Karpal Kaur Sandhu

Karpal Kaur Sandhu was the first female Asian police officer in Britain. She served in the Metropolitan Police Service from 1971 to 1973.

Karpal Kaur Sandhu
Born1943
Zanzibar
Died4 November 1973
Walthamstow
Cause of deathmurdered
OccupationPolice officer
EmployerMetropolitan Police Service
Known forfirst female Asian police officer in Britain

History

Sandhu was born in Zanzibar in 1943, before moving to Britain in 1962 and becoming a nurse at Chase Farm Hospital in Enfield.[1][2] She joined the Metropolitan Police Service aged 27 on 1 February 1971, serving first in Hornsey, then in Walthamstow and Leyton.[3] Her date of joining made her the first female Asian police officer in Britain.[2][4][5]

Sandhu died in the line of duty on 4 November 1973. Her husband did not agree with her becoming a police officer, claiming it was neither suitably Asian nor ladylike.[6][7] Eventually, her husband confronted her outside her house in Chelmsford Road, Walthamstow.[3] When her husband attacked her, she recalled herself to duty in order to arrest him. In March 1974 he was found guilty of her murder and received a life sentence.[8][9]

See also

References
  1. Neiyyar, Dil (1 February 2011). "Call to honour an Asian 'pioneer'". BBC News. Retrieved 5 October 2020.
  2. "UK's first Asian female officer remembered by Met Police". BBC News. February 2021. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  3. Hardy, Clare. "HISTORY: Met Police marks 40th anniversary of first female Asian officer". East London and West Essex Guardian Series. Retrieved 5 October 2020.
  4. Llewellyn, Julia (2012). "Life as an ethnic minority police officer". Daily Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2017-11-05.
  5. Arain, Saima Manzoor (2014-06-22). Women Police Unfurled in Pakistan: Perspective, Status and Prospective. Lulu.com. ISBN 9781312276246.
  6. "UK's first Asian female officer remembered by Met Police". BBC News. 2021-02-01. Retrieved 2021-09-10.
  7. Sandhu, Parm (2021-06-10). Black and Blue: One Woman's Story of Policing and Prejudice. Atlantic Books. ISBN 978-1-83895-266-2.
  8. "Remembering the Met's first Asian Police officer PC Karpal Kaur Sandhu 50 years on". MetFed. 2021-02-03. Retrieved 2021-09-10.
  9. "Police Roll of Honour Trust". policememorial.org.uk. Retrieved 2017-11-05.
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