There wouldn’t have been female patrol officers or detectives, but I presume there were matrons who processed female prisoners and other such “non-combat” roles. What duties might a female employed by the NYPD back in the 1930s have had? When would they have had a uniform, a badge or a gun?
The NYPD did have a Bureau of Policewomen until 1973 and they did have uniforms (naturally with a skirt & hats which made them look like Navy WAVES), badges, and were issued pistols. In addition to searching women (both alive & dead) they also dealt with juveniles, patroled matinee theatres, and did the occasional undercover work under the supervision of male detectives (mostly pretending to be dancers, prostitutes, or domestics).
In the '30s, females were not police officer’s per se, but rather more like social workers. They dealt with prostitutes, other female criminals and juveniles exclusively. No cite immediately handy, but I can get you something, if needed, when I next go to my office. That would be an irregular thing this time of year though (university).
“Bureau of Policewomen” gave me some links to check out, and pretty much what alphaboi867 said. Apparently they were issued pistols and empowered to make arrests, which placed them a bit above social workers, although of course they still operated in a “pink collar ghetto”.
This post made me think of policewoman Betty Dean, who appeared in *Marvel Mystery Comics *#3, in 1940. She was Namor the Sub-Mariner’s first human friend and ally, and I wonder now how revolutionary of a character she was: an independent, fiesty female police officer in 1940!
As an aside, there are only four surface-world people Namor was EVER happy to see: Betty Dean, Susan Storm, Captain America, and Jim Hammond (the original Human Torch). All four are leggy blondes. Coincidence? I think not.