Third of police chiefs are women: Record 15 forces now have a female leader

Third of police chiefs are women: Record 15 forces now have a female leader
Third of police chiefs are women: Record 15 forces now have a female leader

A third of police chiefs are now women with a record 15 forces having a female leader, as experts say they have become less like The Sweeney and more like Line of Duty.

A total of 46 forces, including British Transport Police, were analysed in the UK with 15 found to have a female chief constable - a steep rise from just four forces in 2019.

The figure is also the highest since records began in 1995, when Pauline Clare brought an end to 166 years of male leadership by becoming the first ever female boss of a force - namely Lancashire Constabulary - in Britain.

Police chiefs and experts told The Daily Telegraph that they credited the rise to a crackdown on the 'sexist canteen culture' seen on TV series such as The Sweeney and Life on Mars - crime dramas set in the 1970s with a predominantly male cast.

It follows the announcement that Pippa Mills will be promoted from deputy chief constable in Essex to chief constable of West Mercia Police, alongside Debbie Tedds taking over as the first female chief of Warwickshire Police.

Pippa Mills (pictured above) has been announced as the chief constable of West Mercia Police, after working as a deputy chief constable in Essex

Pippa Mills (pictured above) has been announced as the chief constable of West Mercia Police, after working as a deputy chief constable in Essex 

Warwickshire's incoming first ever female chief constable, Debbie Tedds, pictured alongside Warwickshire police and crime commissioner Philip Seccombe

Warwickshire's incoming first ever female chief constable, Debbie Tedds, pictured alongside Warwickshire police and crime commissioner Philip Seccombe

Rick Muir, director of the Police Foundation - an independent research body - said: 'There is not the macho sexist canteen culture that there was. 

Who are the UK's 15 female police chiefs?
British Transport Police: Lucy D'Orsi Cumbria Constabulary: Michelle Skeer Derbyshire Constabulary: Rachel Swann Durham Constabulary: Jo Farrell Dyfed-Powys Police: Claire Parmenter Gwent Police: Pam Kelly Hampshire Constabulary: Olivia Pinkney Merseyside Police: Serena Kennedy Met Police: Dame Cressida Dick North Yorkshire Police: Lisa Winward South Yorkshire Police: Lauren Poultney Staffordshire Police: Jane Sawyers Sussex Police: Jo Shiner Warwickshire Police: Debbie Tedds West Mercia Police: Pippa Mills (incoming)

 

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'And as policing has changed, the representation of female characters has shifted so you have female officers or detectives leading investigations like Line of Duty.'

In addition to the 15 chiefs who are women, there are also two female assistant commissioners at the Metropolitan Police, which is led by the force's commissioner Dame Cressida Dick.

Some 20,000 officers will be recruited in England and Wales by 2023 and the Met

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