Women in Policing

The Hon. T.T. NGO (15:17): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Status of Women a question about South Australian women in the police force.

Leave granted.

The Hon. T.T. NGO: Women now comprise 27 per cent of SAPOL's sworn staff, up from 22 per cent a decade ago. This represents 1,264 women working across all areas of policing, including four of the six assistant commissioners. My question is: can the minister update the chamber on 100 years of women in policing in South Australia?

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for Employment, Higher Education and Skills, Minister for Science and Information Economy, Minister for the Status of Women, Minister for Business Services and Consumers) (15:18): I thank the honourable member for his most important question. South Australia does, indeed, have a very proud history of women in policing beginning with Ms Kate Cocks and Ms Annie Ross who set up the first women's police branch in December 1915—the first of its kind in the British Empire, I understand.

Since their inception, South Australia women police have had the same powers of apprehension as male officers. For many years, the work of women police was referred to as 'preventative policing' and was particularly found in social welfare fields where they performed fairly restricted duties dealing with matters mainly relating to women and children.

They performed their duties in plain clothes, I am told, and had responsibilities including protecting young women and children from violence or from being drawn into crime or prostitution, patrolling the night-time streets, which apparently included dance halls for those underage, and also handling female offenders.

According to the State Library of South Australia, Ms Kate Cocks became well known for her nightly patrols of the Parklands around Adelaide on the lookout for young people engaged in what was called amorous behaviour. Her catchphrase became: 'Three feet apart, three feet apart!', which is incredible.

Ms Louise Forster, who joined as the fourth member of the South Australian women police in 1917, was sent to Mount Gambier for the summer months between 1922 and 1923. Over her career she travelled back to Adelaide for periods of up to nine months at a time to assist with key issues impacting women and children particularly.

In 1945, women officers were provided with formal training, which was provided through one-on-one instructions in law, fingerprinting and jujitsu, I am told, which is quite astounding as well. For the first time in 1950 they were given driving instructions at the Thebarton barracks.

By the early 1970s, uniformed police women were employed, and the very first women to work as uniformed police started at the Thebarton barracks in October 1973 and were required to complete the same studies, physical education and driver training as their male counterparts.

Although trained to use firearms, women on mixed patrols were not issued with guns or firearms until 1977, and at that time they were instructed not to carry them in their handbags. Apparently handbags were the issue at the time as they presented a security risk.

In 1979, women were first allowed to join SAPOL as police cadets from 17 years of age and serve in general uniform police roles. Also in 1979, Chief Inspector Fay Leditschke became the first woman commissioned officer in SAPOL as an inspector. The chief inspector had to design her own uniform as no female uniform template existed at her rank. So I guess that went with the job. South Australia was also the first Australian policing jurisdiction to appoint a woman police officer, Senior Sergeant Jane Kluzek, to a tactical response group (the STAR group) in 1999.

On 1 July 2015, of course, Ms Linda Williams will become South Australia's first woman deputy police commissioner, and once again I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Linda on this very important appointment and this first for South Australia. Throughout 2015, various events will be held to celebrate 100 years of women policing, which is marked by the first women's police office being opened in Victoria Square on 1 December 1915.

More than 30 years later, initiatives such as maternity leave, measures to combat workplace discrimination and harassment, and a broad range of career opportunities have all contributed to an increase in the number of female officers serving in the South Australian community. I congratulate the South Australian police force on 100 years of women in policing, and look forward to hearing about the celebratory events.