NCJ Number
121676
Journal
Police Volume: 21 Issue: 10 Dated: (June-July 1989) Pages: 32,34,36
Date Published
1989
Length
3 pages
Annotation
The story of how women gained acceptance in the police service spans three decades and is closely linked to key figures in the women's emancipation movement.
Abstract
During World War I, when the women's movement made so much progress as women were employed in the war effort in munitions factories and on the land, the suffragettes saw the police as an ideal role for themselves. The force provided a natural home for their class-instilled authoritarianism and evangelical moralizing. The first women police volunteers served in Grantham, clearing out brothels and enforcing the curfew against women who were attracted to the military camps. Shortly after, the Women Police Service was formed, as was a group of volunteers from the National Union of Women. However, as the war ended, and social conditions changed, the regular forces were anxious to disband the women volunteer groups. However, in 1919, the Metropolitan Police established the first corps of recognized women police in Britain; their duties were confined to dealing with women and children. In 1920, a public commission recommended that women be fully integrated into the police service, with equal pay and status as constables. The Savidge Case in 1929, involving charges of public indecency, brought the issue of women police to the public attention dramatically and eventually provided a boost for the women's cause. In 1930, the Police Council discussed proposed regulations covering the employment of women police officers; these were passed 13 months later. They established a separate framework and rank structure for women which persisted until the mid-1970s. While World War II saw an increased role for women officers, it was later legislation including the Equal Pay Act and the Sex Discrimination Act which secured their position.