All police officers were male prior to the 20th century. It wasn’t until 1889 that women became involved in policing, as Police Matrons, employed to supervise and search female and child offenders while they were being held in police stations and the courts.
This story was altered by World War I. Women were required to perform police duties due to a lack of men. Nina Boyle and Margaret Damer Dawson established the Women Police Volunteers in 1914, which reorganized as the Women's Police Service a year later. The Police Act of 1916 made it possible for women to be appointed as police constables a year after Edith Smith became the first female police officer in Britain with full arrest powers in 1915.
The first female police officer
Originally from Birkenhead, Edith Smith was originally a WPV/WPS volunteer, before she was appointed as a police officer in Grantham, Lincolnshire.
She dealt primarily with women, particularly prostitutes, who had flocked to Grantham in greater numbers due to the presence of an army base there. She was so successful that, by 1916, she had warned 100 women about theft and many drunken cases. Her work saw 10 prostitutes convicted, 10 “returned” to their parents, and a further 50 cautioned for their criminal activities.