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Did you know?

Marie OwensThe first women police officers were appointed in 1883 by the London Metropolitan Police.

In the United States on December 16, 1891, City Health Department Inspector Marie Owens was appointed to the Chicago Police Department as a police officer assigned to the Detective Bureau, becoming the nation's earliest-known female sworn law enforcement officer.

Originally called “matrons” when they were first hired by the New York City police department before the turn of the 20th century, female officers really didn't achieve full recognition for a very long time. In the mid-1970s, despite the popularity of television shows like Cagney and Lacy and Charlie's Angels, women only made up 2 percent of the total police work force.

In fact it wasn't until 1985 that Penny Harrington was appointed the first female police chief in the nation, serving in Portland, Oregon.

There are more than 900,000 sworn law enforcement officers now serving in the United States, which is the highest figure ever. Only about 12 percent of those are female.

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