Gavin Howe
Women have served in law enforcement in various countries for over a century, though they were often relegated to gendered roles such as clerical work or social services. In 1845, women began working as matrons in New York City's jails, and in 1891, law enforcement agencies employed women solely for the care of female prisoners. The first female police officers in Australia were appointed in 1915, and in the same year, Georgia Ann Robinson became the first African-American policewoman. In 1910, Alice Stebbins Wells, a graduate of Oberlin College and Hartford Theological Seminary, became the first woman to fill a police position in Los Angeles, and was the first U.S. woman to wear a police badge and uniform and exercise the full powers of a police officer.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Name | Alice Stebbins Wells |
| Other names | LAPD Officer Wells, Officer Alice |
| Known for | Being the first woman in America to be a police officer, being the first U.S. woman to wear a police badge and uniform and exercise the full powers of a police officer |
| Year of joining law enforcement | 1910 |
| Department | Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) |
| Duties | Supervising skating rinks and dance halls, interacting with female members of the public, reporting back to headquarters when billboards, theatre shows and other attractions weren’t quite wholesome for the mores of the time |
| Other firsts | Sewing her own police uniform, which was the first police woman's uniform in the United States |
| Year of death | 1957 |
| Other notable women in law enforcement | Marie Owens, Lola Green Baldwin, Margaret Adams, Georgia Ann Robinson, Heather Fong, Lilian May Armfield, Maude Marion Rhodes, Kate Cocks, Annie Ross, Katherine Ryan, Meta Kehrer, Frances Glessner Lee |
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What You'll Learn
Marie Owens: First female police sergeant
Marie Owens, born Marie Connolly, is believed to have been the first female police officer in the United States and the first female police officer in the Chicago Police Department, in 1891. She retired in 1923 and passed away four years later in New York, where she lived with one of her daughters.
Owens was born in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, in 1853, to parents who had immigrated from Ireland to escape the potato famine. At 26, she married Thomas Owens, and the couple moved to Chicago. Over the years, their family expanded to include five children. Unfortunately, Marie's husband died of typhoid fever in 1888, leaving her to raise their five children alone.
Before joining the police, Owens worked as a health inspector in the city health department in 1889, enforcing child labor and compulsory education laws. In 1891, she was transferred to the Chicago Police Department, where she was given powers of arrest, the title of detective sergeant, and a police star. As a police officer, Owens continued to focus on protecting women and children, enforcing child labor and welfare laws. She assisted detective officers in cases involving women and children, and her work impacted thousands.
Despite her groundbreaking achievements, Marie Owens' accomplishments were largely overlooked and even erased from history. During her time on the police force, another female police officer, Alice Stebbins Wells, gained significant recognition through her public speaking and newspaper articles, leading many to believe she was the first female police officer in the country. Sadly, Owens' obituary made no mention of her pioneering service, and a historian's mistake further contributed to the erasure of her story.
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Alice Stebbins Wells: First policewoman in LA
Alice Stebbins Wells, born on June 13, 1873, in Manhattan, Kansas, was the first female police officer in Los Angeles, California. She was also one of the first American-born female police officers in the United States, hired in 1910.
Wells was a graduate of Oberlin College and Hartford Theological Seminary, where she conducted a study that concluded there was a large need for female officers. She previously served as a minister in Kansas and was a member of the Women's Christian Temperance Union.
Wells joined the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) after a long campaign of petitioning, which included the support of 100 citizens of Los Angeles. The petition was successful, and she was appointed in September 1910. Although Wells was a sworn officer, she was not permitted to carry a gun, unlike her male counterparts. She was, however, equipped with a telephone call box key, a police rule book, a first aid book, and the "Policewoman's Badge Number One". Wells was responsible for sewing her own uniform, which was the first policewoman's uniform in the United States. It consisted of a floor-length dress and jacket in khaki.
Wells was assigned to work with the LAPD's first juvenile officer, and her early career involved supervising skating rinks, movie theatres, and dance halls, as well as interacting with female members of the public. She focused on protecting women and advocated for more female officers to help youth in need and women who might not feel comfortable speaking to male policemen. In 1912, two years after Wells joined the force, two other female officers were sworn in, and by 1915, sixteen other cities and several foreign countries had hired female police officers as a direct result of Wells' activities.
In addition to her police work, Wells founded and was the president of the Los Angeles Social Hygiene Society, where she supported sex education in Los Angeles. She also helped organize the Women's Peace Officers Association of California in 1928 and was appointed the LAPD historian in 1934, a role she held until her retirement in 1940. She remained an advocate for female participation in law enforcement until her death in 1957.
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Margaret Adams: First female deputy sheriff
In the early 20th century, women were not considered fit for law enforcement roles, and those who did enter the field were often relegated to gendered roles like clerical work or social service positions. However, one pioneering woman, Margaret Queen Adams, broke through these barriers to become the first female deputy sheriff in the United States.
Margaret Q. Adams, also known as Margaret Queen Adams, was appointed as the first female deputy sheriff in the United States, taking the oath of office on February 16, 1912. She served the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (LASD) for an impressive 35 years until her retirement in 1947. During her tenure, she coordinated much of the evidence processed through the Los Angeles Courthouse, working closely with several sheriffs. Her dedication to her work earned her the respect of her colleagues, and she remained close to many of them even after her retirement.
Before joining the LASD, Adams insisted on being deputized, recognizing the importance of having the same authority as her male counterparts. Her insistence on equal authority set a precedent for future female law enforcement officers. Adams' work centered on protecting women, and she played a pivotal role in lobbying for laws to safeguard women's rights and advising other cities and states on women's law enforcement issues.
