Scotland Yard Celebrates 50th Anniversary Of First Sikh Female Officer

Karpal Kaur Sandhu: Scotland Yard celebrated the 50th anniversary of Karpal Kaur Sandhu joining its rank for she was the first South Asian as well as first Sikh female police officer. 

Sandhu served as Police Constable(PC) at the Metropolitan Police in London between 1971 and 1973. On Monday, the National Sikh Police Association UK along with the Metropolitan Police Sikh Association hosted a special virtual event in memory of Sandhu.

The Assistant Commissioner Helen Ball praised PC Sandhu as a "true pioneer" who was "ahead of her time." Ball added, "I have no doubt that her decision to join the Met Police in 1971 was a brave one and she would have faced considerable challenges along the way."

Sandhu was Britain's and the Metropolitan's first Asian female officer. Since her joining the forces in 1971, she paved the way for so many women to join the police force. "Fifty years to the day (Monday) after PC Sandhu joined the Met, I am pleased that we can remember her life, her career, and the legacy she has left policing," Ball said while speaking at the 50th-anniversary event.

"Sandhu was an invaluable ambassador for the Met who helped break down barriers with London's communities and will always be remembered for being a trailblazer of her time," said Ravjeet Gupta, Chair of the Metropolitan Police Sikh Association at the event. 

Sandhu paved the way 

Karpal Kaur Sandhu joined the Met Police Service when she was 27-year-old. She served at Hornsey Police station initially. Later she moved to the Leyton area in east London.

When she joined the UK service, there were only about 700 female officers totally working in the Met. She had created history as she was not just the first female Sikh, but was also the first female South Asian police officer in the UK.

PC Sandhu belonged to a Sikh family in Zanzibar, East Africa. In 1962, she moved to the UK to work as a nurse at Chase Farm Hospital. She enjoyed playing hockey as well as driving.  

Her then Chief Superintendent described her service as "proving invaluable with our dealings with the immigrant population and she is also assisting other divisions in this work and also in teaching police officers Asian dialects." He further said that she was "energetic, intelligent and conscientious."

PC Sandhu's daughter Romy Sandhu said that she was proud of her mother and her legacy she left behind. "It's wonderful that 50 years on she is remembered, and is an inspiration to generations of new female police officers joining the Met," she added.