ABSTRACT
Women in policing have the promise of changing the profession, and, in fact, they are changing the profession, gradually, in one police precinct at a time. This chapter provides a history of yesterday and today that parallels the history of women’s liberation. First their roles were as police matrons to enforce moral standards of girls and work with women in jails and prison. Gradually, they moved into police departments as policewomen, wearing uniforms and taking on the “softer” aspects of policing, often working as dispatchers or with women and children. Following a number of lawsuits, women moved into patrol work and assumed the title of police officers, the same as men. Chapter 11 uses numerous firsthand narratives to tell the stories of women who overcame the barriers and helped pave the way for others to follow. Boxed readings on police work in Canada and by a police chief on a university campus reveal different aspects of police work along with biographical accounts from Hawaii and Ohio.
