"The woman 'Cop' (a dream)."
The concept of a "police-woman" brought to life by a suffragette.
Amanda Uren
c. 1908
Credit: George Grantham Bain Collection (Library of Congress)
The only available information about these pictures is the description in the Library of Congress: "The woman 'Cop' (a dream). A Suffragette posed to illustrate the woman police concept - Cincinnati/"Yet, as odd as it may appear, it may be possible to take them at face value. In 1910, only 12 months after these pictures were taken, a thirty-seven-year-old Alice Stebbins Wells became the first female police officer in the United States, joining the Los Angeles Police Department. Six years later, Wells was appointed inaugural president of the International Association of Women Police.
This is serious work and I do hope<br>the newspapers will not try to make fun of it.<br>I think police work is a great work. - Alice Stebbins Wells
Credit: George Grantham Bain Collection (Library of Congress)
Credit: George Grantham Bain Collection (Library of Congress)
Credit: George Grantham Bain Collection (Library of Congress)
No young girl can be questioned by a male officer. Such work is delegated solely to policewomen, who, by their womanly sympathy and intuition, are able to gain the confidence of their younger sisters. - LAPD c.1910