Police History: Women - An Equal Force
The percentage of women in the HKP is one of the highest among major police forces. Kimmy Koh was appointed first woman sub-inspector in 1949; two years later, the first intake of nine women constables smartly marched onto the parade ground at Wong Chuk Hang.
That first infusion of women in 1951 quickly proved its worth. Out on the streets, they soon stopped being a novelty and became a necessity.
In times of crisis, like the great exodus from the Mainland in 1962, women played a crucial role. During that period when tens of thousands of people swarmed over the shallow Shenzhen River, every one of the 273 women in the force was rushed to the frontier. They helped calm the panic and assisted in stemming the human tidal waves.
It was the same in the torrid summer of 1967 when women police officers stood firm against rioting mobs. Their presence brought calm to situations that were potentially explosive.
The Force was ahead of much of Hong Kong society in recognising the worth and rights of women. Equal pay for male and female officers was introduced in 1973. From 1995 all new women officers were armed in the same way as their male counterparts. And in 1997 women officers entered the last bastion of male policing by taking their place alongside the men in the Police Tactical Unit.
When women were first recruited, they were regarded as a quaint novelty. No more. Naturally, there are areas like protection of women and children where a woman in uniform can cope better than a man. Apart from that, a police officer is always a police officer, regardless of gender. In all parts of the Force women serve on an equal basis with their male comrades.
