Women in Policing History

History of Women in Policing

• Women have been involved in municipal policing in the United States since the late 1800s, initially fulfilling specialist roles assisting and overseeing women and juveniles.
• In 1845, the NYPD hired two women to work as matrons in the city's two jails.
• In 1893, the Chicago Police Department assigned Mary Owens as a “patrolman”, primarily working with women and children.
• In 1905, Lola Baldwin was sworn in as a "female detective" in Portland, Oregon, with powers of arrest, focusing on crime prevention and social work.
• Alice Stebbins Wells, hired by LAPD in 1910, is considered the first female police officer “officially designated” as a policewoman, receiving badge number 1.
• Wells founded and became the first president of the International Policewomen's Association, promoting female officers across America and Canada.
• During the 1930s, women's employment suffered due to the Great Depression, and law enforcement shifted focus from social work to combating crime.

Mid-20th Century Developments

• During World War II, more women were hired in law enforcement, mostly in auxiliary roles like dispatchers or clerical workers.
• In 1956, the International Association of Women Police was formed to support female officers.
• In the 1960s, police departments increasingly needed women crime-fighters for undercover work in vice squads.
• In 1968, Elizabeth Robinson and Betty Blankenship became the nation's first female patrol officers in the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department.
• In 1972, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act outlawed gender discrimination in public agencies, including police departments, expanding opportunities for women.

Breaking Barriers

• In 1972, JoAnne Misko and Susan Malone became the first fully sworn FBI agents.
• In the 1980s, women like Penny Harrington broke through police departments' "glass ceilings", becoming chiefs of police.
• In 1994, Beverly Harvard became the first black female police chief in Atlanta.
• Today, over 300 women serve as chiefs of police in departments across the nation.

Challenges for Women in Policing

• Predictions that women would make up nearly 50% of the law enforcement workforce by the 21st century did not materialize.
• Despite studies showing women can perform all duties of patrol officers and excel in many areas, growth of women in policing has progressed slowly.
• Physical strength is often perceived as a limitation for female police officers, leading to questions about their effectiveness in dangerous physical confrontations.