Learn history through fiction. “Dr. Vibrator” is the story of Alice Stebbins Wells, the first policewoman in the United States, appointed to the Los Angeles Police Department in 1910. She worked on the “purity squad,” where she was responsible for enforcing laws concerning “dance halls, skating rinks, penny arcades, picture shows, and other places of public recreation.” Although not allowed to carry a gun, she was authorized to make arrests. Standing just five feet tall, Alice was also an ordained minister, social worker, and active member of the Women’s Christian Temperance Union. To learn more history through fiction, see BEHIND THE STORY.
