Thank you to all the women the NYPD, both UMOS and Civilian, who have sacrificed, persisted and opened the doors for employment and opportunity. Not only did you open the doors for us, you kept them open so that one day we could walk in your shoes a little easier.
Thanks to these women, women serve in the NYPD in every role as civilians, uniforms members, executives and within the retirement community throughout New York City.
The History of Women in the New York City Police Department
The story of women in the NYPD began in 1845 when women began working as matrons in the New York City jails. In 1891, they were then hired as Police Matrons where their duties were primarily of a social work nature that included such task as searching female prisoners, supervising their care and taking care of lost children. In the early 20th century, the role of women slowly evolved to include assignments as investigators. They often worked undercover, on so-called “women’s beats. Investigation of vice and gambling were later added to women’s duties.
In 1917, under the war emergency powers of the police commissioner, two women were appointed as police protective officers and given special Patrolwomen’s badges. In August of 1918, six women were promoted to the position of Policewoman, which paid a salary of $1,200 per year. Their police-issued equipment included handcuffs, summonses, and a revolver. However, they did not wear an official police uniform.
In 1921, Mary Hamilton was appointed director in charge of a new women’s police precinct. That very year, the Policewomen’s Endowment Association was founded by Mary Sullivan, Rose Taylor, Ada Barry, Mary McGuire, and Minnie Earnest. In 1924, the designation of the women’s police precinct was reformed and the New York Police Department’s Women’s Bureau was created.
A decade later, in 1934, the New York Police Department now required women to carry guns. Up until that point, carrying a gun was a voluntary practice. With this new mandate, women now joined the male officers in pistol practice. In February 1935, the first uniform for women was sanctioned by Police Commissioner Luis J Valentine.
On May 21st,1938, the first civil service exam with the title of “Policewoman” was given. Approximately 11,000 women filed to take the exam, 3700 women took the exam and a little more than 300 passed. Among the examinees included a doctor, a boxer, an attorney, a writer, a newspaper woman and a private investigator.
18 women and 300 men appointed to enter the police academy class of June 1940. This class became known as the famous class of 1940 because it was the first big post-depression class with over 200 college graduates. The class of 1940 produced a Police Commissioner, a Chief Inspector, which is equivalent to Chief of Department today, and scores of promotions to Captain and above. Only six graduates remained in the rank of patrolman. The exam for men and women listed the base salary at $2,000 to start and increased to $3,000 within 5 years. Mayor LaGuardia cut the base salary to $1,200 for the probationary period. For the first 6 months and raising to $2,000 base salary. The class of 1940 along with several lawyers in their group, took action against the Mayor and won, restoring base salary to its original parameters.
In 1942, women were held to a higher standard than men and were required to have a college degree. In 1958, all police appointees, both male and female, began to train together for 6 months in the police academy.
The Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association (PBA) opened membership to police women in 1968. Throughout the 1970’s the presence of female police officers was progressively accepted by the general public. 1972, was a pivotal year for change throughout our nation and in the NYPD. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act was amended by Congress prohibiting state and local government— including police departments — from discriminating on the basis of race, ethnicity or gender. To meet these new legal requirements, fifteen women were assigned to patrol duty in 1973, the titles of patrolman and police women who are officially consolidated to run title police officer and the first gender-neutral civil service exam was given. More than 350 women were hired that year and more than half of them were assigned to patrol duties.
The decades of the 1980’s, 1990’s and early 2000’s also saw a lot of change and many more firsts for women on the force of the New York Police Department.