On September 12, 1910, the Los Angeles Police Department swore in Alice Stebbins Wells as its first woman police officer—and, according to the LAPD, the nation’s first policewoman with arrest powers. A minister and social welfare worker, Wells had petitioned the city council and police commission to establish a position for a woman officer, particularly one able to address the safety and welfare of women and children.
Her appointment marked an important early expansion of police work beyond enforcement alone. Wells focused on prevention and protection, inspecting dance halls, theaters, skating rinks, penny arcades, and other public gathering places where young people could be vulnerable to exploitation or abuse.
Wells also became a leading advocate for women in law enforcement. Her public campaigning encouraged other departments to hire policewomen, and she was instrumental in organizing the International Policewomen’s Association in 1915. By 1916, women officers had been hired in 16 other U.S. cities, as well as in several foreign countries.
Image: Officer Alice Stebbins Wells, 1912. Via Wikimedia Commons; public domain
