First Woman Chief Constable in the Police Service
May 2015, Valentine Place, London
b.1947, Lancashire
In 1995 Pauline Clare became chief constable for Lancashire police, making her the first ever woman in the 103 years of the police service to be made chief constable. She was 48 years old. In 1915, 80 years previously, the first woman was allowed to join the police service. The number of female police officers is on the rise, but women still comprise only 1 in 4 of the workforce, and even less in the higher ranks.