Biography

The Oral Histories of Iowa Policewomen were conducted by Phylliss Henry between 1997 and 2005. Henry, a former patrol officer with the Des Moines Police Department and a former U.S. marshal, began this project in 1997; she turned her full attention to it after retiring from law enforcement in 2001. The project documents the entry of women to Iowa's law enforcement agencies, especially police departments. These interviews describe the challenges women encountered when they entered police forces, the contributions made by women police officers, and the changes the police departments themselves underwent during the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s.

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