It is nearly 100 years since the first woman was sworn into the police and given the power of arrest. This documentary (16 March) told of the rocky road they have travelled since then. Perhaps the most intriguing story came right at the beginning. In 1914, some ex-suffragettes formed their own Women’s Police Service, designed themselves a uniform and went out to patrol the streets, armed, someone said, “with nothing more than an upper-class voice and an umbrella”. Their volunteer work established the areas of expertise for women police officers for at least the next half-century: women, children and prostitution. One of their number, Edith Smith, was even given the power of arrest.Soon, though, the WPS was supplanted by the Voluntary Women Patrols, a church-based movemen