WPC stands for Woman Police Constable — a female police officer of the lowest rank in Britain, the ordinary officer on the beat. It is a title used in front of a name, like a rank: WPC Sharma, WPC Brown. The male or general form is PC (Police Constable), and the plain fact behind the word is that for many years British forces marked out women officers with a separate letter, while men were simply PCs.

WPC stands for Woman Police Constable WPC是Woman Police Constable的縮寫 — a female police officer of the lowest rank in Britain, the ordinary officer on the beat指英國最基層的女警官，也就是在街上巡邏的一般警員。It is a title used in front of a name, like a rank這是一個像官階一樣、放在名字前面的稱謂: WPC Sharma, WPC Brown像WPC Sharma、WPC Brown這樣。The male or general form is PC (Police Constable)男性或通用的說法是PC（Police Constable）, and the plain fact behind the word is that for many years British forces marked out women officers with a separate letter, while men were simply PCs而這個字背後的事實是，英國警方多年來用另一個字母把女警特別標出來，男警則單純叫PC。

That is exactly why the term is now old-fashioned and largely gone. British police stopped using WPC officially in the 1990s, and today a female constable is simply PC — the job is the same, so the title is the same. You will still meet WPC constantly in older detective novels, in reruns of British TV dramas, and in the speech of older people, so it is worth knowing what it means.

That is exactly why the term is now old-fashioned and largely gone這正是為什麼這個稱呼現在已經過時、幾乎消失了。British police stopped using WPC officially in the 1990s英國警方從1990年代起就正式停用WPC這個稱呼, and today a female constable is simply PC現在的女警就單純叫PC — the job is the same, so the title is the same工作內容一樣，稱呼也就一樣。You will still meet WPC constantly in older detective novels你還是會在較舊的偵探小說裡常常看到WPC, in reruns of British TV dramas在重播的英國電視劇裡, and in the speech of older people以及年紀較大的人的口語裡, so it is worth knowing what it means所以還是值得知道它的意思。

Two limits to keep in mind. First, it is British: American police do not use 'constable' this way, so you will not hear WPC in American films. Second, treat it as history, not as current vocabulary — using it about a serving officer today would sound dated at best, and some officers would find it belittling.

Two limits to keep in mind有兩個限制要記住。First首先, it is British它是英式用法: American police do not use 'constable' this way美國警察不這樣用'constable'這個字, so you will not hear WPC in American films所以你不會在美國電影裡聽到WPC。Second第二, treat it as history, not as current vocabulary把它當歷史看，而不是現行的詞彙 — using it about a serving officer today would sound dated at best今天拿它來稱呼一位在職警官，往好裡說也是很過時, and some officers would find it belittling有些警官甚至會覺得這帶有貶低的意味。

If you need the word now, say 'police officer' (which is neatly free of gender) or 'PC' with the name. Say it letter by letter: double-you-pee-see.

If you need the word now如果你現在需要用到這個概念, say 'police officer' (which is neatly free of gender) or 'PC' with the name就說'police officer'（正好沒有性別之分）或搭配姓名的'PC'。Say it letter by letter把WPC逐字母唸出來: double-you-pee-see唸成double-you-pee-see。