Page 40 - Garda Journal Summer 2019

their work. The school’s Criminology Department picked it up and offered it for the first time during the 1918 summer session. Her career would only grow in success.
Wells organised the Los Angeles Policewomen’s Association in 1925, became the Women’s Peace Officers Association of California first president in 1928, and was named the LAPD historian in 1934. Three years later, the LAPD had 39 female officers in service and five reserve officers. These five officers were “aerial policewomen.”
Their new squadron, previously all-male, was comprised of highly trained and commercial amateur pilots who were called into service when a situation required expert flyers.
After 30 years of service, Wells retired from her position as the LAPD’s historian on the 1st of November 1940. Even after her retirement, she never stopped lecturing about the importance of more women pursuing careers in law enforcement. The LAPD remembers her as the revolutionary figure who championed the good female officers could do amongst female and juvenile criminals.
When Wells died in 1957, a ten-women Honor Guard and the LAPD’s highest ranking officers attended her funeral.
Over a century has passed since her appointment, and policewomen now exercise duties in delinquency prevention, patrol, crime investigation when juveniles are involved or when the expertise of a female officer is needed. This growth is mirrored in Wells’ International Association of Women Police. The organisation now has members across 60 countries, works with 25 affiliate organisations and hosts an annual training conference to raise women’s capacity in policing. Its vision encapsulates what Wells sought out to do with her petition in 1910: create “a world where police reflect the diversity of the communities they serve and human rights are protected.”
https://iawppublic.wildapricot.org/
Sources:
www.mail.iawp.org/history/wells/alice_stebbins_ wells.htm www.britannica.com/biography/Alice-Stebbins-Wells www.lapdonline.org/history_of_the_lapd/content_ basic_view/833
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40 GARDA JOURNAL
FEATURE | Alice Stebbins