On This Day in New York City History March 1, 1912: NYPD Jail Matron Isabella Goodwin (February 20, 1865 - October 26, 1943) becomes the first female detective on the force.
She joined the police force in the late 1890's serving as a jail matron, a position that had her looking after female and children prisoners. In the course of her employment, Goodwin would go undercover from time to time to investigate crimes and gain access to locations such as women only gambling dens where male police officers could not enter. It was while undercover that her big break came.
In 1912, there was a robbery where $25,000 (roughly $770,000 in today's dollars) was stolen. One of the suspects was believed to frequent a boardinghouse for relations with one of its tenants. Goodwin went undercover as a scrubwoman at the boardinghouse. She did so until she gained enough evidence to have the suspect arrested and the case was solved.
For her actions, Goodwin was appointed as New York's first female detective and given the rank of 1st grade lieutenant. By the 1920's Detective Goodwin would oversee the Women’s Bureau that was tasked with investigating cases involving prostitutes, runaways, truants and victims of domestic violence. She would retire in 1924.
As of 2019, 6,570 women were working in New York City’s 36,500-member police force (18 percent) including 781 detectives, 753 sergeants and 200 lieutenants.
Goodwin would pass away on October 26, 1943 and is buried in Green-Wood Cemetary in Brooklyn.
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(at One Police Plaza- NYC Police Headquarters)
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