PoliceWoman101

In the late 1800's, Jail Matrons were common to help with incarcerated women and children in prisons and mental asylums. They had no arrest powers but were the forerunners to policewomen. 


On April 1, 1908, Lola Baldwin, was sworn in as a "female detective to perform police service" for the city of Portland, Oregon.¹ She was the first documented woman hired by a U.S. municipality to perform law enforcement duties. She was a commissioned officer with arrest powers but did not carry a firearm and mainly performed social work. 


In 1910, LA City Council passed an ordinance for LAPD to employ "one police officer who shall be a woman."⁵ Mrs. Alice Wells, a social worker, was hired and assigned to the juvenile division. 

Until the 1970s, women in police positions were used in social work and community service positions and largely only dealt with women and children. After Civil Rights legislation in the early '70s, patrol positions started opening up to females across the nation.  


Women Police now make up approximately 13-14 percent of all LE sworn personnel. Only about 1 percent (about 200 or so) of this nation's police chiefs and sheriffs are female.¹⁵ 

WOMEN SERVE A VALUABLE ROLE IN LAW ENFORCEMENT
Wind Beneath My Wings by Lucy Tops