April 1918. Viewed June 2014.
  17. ↑ .Police Review and Parade Ground Gossip, 31 May 1918. Viewed June 2014.
  18. ↑ Article by C.C. Wolverhampton> Police Review and Parade Ground Gossip5 July 1918. Viewed June 2014.
  19. ↑ City of Birmingham Police records, Form No. 50.
  20. 1 2 "History of Women Police Officers" . Retrieved 20 July 2017.
  21. 1 2 Doan, Laurs (2001-01-03). Fashioning Sapphism: The Origins of a Modern English Lesbian Culture. p. 42 and 225. ISBN   978-0231533836 . Retrieved 19 July 2014.
  22. 1 2 "BAWP Timeline" . Retrieved 16 February 2018.
  23. 1 2 3 "Police workforce, England and Wales, 31 March 2017" (PDF). Gov.uk. 20 July 2017. Retrieved 26 July 2017.
  24. ↑ "International Women's Day, Police Scotland". Police Scotland. 8 March 2017. Retrieved 26 July 2017.
  25. 1 2 "Workforce Composition Statistics, PSNI". Police Service of Northern Ireland. 3 March 2017. Retrieved 26 July 2017.
  26. ↑ Knowles, Bob; Courtney, Finn; Sterry, David (2018). Edith Smith Britain's First Warranted policewoman (PDF). Oxton Society. p. 5. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2019-12-03. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
  27. ↑ The rank of Commander is found only in London forces, while the MPS has more chief officer (i.e. senior) ranks than the other British police forces. The rank is equivalent to an Assistant Chief Constable in other English forces.
  28. ↑ "The women who helped change the face of policing in Dorset". Police Scotland. 25 December 2015. Retrieved 25 August 2017.
  29. ↑ Finch, Fiona (2020-06-12). "Pauline's journey from first female Chief Constable to executive coach". Lancashire Post. Archived from the original on 2020-06-15.
  30. ↑ "100 years of women in the Met Police". BBC Newsround. 15 February 2019. Retrieved 2019-05-07.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.