Pioneer police officer honoured
THE first female Asian police officer in the UK has been honoured in a virtual event on Monday (1), to mark the 50th anniversary of her joining the Metropolitan Police.
PC Karpal Kaur Sandhu served in the Met from 1971 to 1973, before dying while in the line of duty.
The online event to honour her life featured contributions from Tan Dhesi, the UK’s first turbaned Sikh MP; Paramjit Kaur Matharu, CEO of the Sikh Assembly; and Sikh officers from across the Met.
PC Sandhu’s daughter Romy Sandhu said she was “proud” of her mother’s legacy as the UK’s first female police officer from an Asian and Sikh background. “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 said.
Describing PC Sandhu as a “true pioneer”, the Met’s assistant commissioner Helen Ball, said: “I have no doubt that her decision to join the Met Police in 1971 was a brave one. She would have faced considerable challenges along the way. “... Karpal paved the way for so many others who have gone into policing since 1971.”
Joining the Met at the age of 27, PC Sandhu served at Hornsey before moving to Leyton. At the time, there were only around 700 female officers in the Met.