Mary D. Diehl was one of the first female police officers to work in the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania."Women Doing Good Work: On Police Duty With Masher Hunting Her Specialty." Grand Island, Nebraska: The Grand Island Daily Independent, May 2, 1913, p. 2 (subscription required).
She had previously collaborated with L. M. Gillespie to improve the quality of life for more than two thousand women and girls who had become human trafficking victims."Mrs. Mary Diehl." Oakland, California: Oakland Tribune, June 22, 1913, p. 30 (subscription required)."Lady Copper On Job Now in Philadelphia: She Appears In The Regulation Blue Uniform Used By All The Policemen." Fort Wayne, Indiana: The Fort Wayne Daily News, May 2, 1913, p. 8 (subscription required)."These Women Are On The Police Force." Des Moines, Iowa: The Des Moines Evening Tribune, June 10, 1913, p. 7 (subscription required).
Biography Before their hiring as police officers by the city of Philadelphia, Diehl and L. M. Gillespie were employed as agents of the Travelers' Aid Society, on behalf of which they attempted to help distraught Philadelphia area visitors, including women and girls who had been kidnapped and held by "white slavers.""Mrs. Mary Diehl," Oakland Tribune, June 22, 1913."Lady Copper On Job Now in Philadelphia: She Appears In The Regulation Blue Uniform Used By All The Policemen," The Fort Wayne Daily News, May 2, 1913."These Women Are On The Police Force," The Des Moines Evening Tribune, June 10, 1913.
Subsequently employed by the city's police force, which had previously only ever recruited women police officers for department store work, Diehl and Gillespie were immediately given the authority to detain and arrest suspected criminals they encountered within Philadelphia's two major railroad hubs—the Reading Terminal and the Broad Street Station. It was the first time in the city's history that women were assigned to more patrols."Mrs. Mary D. Diehl, New Policewoman of Philadelphia." Fall River, Massachusetts: Fall River Daily Globe, April 22, 1913, p. 1 (subscription required)."Women Policemen Added to Philadelphia's Force." Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: The Pittsburgh Post, April 18, 1913 p. 1 (subscription required)."Philadelphia Has Two Policewomen." Binghamton, New York: Binghamton Press and Leader, April 17, 1913, p. 1 (subscription required)."Women Doing Good Work: On Police Duty With Masher Hunting Her Specialty," The Grand Island Daily Independent, May 2, 1913."Lady Copper On Job Now in Philadelphia: She Appears In The Regulation Blue Uniform Used By All The Policemen," The Fort Wayne Daily News, May 2, 1913."These Women Are On The Police Force," The Des Moines Evening Tribune, June 10, 1913.
The two policewomen were equipped with the same tools given to all other city police officers, including badges, black-jacks, revolvers, and single-wrist handcuffs known as "nippers."American Police Equipment: a guide to early restraints, clubs and lanterns, By Matthew G. Forte (2000), p. 113."Women Doing Good Work: On Police Duty With Masher Hunting Her Specialty," The Grand Island Daily Independent, May 2, 1913."Lady Copper On Job Now in Philadelphia: She Appears In The Regulation Blue Uniform Used By All The Policemen," The Fort Wayne Daily News, May 2, 1913.
Diehl and Gillespie were assigned to "'split shifts' on their beats," and were then required to be “'on reserve' at their homes during the night.""Large Woman in Blue Uniform Attracts Attention." Arkansas City, Kansas: The Arkansas City Daily News, May 2, 1913, p. 3 (subscription required).
Legacy It subsequently took more than a half a century after their hiring for Philadelphia to allow women to be awarded the most dangerous police work—walking the city's neighborhood street beats, a right that was granted in 1976.
See also Women in policing in the United States History of contemporary slavery in the United States Travelers Aid International
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