The history of women in policing

Policing hasn’t always been seen as a popular or common career choice for women. However, in recent years, the gender split within the police has started to edge closer to 50/50, with 35.4% of police constables in England and Wales being female.

Due to the pioneering work of women in previous generations, women can now take up any role within the police service in the UK. But how did we get to where we are today?

Ahead of International Women’s Day 2025, in this article we dig into the history of women in policing to see if anything can be learnt from the past and help us continue to #AccelerateAction in policing for the future.

1800s milestones

1883 – The first women to be employed by the police were Police Matrons. Matrons were civilians appointed to search, supervise, and escort women prisoners held at police stations or to the courts.

In 1883, the Metropolitan Police employed their first women, which increased to 14 female Matrons by 1889.

1899 – At Kent Constabulary, the wives of the lock-up keepers were paid a shilling a day for their services. The cells were double locked, one key being held by the Matron and the other by the lock-up keeper.

WW1 – 1900 to 1918

1914 – The outbreak of the war in August 1914 gave ‘influential women’ the opportunity to push their case for women to be involved in policing.

Miss Damer Dawson and Miss Nina Boyle founded a committee that became the Women Police Volunteers, and later the Women Police Service (WPS). These women gained the approval of the Commissioner of the Police of the Metropolis, Sir Edward Henry, for groups of trained volunteers to patrol the streets of London. As part of their roles, these women could offer advice to women with the support of the Metropolitan Police there to assist them if needed.

Additionally during 1914, Lord Cavendish-Bentinck (a Conservative politician) explained how he wanted to see women employed as constables ‘for the special purpose of reformatory and preventative work’. He wanted to see them work in large towns and cited examples of women police constables already employed in Germany, America, and Canada.

1915 – By April of 1915, female volunteers could be found not only in London, but also in Liverpool, Grantham, Sandgate, Hull, Brighton, Croydon, Romford, Plymouth, and Richmond. This group of female volunteers then became known as the Women’s Police Service.

A second group also formed during this time called the Voluntary Women Patrols, which was organised by members of the National Union of Women Workers.

A key milestone from this period, which paved the way for other pioneering women police officers, occurred when Edith Smith was the first female police officer in the UK to be given the full power of arrest. Interestingly, Smith was also paid more than the male constables at the time, due to her onerous work and extra skills as a nurse.

1916 – A year after the Edith Smith’s key milestone, the Police Act of 1916 made it possible for women to be appointed as female constables.

Post WW1 – 1919 to 1938

1919 – At the end of WW1, the Home Secretary ordered the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, Sir Nevil Macready, to recruit women in the police force. 110 female police officers joined the Metropolitan Police.

1920 – The Women’s Police Service was renamed the Women’s Auxiliary Service and continued to be in use even as women were being accepted police forces across the country.

During this time, the Baird Committee was set up to review the question of the employment of female police officers in general. The review proved the value of women undertaking police duties during the war. At that time, most female police officers were not attested as constables, but the committee recommended that they should be, that they should be highly trained, and that they should form an integral part of the police force.

During this review, it was recorded that in 1920, 43 police authorities in England and Wales were employing 238 women.

1921 – Other committees during the 1920s, which reported on the efficiency of women officers, urged that women police should be expanded across the country.

1932 – The first female Chief Inspector in the police force in the country was appointed. Lilian Wyles, who joined London’s Metropolitan Police in 1919 and the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) in 1922, was appointed Chief Inspector.

WW2 – 1939 to 1945

1939 – The start of WW2 was another key time to put a spotlight on women in the police. Members of the Women’s Auxiliary Police Corps were employed in supporting roles such as clerical duties, typing, canteen work, and driving.

In the lead up to this time, the numbers of women employed by police forces had dropped slightly. In 1939, 45 police forces out of 183 were employing women. However, in London, the number had risen again to about the total it had been in 1921.

1944 – Bertha Massey Gleghorn was the first British female police officer to die in the line of duty when a bomb hit Tottenham Court Road police station and trapped her under the rubble.

 1945 to 1999

1949 – Between 1939 and 1949, the number of female police officers rose from 246 to 1148, although the number of police forces employing women had stayed about the same.

1970 – Up until the 1970s, occupational segregation was still legal and female police officers had separate ranks within separate departments, often in separate offices and carrying out separate tasks.

The Equal Pay Act in 1970 and the Sex Discrimination Act in 1975 meant women officers were merged with men on all shifts and all departments.

1983 – At Merseyside Police, Alison Halford was appointed Assistant Chief Constable, becoming the highest-ranking female police officer in the country.

1990 – Throughout the 1990’s, women were recruited into Domestic Violence units, which were sometimes called ‘Child and Family Protection Units’.

1995 – The first female Chief Constable is appointed – Pauline Clare at Lancashire Constabulary.

2000s to today

2017 – Cressida Dick was appointed as the first female Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police in 2017.

2021 – Skye Morden, Police Constable at West Midlands Police and one of the UK’s first transgender police officers, was honoured through the Special Recognition award at the Pride of Birmingham Awards.

Today – The percentage of female Police Constables in England and Wales has increased from 29.1% in 2017 to 35.4% in 2024. Women also make up 45% of Police Community Support Officers in the Metropolitan Police and 61.2% of police staff.

Despite there being some movement towards closing this disparity between the number of men and women who make up the front-line police force, it’s clear that there is still more work to be done to achieve true equality for women in policing.

How can we #AccelarateAction in policing?

To continue to build upon the steps towards equality that the 19th and 20th centuries saw in policing, it’s crucial we offer learning and skills development opportunities for women in the police force and women looking to start a career in policing.

SFJ Awards are a leading awarding organisation, offering a variety of industry leading qualifications in policing. We are also a leading End-Point Assessment Organisation for the following apprenticeship standards:

• Anti-Social Behaviour and Community Safety Officer
• Emergency Services Contact Handler
• Non-Home Office Police Officer
• Police Community Support Officer

Ensuring the availability of high-quality qualifications and apprenticeships is key to providing opportunities for women who want to join or progress in their careers in the policing.

Find out more about SFJ Awrads’ qualifications and End-Point Assessment services.