NCJ Number
183421
Date Published
1998
Length
10 pages
Annotation
Policewomen officially came into existence in 1910, but their roots are in the jail and prison matron era that began in the 1820’s with the efforts of volunteer Quaker women who were following the example set by British Quakers.
Abstract
The era of policewomen overlapped the matron movement, represented a continuation of women’s professionalism within the police setting, and was part of a history of intervention by upper-middle-class women into the lives of poor women and children. These educated policewomen used social work and not law enforcement as their frame of reference. Their class differences and their attitudes often made them unwelcome and unappreciated in poor, immigrant neighborhoods. The renewal of concerns with morality and delinquency during World War II enabled policewomen to regain the World War I momentum and allies that they had lost during the Depression. They increased their wartime gains in the postwar years. Their assignments also began to diversity. Lawsuits in the 1960’s brought changes in employment laws; policewomen moved into more areas of policing and were more aggressive and less oriented to social service. The majority of women now enter criminal justice for the same reasons as men. Nevertheless, new debates have emerged about the subtle and nonsubtle barriers that women encounter as they seek real equality. Postfeminist writers disagree with previous feminists--they do not regard gender neutrality positively--which could lead to a situation in which women succeed by accentuating rather than subordinating their femininity. 13 reference notes