Bunbury celebrates 100 years of women in policing

Serving members of the force joined retired police trailblazers at the Quality Hotel Lighthouse to hear about the history and changing environment police women face. 

Former officer Dorothy Hughes told the room the responsibilities of women in the force have changed dramatically over the past century. 

“From 1917 when the first woman joined the force to 1957, female officers had to be trained nurses,” she said. 

“Marriage was also a choice and if a female officer wanted to get married before 1975, she had to leave the force.” 

Mrs Hughes said when she joined in 1957, there was a lot more respect for the police and nearly everyone in the force knew everyone else.

“Over time the women were treated a lot more like their male counterparts with uniforms created, matching pay scales and opportunities to join different divisions,” she said. 

WA Police Deputy Commissioner Stephen Brown said the contribution of women in policing has been massive for both the force and the state. 

“The growth of numbers of women in policing has been steady from just two officers in 1917 to 22 per cent of the current force,” Deputy Commissioner Brown said. 

“We are aiming to move towards having women making up 30 or 35 per cent of the force and we always encourage talented people keen to make a difference to contact us for more information.”

For a detailed look at the history of women in the WA Police Force, click here.