![Photo of Aurora "Lola" Greene Baldwin](/women_pictures/Baldwin_Aurora "Lola" Greene.png)
Aurora "Lola" Greene Baldwin
Personal Information
Born: 1860
Died: 1957
Country of Birth: USA
Nationality: USA
Ethnicity: White
Education
1877 dropped out of high school after the death of her father & later completed her high school education on her own;
""Don't worry boys, I won't be stepping on your toes." ( thehistoricconnection.com); "I never wore my badge but always had it in my purse." (thehistoricconnection.com); "
— Aurora "Lola" Greene Baldwin
Professional Life
Field of Study: Law Enforcement
Institution/Corporation: City of Portland Oregon
Degrees & Memberships: Member: Board of Hillcrest School of Oregon; Oregon Parole Board; National committee on Prisons & Prison Labor; Boards of 2 Florence Crittenton Homes; charter member Oregon Social Hygiene Society
Awards & Achievements
Awards: 2008 Portland Mayor Tom Potter declared April 1 Lola Greene Baldwin Centennial Day; 1998 inducted into Oregon Women of Achievement
Achievements: 1908 was sworn in by the City of Portland as Superintendent of the Women's Auxiliary to the Police Department for the Protection of Girls (later renamed the Women's Protective Division) with the rank of detective after convincing the Mayor & city government officials of the need for the position; promoted laws to protect women, advised other jurisdictions about women's law-enforcement issues, and demonstrated by example that women could be effective police officers; 1904 was hired by several Portland Oregon charities & businesses (including Travelers aid & YWCA) to help protect young women expected to attend the 1905 Lewis & Clark Centennial Exposition from possible sexual exploitation by helping them find lodging, jobs, & safe environments during their stay in the city with a salary of $75 per month & the authority to make arrests; was one of 15 commissioners appointed to the Portland Vice Commission in 1911 to study the problem of venereal disease (VD) and its relation to the commercial sex trade; 1912 pushed for the creation of the Hillcrest Oregon Industrial School for Girls near Salem; 1918 obtained federal funding for the Cedars Venereal Detention Facility for Women near Portland;
grew up in Rochester New York
was originally a school teacher
engaged in volunteer social work related to unwed mothers and other young women in trouble
stressed crime prevention and favored reform over incarceration
retired from police work in 1922
sometimes referred to as a "municipal mother"
stopped working as a teacher in 1884 after getting married as was expected of married women at the time
helped single mothers connect to social services, persuaded city officials to keep women out of saloons, and established an after-care system for delinquent girls
during her retirement also assisted her husband and sons in running a bakery
before becoming a paid police officer was an unpaid probation officer for girls in addition to her other volunteer work
in 1905 after the city of Portland awarded $5,000 to the city dog pound for services, she petitioned to have half that annual amount to care for Portland’s straying daughters & was given the money on the condition she & anyone she hired pass a civil service test exam for police work
as a detective she advised the Portland Vice Commission, championed the city’s Domestic Relations Court, and served as Oregon State Special Agent for vice control
the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Portland commissioned her as an investigator for Immigration Bureau cases involving interstate prostitution
during World War I the Federal Commission on Training Camps appointed her its West Coast supervisor for vice control near military facilities
after her retirement in 1922 she served numerous terms on the Oregon Parole Board and the National Board of Prisons and Prison Labor
her logbooks and other police records are held by the Portland Police Museum and are often on display
she emphasized the importance of crime prevention and rehabilitation over punishment, advocating for a system that addressed the root causes of crime