Karpal Kaur Sandhu

Walthamstow, London

1962-73

Karpal Kaur Sandhu was born in 1943 in Zanzibar, East Africa, to a Sikh family. She moved to the UK in 1962 aged nineteen, and initially worked as a nurse at Chase Farm Hospital, Enfield. Sandhu became a police constable (PC) in 1971. She was both the first female Asian police officer and the first female Sikh police officer in the UK. She significantly impacted the London Metropolitan police (the Met), and has since been hailed as a pioneer, particularly for women that have overcome significant obstacles in the police force. For example, beyond her work as a patrolling officer, she taught other officers Asian dialects, at times supported the Criminal Investigation Department, while also contributing invaluably to the Met’s work among immigrant populations.

PC Sandhu was married and had two young children. Her husband was opposed to her being a police officer, deeming it an unsuitable position for an Indian woman. In protest, he moved back to India with their children. Sandhu was able to bring them back to the UK, but her husband remained in India until he returned in November 1973. He confronted her on 4 November 1973 outside her house on Chelmsford Road, Walthamstow. After a physical altercation, she attempted to arrest him, but he overpowered and stabbed her in the neck. He was sentenced to life imprisonment for murder in 1974.

PC Sandhu has been commemorated in various ways. The Met have released statements on significant anniversaries related to her career and death, such as the 50th anniversary of the year she joined the force. A classroom was dedicated in 2021 to PC Sandhu in the Peel Centre at Hendon Police College. There is also a campaign to create a memorial to honour PC Sandhu, a call backed by her old chief superintendent, Gurpal Virdi.