The Metropolitan Police Service’s longest serving female police officer celebrated 40 years’ service to London

The Metropolitan Police Service’s longest serving female police officer celebrated 40 years’ service to London.

PC Karen Giles joined the Met on 12 July 1976 and to mark her 40th year of service she was joined by Assistant Commissioner Martin Hewitt and Borough Commander Kate Halpin ahead of a night duty shift in Lewisham this evening.

PC Giles was living in Cornwall when a careers talk at her school inspired her to join the police. At just 18, she moved to London to begin her career as a WPC.

PC Karen Giles, said: "I arrived in London with a friend, not even knowing where the police station was. We felt like Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum.

"There have been so many changes in the past 40 years', the biggest being the changes in law. When the Police and Criminal Evidence Act of 1984 came into being, everything changed. Before that we just had to learn Judges Rules, which was far more straightforward.

"I enjoy being a police officer and I believe in what we do, with this in mind I have no plans to retire any time soon."

When PC Giles first joined the police, women had only just been fully integrated into the Met. This was due to the Equal Pay Act and the disbanding of the separate Womens’ Police Department.

She was first posted to Plumstead Division in South East London and was issued with a cape and handbag whilst her male colleagues were issued with a wooden truncheon.

On 12 December 1980, PC Giles and her colleagues were each issued with their own set of handcuffs. Whilst male officers carried them in their trouser pockets, female officers carried theirs in their shoulder bags.

In 1980 she was posted to Peckham and has since been working on a response team in Lewisham for the past 18 years.

PC Giles has been involved in major policing events. She was on duty for the Royal Wedding in 1981, the Queen’s Golden and Diamond Jubilees in 2002 and 2012. She has also policed most of London’s football grounds.

In 1981 she experienced the sharpest ends of policing having been involved in policing the Brixton Riots and was first on scene of an IRA car bombing in Dulwich.

When PC Giles gave birth to her daughter she returned to full time shift work after just nine weeks; she was one of the first women to do this. Many thought it was not possible to carry out police duties as a mother. Undeterred she remained at work and later had a son. She even managed to find time to study for, and obtain two degrees from the Open University.

Assistant Commissioner Martin Hewitt said: "I was lucky enough to have the chance to meet with Police Constable Karen Giles on the anniversary of her 40th year of police service. Rather typically, she was parading for night duty as a response officer. Karen's level of public service to the people of London is quite extraordinary, and she has an unchanged motivation for doing her job. She has been involved in many seminal moments in policing London and her career as the longest serving female officer is an inspiration to us all."

Earlier this month PC Giles won the British Association of Women Police (BAWP) Lifetime Achievement Award at their press conference in Manchester.

Assistant Commissioner Helen King, said: "Front line policing is an essential, demanding role and to still have such enthusiasm for it, after 40 years, is an immense credit to Karen and an inspiration to those who work with her. She truly deserves this Lifetime Achievement award and all of us in the MPS, are very proud to have her as a colleague."