Met Police remembers pioneering PC Karpal Kaur Sandhu
The UK's first Asian female police officer Pc Karpal Kaur Sandhu - Credit: Met Police
Half a century ago this week, PC Karpal Kaur Sandhu became the UK's first Asian female police officer when she started work at Hornsey police station.
On February 1, the Met marked the anniversary with a special event, and PC Sandhu's daughter Romy was among those to pay tribute.
She said: “I’m so proud of my mother, and her 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.”
Pc Sandhu at the beginning of her Met Police career in 1971. - Credit: Met Police
Assistant Commissioner Helen Ball said PC Sandhu, who moved on to work in Leyton, "paved the way for so many others who have gone into policing since 1971", while Ravjeet Gupta, chair of the Metropolitan Police Sikh Association, added "she will always be remembered for being a trailblazer of her time".
Karpal was born to a Sikh family in Zanzibar, east Africa, in 1943 and came to the UK in 1962, initially working as a nurse at Chase Farm Hospital.
She was killed in the line of duty in 1973.
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