The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-04-13

girls and also the boys, to warn the
girls when they are seen taking too much
liquor and to watch that If intoxicated
they are not accompanied from the hall
by young men who have piled them with
liquor for illicit purposes. They should
also see that young unsophisticated boys
are not victimized by professional prosti-
tutes who take advantage of inexperi-
eneed youths who come to the city for
the first time and visit the dance halls
to "see the sights
Women police should be stationed on
pleasure boats and at bathing beaches
and should ever be on the alert for con-
ditions which demoralize children. We
reed women police in our amusement
Iarks to mingle with the crowds at the
| gates and to save young girls from ac-
cepting invitations from men who hope
| to be repaid later in the evening. We
need women police in such places to fol-
! low girls who are seen going to lonely
| parts of the parks accompanied by young
| men. In fact, we need women police to
| mother" the girls in all public places
| where the danger to young people is
, great.
In our station houses we should have
| women police in whose charge girls
| should be placed. Women police could
! accompany the girls to trial and be with
| them when they are subjected to haras-
| sing questions SO often put to them by
| attorneys. And women police should ac-
company girls to the institutions to which
work of the woman police officer would
work of the woman police officer would
not be very different from that OF tine
woman probation officer. The juvenile
court officers investigate homes and
reighborhoods, watch their wards TO see
that they attend school or are at work,
and take charge of children after they
have become delinquent. 1t would be only
one more step, but one urgently needed,
| to have women police who would lessen
! the work of the probation officers Dy
carefully watching for those causes which
| lead children into the courts, by report
ing these conditions to the. proper au-
thorities and by carefully supervising all
places Of amusement.
4 Women truant officers attached to the
| compulsory education department. the
women adult probation officers connected
with the municipal courts, the women
1 factory inspectors, the women sanitary
/ inspectors of the health department. the
women school nurses, the women sup
iplied by the Travellers Aid association the
officers of the Juvenile Protective asso-
| citation and all other officers paid by pri-
vate organizations are doing valiant work
| for the young people of our Cities But
| we especially need the police power which
the city might vest in women trained
| for the work and which would give them
the necessary authority to cope with cer-
tain dangerous situations with which pri-
vate organizations have tried in vain to
! deal.
| Women police are not needed to handle
| crowds. to regulate street traffic, to ar
| rest drunkards and criminals, but they
are sorely needed in order that they may
adequately protect the thousands of chill
| dren and young people who every day are
! exposed to the dangers of unsupervised
| and disreputable places of amusement
and for whose safety and welfare the
| city is responsible.