A female law enforcement officer who works for a police department or force.
From 'police' (from French and Italian, ultimately from Greek 'polis' meaning city) combined with 'woman'; the word emerged in English in the early 1900s when women first joined police forces.
The first female police officer in the world was likely Marie Curé (not the scientist) in France in the 1880s, but the first officially hired was Alice Stebbins Wells in Los Angeles in 1910—she faced so much resistance that she had to buy her own uniform and badge.
The term 'policewoman' is marked for gender (compare neutral 'police officer' or 'cop'). This reflects historical police work as a male-coded profession; the gendered suffix made female officers visible as exceptions rather than full members of the profession.
Use 'police officer' or 'officer' as gender-neutral default. 'Policewoman' is acceptable only if gender is contextually relevant (e.g., discussing recruitment, bias, or the person's own identity claim).
["police officer","officer","law enforcement officer"]
Women entered policing despite structural barriers; acknowledging their contributions requires calling them by their professional title, not a gendered variant.
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