Western Australia Police Force

, used as a police radio tower in Highgate from 1941 to 1975 Early history The genesis of the police was the appointment of a Sheriff by Captain Stirling on 18 June 1829, as part of the proclamation of the Swan River Colony, charged with maintaining public order in Perth and Fremantle colonies. The proclamation provided for the appointment of a sheriff having under his direction a high constable, constables, bailiffs, and surveyors of highways. The Sheriff still exists as an officer of the Supreme Court of Western Australia (Department of Justice), but no longer has jurisdiction over police or highways. The Sheriff retains responsibility for enforcement of civil court judgments and the administration of jury service. Police do occasionally carry out Sheriff and Bailiff duties, particularly in remote country locations. Early colonial policemen were recruited by Magistrates and worked part-time, employed on a local, "as needed" basis. They were paid only for specific tasks, such as one shilling for serving a summons. By 1830, there were fifteen part-time constables in the state, of whom five worked in Perth. A Mounted Police troop was established in 1834 as the needs of the colony changed, in particular after the introduction of convicts. This troop proved unpopular with citizens due to the perception that it was not efficient and was being paid out of their taxes for duties which the military should be performing. In the same year as its establishment, the Mounted Police were involved in the Pinjarra Massacre during which a large number of Aboriginal people where killed and after which Captain Ellis, the police superintendent, died. In 1840, the first full-time constable for Perth was appointed. On 11 May 1849, the colony's Legislative Council passed a Police Ordinance which outlined police powers and responsibilities. The Ordinance noted that 'distinct general and town police forces' did not yet exist. By 1870, after transportation had ceased, some 1,244 ticket-of-leave men had to be supervised by 146 police employees. Applicants for police service were required to be aged under forty, literate and physically fit. Leave was difficult to obtain for officers and officers were not to appear in public when out of uniform. Until the end of the nineteenth century, the monthly pay day was marked by a parade with band. A Criminal Investigation Department was set up in 1873, although two detectives had been sent out from Britain in 1854. A fingerprint bureau was set up in 1902. Modern policing On 5 March 1853, the Western Australian Colonial Secretary, W.A. Stanford, signed a notice published in the Government Gazette, formally establishing the Police Force as a "united, structured body". The Colonial Secretary appointed John Augustus Conroy as Superintendent of Police (sometimes referred to within the colony as Chief of Police): "His Excellency the Governor directs the following appointments to be notified for general information: T.A.Conroy (actually J.A.) to be Superintendent of Police". On 15 March 1853, the Gazette published a Code of Rules for the Western Australian Police Force, signed by the Colonial Secretary on 11 March, which outlined a formal command structure and listed basic duties of commissioned and non-commissioned officers and constables. Since the police numbering system, a system wherein police officers are assigned a Police Regimental Number (PD Number), was introduced for members in 1898, approximately 1,112 had been paid for police services between 1829 and 1898. Between 1898 and August 2023, over 10,000 men and women served in the Western Australian police. In 1917, after two years of concerted effort from women's groups in New South Wales and South Australia, and amidst concerns that male officers were "not resourced or trained to address ... the moral or physical wellbeing of the women and children of WA", Western Australia's first female police officers, Helen Blanche Dugdale (1876–1952) and Laura Ethel Chipper (1879–1978), were appointed in August 1917 to commence duties on 1 September 1917 as Women Police Constables (WPCs) under the newly established Women Police Office. Dugdale and Chipper were employed under the Police Act with full constabulary powers, but were officially commissioned to "patrol slum neighbourhoods", "look after drunken women", and "obtain assistance for their neglected children". Early WPCs were initially segregated from the male policing divisions, being assigned to the female-only Women Police Office, and assisting male-only units as required. In the early 1970s, the Women Police Office was disbanded and serving female constables were integrated into all aspects of policing with the same powers and duties of their male counterparts. , women constitute 24.4% of sworn WA Police officers, and 25.4% of all WA Police staff, including three of 12 senior officers. ==Organisation==