Pauline Clare

Pauline Ann Clare (born 26 July 1947) is a British former police officer who served as chief constable of Lancashire Constabulary from 1995 to 2002. She was the first female officer to lead a police force in the United Kingdom.

Early life Clare was born on 26 July 1947 in Chorley, Lancashire. Her father, a Co-op butcher, moved the family to Ribchester when Clare was young. They later returned to Chorley and Clare attended St Mary's Catholic Secondary Modern School in Leyland. Following this, she was posted to the Kirkby and Southport areas; in the latter area she obtained the rank of inspector.

Over the course of her career she went on to serve at every uniformed rank in the British police. She was the first woman chief constable in the UK. Early on into her tenure some journalists alleged that Clare had benefitted from positive discrimination, something she both denied and criticised as a practice. She was also questioned about her choice of perfume in her first press conference as chief constable which she expressed frustration at, implying that the question was sexist in its nature and irrelevant to her role. By 2000, this approach had seen a 7.9% year on year fall in crime which was the highest in England and Wales. In particular their response to the racially motivated assault of an Asian taxi driver in comparison to their response to the stabbing of a white man drew strong criticism from representatives of Burnley's Asian community.

Upon her departure from Lancashire Constabulary in 2002, it was rated by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary as the best performing force in England and Wales.

Personal life Clare is married to Stuart, a lawyer, and has two adult stepdaughters. In 2002, Clare was appointed a Commander of the British Empire (CBE).