Officer "privileged" to attend International Women in Policing Conference in Alaska

A Leicestershire Police officer says she feels “privileged” to have attended a prestigious International Women in Policing (IAWP) conference for her outstanding work.

PC Evie Wilcox spent five days at the event in Alaska at the end of last month where she met women officers from across the globe to discuss experiences of female law enforcement and shared best practice.

Included in the work she heard about in greater detail was forensic analysis, police mentorship schemes, the work of dogs across other forces and the policing of domestic and sexual offences across the world.

PC Wilcox said: “I feel immensely privileged to have been there to hear how other female officers are working elsewhere and under very different circumstances to those in the UK. In many ways we are leading the way through our practices but there is always something to learn from others and I’ve definitely taken this on board.

“Alaska itself was an amazing place to be and hearing first-hand the stories of other officers and the situations they have dealt with in their careers so far was extremely interesting.”

The conference aimed to increase international understanding and awareness of women in police roles and recognise their achievements.

Earlier this year, PC Wilcox was named the national Police Officer of the Year by the British Association of Women in Policing (BAWP).

She was presented with the award for her passion and professionalism despite being in the very early stages of her policing career. It is because of this award that she was invited to attend the conference.

BAWP is the only national organisation to embrace women of all ranks and grades within the police service. Its mission is to ensure that those women are heard and work toward gender equity in policing.

PC Wilcox was also named Woman of the Year at the Leicestershire Police Women’s Inclusive Network (WIN) conference last week. 

Chief Inspector Natalee Wignall, Chair of WIN, said: “It’s fantastic to hear what Evie has learned from her time in Alaska speaking to other female officers. This international conference is an amazing tool to share best practice and provides a great opportunity for us to learn from one another. Evie’s hard work secured her place at the event and I’m sure she will put this new knowledge to good use here in Leicestershire. She also fully deserves her latest award as the force’s Woman of the Year.”