Was there actually such a division in 1970's police departments?

October 20, 2008 10:30 PM

Is the Police Women's Bureau from "Life On Mars" real?

On the American version of the show, Gretchen Mol plays the only female poliec officer (that we've seen so far) at the 125th precinct in 1973 New York City.

In the pilot, she says that the PWB handles "lost pussycats, hysterical girlfriends" and minor medical duties (she checks out the disoriented Sam Tyler after he "arrives" in 1973).

I've searched for the words "Police womens bureau" and come up only with references to the show. Was this a real thing? Was it separate from the "real" police? Were female officers given specific duties, even if it wasn't codified with a name?

posted by Flying Saucer to society & culture (8 comments total)

To tell you the truth I'm not sure, but it sounds like something they just carried over from the British version of the show that never really exists in America. I could be completely wrong though.

On a side note, is the American version of the show any good? I really liked the British version.
posted by AZNsupermarket at 11:22 PM on October 20, 2008

NYPD had Policewomen starting in 1918 but 1973 is the first year that they were allowed on patrol. I'm not aware that there was a separate bureau but the uniform they have her character wearing is pretty realistic per my memory.
posted by nicwolff at 11:24 PM on October 20, 2008

Which is to say: there were women in the NYPD in 1973, they were "real" police officers but they had limited duties and it is believable that they were treated as second-class by the male officers and detectives.
posted by nicwolff at 11:27 PM on October 20, 2008

Side note, AZN: it's good but different. Visually, as a NYer who was 8 years old in '73 it's a lot of fun to see the city so vividly recreated. A few old cops I know have stories from back then and it's not hard to imagine them happening in the 125th the show depicts. On the other hand, the cast has been "Americanized" - the homely Sam Tyler has become a brooding hunk with killer cheekbones, and pretty policewoman Annie is (as you know) here played by Gretchen Mol, who may be the best-looking person in the world.
posted by nicwolff at 11:47 PM on October 20, 2008

I don't know about the Police Women's Bureau, but, as a corollary, it should be remembered that women in the US Army were segregated into their own separate, non-combat service (the WACs) until 1978. So, it's not inconceivable that the NYPD followed a similar arrangement.
posted by Thorzdad at 4:45 AM on October 21, 2008

Yes, it was a real thing. But whether it is portrayed accurately in "Life On Mars" is another question. These excerpts are from a history of female police officers in New York:

The Women’s Bureau was established in 1924 and renamed the Bureau of Policewomen six years later. Policewomen assigned to the Bureau performed matron duties, participated in undercover work, investigated charges of sexual assault, searched female corpses, took abandoned babies to shelters, and protected women and children by patrolling in plainclothes at beaches, movie houses, and schools. Each Policewoman carried her own .32 revolver which was smaller than the men’s .38.

The Bureau of Policewomen also responded to requests for Policewomen made by other units of the NYPD. In 1964, for instance, the Bureau received 311 requests. That same year, members of the Bureau of Policewomen made 1,050 arrests. As Lieutenant Lucy Acerra, who worked in the Bureau, wrote: “The New York Policewomen’s Bureau had taken on all the characteristics of a small police department within a larger one.”

In 1967, 180 women from the Bureau of Policewomen were assigned to precincts. The duties of the Policewomen at the precincts continued to consist primarily of searching women prisoners, guarding children, and performing clerical work. This decentralization of the majority of the Policewomen was a precursor to the dissolution of the Bureau which occurred on August 15, 1973.

[In 1973], The Bureau of Policewomen was disbanded and the titles of “Policewoman” and “Policeman” were officially consolidated to “Police Officer.” More than 350 female Police Officers were hired and trained, more than half of whom were assigned to patrol duties. Height regulations were dropped, “unisex” physical tests for those competing to become Police Officers were implemented, and a new standardized “unisex” uniform was mandated.


However, don't let the above fool you into thinking that women were treated equally. Official discrimination against women ended in 1973. Unofficial discrimination? Still ongoing.
posted by nooneyouknow at 5:26 AM on October 21, 2008

OP, (or someone else) you need to turn this into an FPP. Fascinating topic. (That would be FT)
posted by nax at 5:42 AM on October 21, 2008

What nax said; nooneyouknow's quote is fascinating.
posted by languagehat at 12:08 PM on October 21, 2008