NCJ Number
70033
Date Published
1979
Length
224 pages
Annotation
The history of the formation of British Women Police is recounted with an emphasis on female emancipation.
Abstract
Pressure for the appointment of women police began well before World War I. Antislavery traffic organizations felt female officers would help stem the flow of prostitutes to and from Europe, and suffragettes wanted women police to ensure fairer treatment for women from the police and the courts. On the instigation of the suffragette Nina Boyle, a female police division was set up at the beginning of World War I. Various pressure groups and training centers for women soon developed; they all, at times, attempted amalgamation or cooperation but differences in degrees of militancy and ultimate aims led to battles and divisions. Women fought public and police prejudice wondering how far to hold out for their ideals and how much to compromise for the sake of some official recognition. Narrative in character, the account traces the British policewomen through the streets and courts of Great Britain and the House of Commons, through the post World War I period and conflict-torn Ireland of the 1920's, to their official integration in the British police corps in the 1970's. The personal experiences of numerous dedicated women are described including the wealthy and eccentric Margaret Damer Dawson, the suffragette Mary Allen, and the dogged Miss Peto. Although their archenemy was the magistrate Frederick Mead, some men became staunch supporters of the policewoman: Sir Percy Sillitoe, Sir Leonard Dunning, and the Chief Constables of Gloucestershire and Lancashire. The book contains numerous anecdotes, photographs, and notes, an index, and over 30 references. (Author abstract modified)