Female police officers outnumber male PCs at British force for the first time in boost for gender equality
- Women make up more than 30 per cent of police officers in England and Wales
- Wiltshire Police has more female officers there than male officers for first time
- It has seen a 10 per cent increase year-on-year in women becoming officers
Women outnumber men for the first time at a British police force.
Wiltshire Police has 1,140 female officers and staff compared to 1,101 male employees, a report revealed.
All but one of the force’s 63 civilian staff hired between 2019 and last year were female.
Wiltshire Police has 1,140 female officers and staff compared to 1,101 male employees, a report revealed. A female officer is seen above last year
Chief Constable Kier Pritchard said he was pleased with the findings and committed to recruiting more women to senior positions
The report found that ‘men and women are paid equally at every grade in Wiltshire Police’ and 53 per cent of successful police officer candidates in March 2020 were female, of ethnic minority, ex-military or other protected characteristics.’
Chief Constable Kier Pritchard said he was pleased with the findings and committed to recruiting more women to senior positions.
He added: ‘We have seen a 10 per cent increase, year-on-year, in females becoming officers.’
According to Home Office statistics last year, there are 40,319 female police officers in the 43 forces in England and Wales, amounting to a total of 31 per cent of officers.
Angus Macpherson, Wiltshire and Swindon’s Police and Crime Commissioner, said: ‘Positive action recruitment strategies, alongside our mentoring schemes to encourage more females to become officers, stay within the organisation and apply for promotion are really beginning to come to fruition.
‘I expect to see those figures rise more when 2021’s report is published next year.’