SCOTLAND's most senior female police officer has admitted there are too few women in the service with the issue now a key priority for the country's new single force.
Deputy Chief Constable Rose Fitzpatrick said more women are needed if the senior ranks are to become less male dominated – and suggested her goal is for females to make up 50% of serving officers.
Her comments come two weeks before the launch of Police Scotland, which unifies the country's eight separate forces.
Mrs Fitzpatrick, 53, was named as one of Police Scotland's four deputy chief constables in November following more than two decades working in London. She will be in charge of territorial policing.
She described the current representation of women in the force as "a challenge".
The latest figures from January show just 28% of police officers at all ranks in Scotland are female. Just three of the top 25 roles in Police Scotland are occupied by women, the equivalent of 12%, and only 18 of the 50 chief superintendents are women.
Mrs Fitzpatrick, 53, said: "I think there aren't enough women in the service, in terms of representing the communities we serve. The more women who come into the service the bigger the pool for us then to promote and develop."
On boosting the number of women in the most senior ranks, Mrs Fitzpatrick said: "The pool of people is what we should focus on. If the numbers are right in the pool then people will come through.
"So that's what I'm saying, we need to look further down and make sure we've got development opportunities."
Asked whether the aim should be for the police to have a 50/50 gender split, Mrs Fitzpatrick said: "My goal would be to have the police service absolutely, utterly represent the community it serves ."
While attempts will be made to attract more women to the new single force, Scotland does have higher levels of female officers when compared with some other forces. At the Metropolitan Police, women make up 24.5% of officers. However, females account for less than 13% of those in top roles of chief superintendent or above.
Mrs Fitzpatrick said there had been progress on gender equality since she joined the police in 1987. She stressed sexism is not an issue and there are no obvious barriers to promotion for women. "Our opportunity now is to make sure if there are barriers, they are removed," she said. "[We must ensure] we do that con- sistently across Scotland, and we work very hard to encourage women to continue to come into policing as a career."
However, Deputy Chief Constable Neil Richardson, who will serve in the new single force, said: "The number of female officers is at a record high; this number is almost double what it was 10 years ago. There is a significant number of female officers in senior roles. However, we do recognise this number is not reflected at senior levels nor is the overall number as high as we want it to be. Reform gives us the opportunity to examine our staff profile and make appropriate adjustments."
Gender equality charity Engender welcomed the call for more policewomen. Its spokeswoman, Marsha Scott, said: "A number of practical strategies could sort the historical structures that prevent women from joining and progressing in appropriate numbers."
Brian Docherty, chairman of the Scottish Police Federation, said: "The police service is making advances in relation to a number of female officers which we have in positions within the organisation.
"At the bottom end it should be the right person for the right job, no matter what their background is. We welcome any increase in diversity."
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