| The First Policewoman - The first policewoman with full powers of
arrest and wearing a uniform was Mrs. Alice Stebbins Wells.
Mrs. Wells was instrumential in
encouraging other police departments to hire policewomen.
|
The first policewoman with full powers of arrest and
wearing a uniform was appointed to the Los Angeles Police Department on September 12,
1910. She was former social worker Mrs. Alice Stebbins Wells.
On her first day Mrs wells was given a Gamewell key, a book of rules, a first-aid book,
and a policeman's badge. At that time, Los Angeles police could use their badge as a free
pass on street-cars when on duty or riding to work. Unfortunately, Mrs Stebbins was
invariably accused of misusing her husband's badge to ride the street-car for free. When
her supervisors herd of her problem they issued her "Policewoman's Badge No. 1."
It was not only the street-car conductors who did not believe that she was given the
powers of a police officer. The idea of a policewoman had been a staple joke in the weekly
comics for more than 50 years. Once she began to wear an official uniform, which she
herself designed, the public took her responsibility and powers more seriously.
The primary duties of Mrs. Wells involved the supervision and enforcement of laws
concerning dance halls, skating rinks, penny arcades, picture shows and other places of
public recreation. She also was to search for missing persons, suppress unwholesome
billboards, and the maintenance of a general information bureau for women seeking advice
from within the police department. In time a directive was made that: "No young girl
can be questioned by a male officer." This work was delegated solely to policewomen.
Mrs. Wells was also very instrumental in her work of promoting the need for policewomen
elsewhere. As a result of her dedication to this effort, 17 other police departments in
the United States were employing women by 1916.
Sources: | The New Shell Book of Firsts |