Voices from the Blue

Astonishing stories from the front line of policing in London, told in the voices of policewomen who have served in the hundred years since women first joined the service These are tales of heroism, humour, crime-busting and tragedy, including personal stories from Britain's most senior officer, Met Police Commissioner Cressida Dick: first-hand experiences that reveal what female police officers have endured and achieved as they fought entrenched discrimination to smash the glass ceiling and reach the top. In February 1919, the first women police officers took to the streets of London. They battled gender stereotypes, institutional inequality, sexual harassment and even assaults. Resented by many male colleagues, female officers were expected to do little more than 'Make the tea, Luv . . .' and were tasked with looking after the women and children who fell into police hands. Voices from the Blue tells the story of how policewomen have won the equality they demanded. A century on from the first Women Police Patrols, women now hold some of the most powerful positions in the British justice system.