Off the wire
• China headlines Rio 2016 trampoline test event  • U.S. says no evidence shows Turkey involved in Islamic State oil smuggling  • Urgent: Head of Brazil Chamber of Deputies greenlights impeachment trial for president  • Urgent: U.S. stocks retreat on Yellen's speech  • Germany's benchmark DAX index closes down  • Foreign exchange rate of Euro to other currencies  • Johannesburg summit expected to enhance China-Africa cooperation: analysts  • 1st LD Writethru: Gold down ahead of ECB meeting  • Roundup: UN-backed global partnerships launched to help most vulnerable cushion climate change impacts  • 2nd LD: Mass shooting of up to 20 victims in San Bernardino, California: authorities  
You are here: 　 Home

Almost a third of British police are women: Home Secretary

Xinhua, December 3, 2015 Adjust font size:

The number of female police officers in England and Wales has reached over 35,700, British Home Secretary Theresa May said Wednesday.

It means more than 28 percent of police officers are women, up from 25.7 percent five years ago, and just 16.5 percent in 2000, May said in a speech at the British Library in London.

The proportion of women holding senior ranks of a Police Chief Inspector and above has also risen since 2010, she said.

May was speaking at an event to celebrate the 100th anniversary since Britain's first ever female officer, Edith Smith, pounded the beat in the streets of Grantham.

Reflecting on the situation a century ago, May added: "Back then, policing really was a man's world. Shortly after Edith Smith's appointment, the Home Office declared that women could not be sworn in as police officers because they were of not deemed 'proper persons'.

"We have come a long way since then, although challenges remain and some of the improvements to women's equality in policing are surprisingly recent."

May said as recently as the 1980s, female officers were issued with uniform and kit which included a handbag complete with a smaller truncheon to fit inside it, and it would be 1995 before Britain had its first female chief constable.

Calling for even more women to patrol the streets of Britain, May added: "While we have come a long way, we must go further if we are to ensure greater diversity, and truly modern police forces.

She said important work is already underway to improve and support diversity in British police forces.

Policing, she added, is being opened up to people from different backgrounds, with schemes bringing in university graduates with fresh perspectives, new skills and of greater diversity.

Almost half of the candidates in one scheme are women and 23 percent are from an ethnic minority background. This compares to the current rank of police inspector of which 19 percent are women and just four percent from ethnic minority backgrounds.

Wednesday's event, attended by women police officers from across Britain, included an exhibition. One of the exhibits was one of the handbags that used to be issued as standard kit to female police officers. Endit