Edith Smith (21 November 1876 – 26 June 1923) was the first female police officer in the United Kingdom with full power of arrest.

Early life

Edith Smith was born on 21 November 1876, in Oxton,

Birkenhead Birkenhead (; cy, Penbedw) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England; historically, it was part of Cheshire until 1974. The town is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the south bank of the River Mersey, opposite Liv ...

. She was one of six children of nursery and seedman James Smith and his wife Harriet. In 1897 she married stationer and tobacconist William Smith. They had three daughters and a son together. She worked for a time as a sub-postmistress. Her husband died in 1907. The 1911 census shows Smith had moved to London and was training to be a midwife. The daughters were at different schools and the son was in an orphanage near

Blackburn Blackburn () is an industrial town and the administrative centre of the Blackburn with Darwen borough in Lancashire, England. The town is north of the West Pennine Moors on the southern edge of the Ribble Valley, east of Preston and north-n ...

. Shortly after this she took up a post as a matron at a nursing home.

Police career

Founded in 1914, the Women Police Volunteers (WPV) was staffed by volunteers such as Smith. It was founded by

Nina Boyle Constance Antonina Boyle (21 December 1865 – 4 March 1943) was a British journalist, campaigner for women's suffrage and women's rights, charity and welfare worker, and novelist. She was one of the pioneers of women police officers in Britain ...

and

Margaret Damer Dawson Margaret Mary Damer Dawson OBE (12 June 1873 – 18 May 1920) was a prominent anti-vivisectionist and philanthropist who co-founded the first British women's police service. Life Margaret Dawson was born on 12 June 1873 to a wealthy family in B ...

, who fell out over its anti-prostitution role in London and elsewhere in February 1915, with Boyle leaving the organisation and Dawson reforming it as the

Women's Police Service The Women's Police Service (WPS) was a national voluntary organisation in the United Kingdom. History Formation It was originally established as the Women Police Volunteers (WPV) in 1914 by Nina Boyle and Margaret Damer Dawson, who had met when Da ...

(WPS) with herself as head. Smith remained with the WPS and in August 1915 she was appointed the first woman police

constable A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in criminal law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. A constable is commonly the rank of an officer within the police. Other peop ...

in England with full power of arrest. Her duties were to deal with cases where women were involved. She was concerned with trying to reduce the number of prostitutes in

Grantham Grantham () is a market and industrial town in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England, situated on the banks of the River Witham and bounded to the west by the A1 road. It lies some 23 miles (37 km) south of the Lincoln a ...

who were attracted there by the nearby army base. She received 28 shillings (£1.40) a week. In April 1917 this was raised to £2 10 shillings (£2.50 a week). This was more than the oldest male police constable in the force due to the fact that her "duties were most onerous", and took into account that she was also a qualified nurse. In 1916, PC Smith cautioned 100 wayward girls in larceny cases and also 16 women and 15 girls who had been found to be drunk. Ten prostitutes were convicted, 10 were handed over to their parents and 50 were cautioned. Smith wrote of her time in Grantham: "The appointment has made such a vast difference – the prostitutes have found that it does not pay and the frivolous girls have bowed down." Smith travelled around Britain giving talks about women's policing at conferences and writing pamphlets. The legitimacy of policewomen was often questioned during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

due to their blurred status and limited powers. Their role was left in the hands of individual chief constables leading to extreme conservatism in some areas and to daring innovations in others.

Later life and death

Smith left the WPS (renamed the Women's Auxiliary Service after the war) after working seven days a week for a period of two years. She left in 1918 due to chest trouble. Until January 1919, Smith was also the matron nurse at Lindis Nursing Home, Dudley Road in Grantham where she worked seven days a week. Smith moved to

Runcorn Runcorn is an industrial town and cargo port in the Borough of Halton in Cheshire, England. Its population in 2011 was 61,789. The town is in the southeast of the Liverpool City Region, with Liverpool to the northwest across the River Mersey. ...

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county tow ...

to work for a Nursing Association. Finding it to be low on funds, she gave lectures, organised

whist Whist is a classic English trick-taking card game which was widely played in the 18th and 19th centuries. Although the rules are simple, there is scope for strategic play. History Whist is a descendant of the 16th-century game of ''trump' ...

drives and conducted shorthand classes to raise money. However, there were some local concerns, from individuals who "did not complain about the nurse's work, but about her methods". She died on 26 June 1923 after she took an overdose of

morphia Morphine is a strong opiate that is found naturally in opium, a dark brown resin in poppies ('' Papaver somniferum''). It is mainly used as a pain medication, and is also commonly used recreationally, or to make other illicit opioids. T ...

, five years after leaving the force. The coroner returned a verdict that she took her own life while temporarily insane. Her life is commemorated in Grantham Museum. Her grave at Halton Cemetery in

was unmarked until two policewomen launched a fundraising campaign to buy a headstone in 2018. She shares the grave with her niece, Marjorie, who died aged two years on the tenth day after Smith's death.

Commemoration

In 2014, a

blue plaque A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom and elsewhere to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving as a historical marker. The term ...

was unveiled on the wall of the old prison building between the Grantham Guildhall and the Grantham Museum where she had worked as a policewoman. Deputy Chief Constable Heather Roach, of Lincolnshire Police, said: "She spent time getting to know the people in her area and thoroughly understood the concept of 'neighbourhood policing'." On 16 June 2018 a blue plaque was erected on 18 Palm Hill, Oxton, where she had lived. The plaque was unveiled by her granddaughter Margaret Smith. On 8 March 2019 a blue plaque was erected on St Mary's Church Hall, Halton, Runcorn, on the site of the old almshouses where Edith had been living at the time of her death. In September 2021, the Grantham Museum opened an exhibit looking at Smith's role in the police force.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Edith 1876 births 1923 deaths British women police officers History of law enforcement in the United Kingdom History of women in the United Kingdom People from Grantham British police officers People from Birkenhead Drug-related suicides in England