Tributes to first black female police officer from Croydon who ‘paved the way for so many women’

Police chiefs have paid tribute to the UK’s first black female officer, from Croydon, who ‘paved the way for so many women’.

Sislin Fay Allen sadly passed away this week aged 83.

Sislin joined the Metropolitan Police Service in 1968 at the age of 29, and was the first black female police officer in both the Met and the UK.

She was working as a nurse at Croydon’s Queens Hospital when she decided to make a career change after seeing a recruitment advert for male and female officers.

She trained at Peel House and her first posting was at Fell Road police station in Croydon, near her family and where she lived.

After spending a year at Croydon, she was posted to the Missing Persons Bureau at Scotland Yard and was later transferred to Norbury police station.

In 1972, Sislin resigned from the Met and returned to Jamaica with her Jamaican-born husband and two children.

During her time in Jamaica, she continued her policing career and joined the Jamaica Constabulary.

Sislin later returned to the UK with her family and moved to South London for a brief period before she again returned to Jamaica, where she sadly passed away at her home in Ocho Rios.

Commissioner Cressida Dick, said: “I was so sad to hear that Sislin has passed away at the age of 83.

“Sislin was a pioneer of her time and an inspiration for many when she became the first black female police officer in the Met and the UK.

“She paved the way for so many women that have followed in her footsteps and joined the Met after her.

“Sislin’s legacy lives on and today we will remember her life and her unique contribution to policing.”