Alice Bertha Clayden (1881−1958) was a British

police The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and t ...

officer.

Life

She had three brothers in the

Metropolitan Police The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), formerly and still commonly known as the Metropolitan Police (and informally as the Met Police, the Met, Scotland Yard, or the Yard), is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement and ...

and when all but twenty of that force's women police were dismissed in 1922 Clayden was put in charge of them, becoming the first attested female officer to hold the rank of

Inspector Inspector, also police inspector or inspector of police, is a police rank. The rank or position varies in seniority depending on the organization that uses it. Australia In Australian police forces, the rank of inspector is generally the ne ...

. When

Dorothy Peto Dorothy Olivia Georgiana Peto OBE KPFSM (15 December 1886 – 26 February 1974) was a pioneer of women policing in the United Kingdom who served as the first attested woman Superintendent in the London Metropolitan Police, from 1930 to 1946. ...

was appointed

Superintendent Superintendent may refer to: *Superintendent (police), Superintendent of Police (SP), or Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), a police rank *Prison warden or Superintendent, a prison administrator *Superintendent (ecclesiastical), a church exec ...

in charge of women police in 1930, Clayden remained as Woman Inspector at

Bow Street Bow Street is a thoroughfare in Covent Garden, Westminster, London. It connects Long Acre, Russell Street and Wellington Street, and is part of a route from St Giles to Waterloo Bridge. The street was developed in 1633 by Francis Russell, 4 ...

. On 30 April 1934 she was promoted to Sub-Divisional Inspector, the first (and possibly only) woman to hold that rank, and became deputy to Peto at

Scotland Yard Scotland Yard (officially New Scotland Yard) is the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police, the territorial police force responsible for policing Greater London's 32 boroughs, but not the City of London, the square mile that forms London's ...

. She seems to have eventually reached the rank of

Chief Inspector Chief inspector (Ch Insp) is a rank used in police forces which follow the British model. In countries outside Britain, it is sometimes referred to as chief inspector of police (CIP). Usage by country Australia The rank of chief inspector is use ...

. A motherly woman, her officers considered her to be far more approachable than the austere Peto.

References

Women Metropolitan Police officers 1881 births 1958 deaths Metropolitan Police officers {{UK-law-enforcement-bio-stub