Margaret Q. Adams died on January 7, 1974, just six months shy of her 100th birthday. She was laid to rest in Inglewood, California, wearing her sheriff's shield, a testament to her groundbreaking career. Her legacy inspired future generations, including her granddaughter Margaret Irene (Bowdish) McDonald, who became the first woman to work on the floor of the Pacific Stock Exchange in 1963.
While Adams was the first female deputy sheriff in the United States, it's worth noting that other women broke barriers in law enforcement around the same time. For instance, Alice Stebbins Wells, the first U.S.-born woman to be hired by any police department, joined the LAPD in 1910, and Georgia Ann Robinson became the first African-American policewoman in 1916, also with the LAPD. These women, along with Adams, paved the way for future generations of female law enforcement officers, challenging societal norms and proving their capabilities in a male-dominated field.
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JoAnne Misko and Susan Malone: First female FBI agents
In 1972, JoAnne Pierce Misko and Susan Roley Malone became the first two female special agents in the FBI. Misko, a former nun, and Malone, the daughter of a Marine pilot, were brought together by their shared goal of becoming FBI special agents.
Misko had been teaching at a school when she met an FBI agent who was recruiting. She then went to Washington, D.C., and began working with a group of agents, which she loved. When L. Patrick Gray opened up the FBI to women, Misko was asked by the head of the training division if she would be interested in becoming an agent, and she accepted. Her first posting was in St. Louis, Missouri, where she focused on white-collar crimes. She later became one of the first female supervisors at FBI Headquarters and worked in Pittsburgh, where she pursued fugitives and military deserters. Misko generally faced little resistance within the FBI for being a woman, although in 1994, she filed a lawsuit against the Department of Justice, asserting that she had not been promoted due to her gender. At the time of her retirement in 1994, she was the longest-tenured female agent in FBI history.
Malone, on the other hand, was inspired to join the FBI at a young age. Her first exposure to the Bureau came from books and the 1959 film "The FBI Story." As a student, she took a tour of the FBI, which further fuelled her ambition to serve her country. After graduating, Malone was dispatched to the Omaha Division, where she worked on cases such as cattle rustling and train wrecking. She then moved to San Francisco, where she worked on high-profile cases, including the Patty Hearst kidnapping and interviewing the Manson family. Malone left the FBI in 1979 and rejoined the Marines, working for the Defense Criminal Investigative Service. She has since served in various roles, including with the State Department and the United Nations in Iraq, Jordan, and Indonesia.
The entry of Misko and Malone into the FBI marked a significant step forward for women in law enforcement. Despite the progress, women still face underrepresentation in the FBI, comprising only 22% of special agents as of 2022.
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Susan Kiefel: First female Chief Justice of Australia
In the world of law enforcement, women have faced numerous obstacles and challenges throughout history. Early on, women were often relegated to clerical or social service positions, and their capabilities were not considered on par with their male counterparts. Despite these hurdles, pioneering women broke through barriers and paved the way for future generations.
In the United States, Alice Stebbins Wells, born in 1873, was one of the first female police officers, sworn into the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) in 1910. Wells' work centred around protecting women and advocating for their inclusion in law enforcement. By 1915, her efforts had inspired the hiring of female police officers in sixteen other cities and several foreign countries. Another notable figure is Georgia Ann Robinson, who became the first African-American policewoman when she joined the LAPD in 1916.
In Canada, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) swore in thirty-two women as their first female officers in 1974. This group of women broke new ground, ensuring that the pressure of being a trailblazer was shared among them. Katherine Ryan, also known as Klondike Kate, was hired as a special constable by the RCMP in 1900, tasked with overseeing female offenders and escorting them during transfers.
In Australia, Lilian May Armfield and Maude Marion Rhodes became the first female police officers in New South Wales in 1915. That same year, Kate Cocks and Annie Ross were appointed as the first female police constables in South Australia, wielding equal powers to their male counterparts.
While the journey towards gender equality in law enforcement has been arduous, significant milestones have been achieved. In 2004, Heather Fong became the first Asian American woman to serve as police chief in a major city, San Francisco.
Now, let's shift our focus to Susan Kiefel, the first female Chief Justice of Australia.
Susan Mary Kiefel AC KC, born in Cairns, Queensland, in 1954, is an Australian lawyer and barrister who broke new ground by becoming the first female Chief Justice of Australia. Her journey to this prestigious position began when she was admitted to the Queensland Bar in 1975. Kiefel's academic pursuits included obtaining a Master of Law from the University of Cambridge. In 1987, she became the first female Queen's Counsel in Queensland, marking a significant step forward for women in the legal profession. Her judicial career progressed rapidly, with appointments to the Supreme Court of Queensland in 1993 and the Federal Court of Australia in 1994. Kiefel also served as a Justice of the High Court of Australia from 2007 until her appointment as Chief Justice in 2017. Her tenure as Chief Justice concluded in 2023, leaving a lasting legacy as a trailblazer for women in the legal field.
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Frequently asked questions
Marie Owens joined the Chicago Police Department in 1891 as a "patrolman", though her duties did not include patrol.
Lola Baldwin was sworn in by the city of Portland, Oregon, in 1908.
Georgia Ann Robinson was appointed to the LAPD in 1916.
Frances Glessner Lee was appointed captain in the New Hampshire State Police in 1943.
Lilian May Armfield and Maude Marion Rhodes were appointed in New South Wales in July 1915.
