History of the Metropolitan Police

Suffragettes 1905 - 1914

The militant suffragettes, with their campaign to win votes for women which involved breaking windows, chaining themselves to railings and threatening or abusing members of the government, presented an unusual Public Order problem for the Met. They were not, as a rule, dangerously violent, but their activities in damaging property were clearly unlawful, and they frequently employed the publicity of an arrest to draw attention to their grievance.

The Metropolitan Police, described as 'calm' and 'dignified' in 1907 by Maxim Gorky, a Russian novelist, had a reputation for respect and decorous conduct towards the middle and upper classes and gallantry towards women which was difficult to maintain whilst arresting a struggling suffragette. Furthermore, they adopted hunger strike tactics in prison. It was a relief to the police when the suffragettes shelved their activities for the duration of WW1, and many of them enrolled in institutions which ultimately became the Women Police.