Policewoman One: My Twenty Years on the LAPD [Hardcover]

Gayleen Hays (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 26, 1992

An L.A. policewoman with twenty years of service under her belt offers an insider's view of the world of police work, describing her undercover work as a prostitute and how she has entrapped rapists, cornered killers, and what it is like being shot at. 25,000 first printing.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Hays, who joined the Los Angeles Police Department in 1967 and retired in 1989, came from an unusual background: her grandmother had been a bordello madam, her mother a burlesque star and her stepfather a bookie. Shortly after becoming a member of the force, she won a contest sponsored by a movie company designating Miss Fuzz, the most attractive woman in the department; this led to a guest appearance on the Tonight show and national publicity. Hays's first assignment, serving as a jail guard, was her most dangerous; later she worked in community relations, often lecturing at schools, and, as a regular officer, was loaned to the vice squad to pose as a prostitute and to the homicide bureau, besides dealing with family disputes, abused children and rape cases. She saw duty with COBRA (Covert Operations to Battle Recidivist Activity), a high-tension job hunting down hard-core criminals, which she found too stressful. Writing with freelancer Moloney, Hays presents an excellent picture of life in the LAPD, including sex on the force (there's plenty) and male chauvinist piggery (there's also plenty). First serial to Cosmopolitan.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Hays, a real-life version of Cagney and Lacey , was the very last policewoman in the Los Angeles Police Department. She spent 20 years as a street cop, fighting child abuse, prostitution, rape, and other crimes. Her story, told with the assistance of Moloney, reflects a Wambaughian vision of the L.A. scene; its grittiness, terror, and also humor. Shortly after Hays became a policewoman, the title was eliminated and all policewomen, upon completion of the same training as men, became policemen. Hays chose not to do this, and so became the last policewoman, although throughout her career she encountered as much danger as her brethren. A lightweight, frothy book, Policewoman One is more entertaining than enlightening. Recommended for all-inclusive, large police science collections. Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 2/15/92.
- Sandra K. Lindheimer, Middlesex Law Lib., Cambridge, Mass.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 238 pages
• Publisher: Villard; 1st edition (May 26, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0394585283
• ISBN-13: 978-0394585284
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,079,640 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars The Lack of Seriousness Made the Book Uninteresting, September 15, 2009

By 

J. Gordon "Nebraska U" (McAllen, Texas) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Policewoman One (Paperback)

After applying to the police explorer program at the LAPD's Van Nuys Division in 1970, I was finally interviewed and boy did I blow it. During the interview, which was conducted by a police officer, an explorer captain, and an explorer sergeant, one of them had asked, "What are your political affiliations?" and I replied, "I'm a Democrat" and I thought that that sounded pretty good. While I wasn't old enough to vote and had no idea that there were any differences between Republicans and Democrats, I was proud of myself for remembering that my parents were staunch Democrats, so I figured, I must be too. To say that that was the wrong answer would have been an understatement. The interview hurriedly concluded and I discovered that I had flunked. The explorer captain, a really good guy and a natural leader who is today a commander on the California Highway Patrol, came up to me and said, "Jon, the Los Angeles Police Department is a very conservative organization. You just didn't interview well for a variety of reasons." Thanks to this person, however, he got me reinterviewed and I passed the second time.

I learned a ton during my two years with the explorers. At Van Nuys Division my perception of police officers, however, radically changed because my perceptions, as I got to know the officers, sharpened and clarified. The vast majority of them were great guys. Honest. Caring. Dedicated. And, just plain ol' nice guys. But there were some who were dishonest - not in the criminal sense, but as a matter of character. That was something that I hadn't considered before. However, as everyone knows, that's true of any organization, irrespective of what type of organization it is. Like I said, though, I learned a lot.

In total, at Van Nuys back then, there were about twenty to thirty explorers and the program's objective was to prepare young people for entering the law enforcement profession. It must have been successful because about eighty to ninety percent of us, from what I understand, eventually went into the field. In fact, I spent thirty years in the profession. But this one particular day, about forty years ago, is something that I've thought about every now and then because it dramatically illustrates the metamorphosis that occurred within our society with passage of time. It is, if you think about it, quite interesting.

On this one particular night we assembled in the roll call room and the officer in charge of us, a Hispanic, and the explorer captain, as well as an explorer lieutenant ascended to their seats in front of the room. All three were expressionless and it wasn't hard to figure out that something was terribly wrong. Clearly we were about to be told that someone had died or that someone had been stricken with some sort of catastrophic illness. The air in the room was tense. The atmosphere anxious. The silence deafening. Finally, the officer started to speak and it turned out that it was something far, far worse than anything we could possibly have imagined.

"We've received an application from a female," the officer said, starting out slowly, "and we need to decide if we're going to accept them." His facial expression clearly communicated that like all of us, he clearly understood the magnitude situation. Across the room there was shock . . . and then laughter. The tension finally broke. Females? With us? What were they going to do when they had their periods? And what about their physical strength? Indeed, what about their emotions or when they messed up their hair, for that matter? While we all loved women, particularly with our exploding hormones, it wasn't our fault that God made em' they way they were. They just weren't cut out for this type of stuff. But the question remained, what were we gonna do? As good Republicans all, we decided to put it to a vote. It was unanimous. Females were not going to be allowed.

It should be emphasized, that all of these people were good folks. So if you're a young person reading this, and you didn't grow up back then, quit being judgmental because one day you're gonna be in the same boat, with a different generation thinking you musta' been some sort of "intolerant" nut. The demographics of the Division, the backdrop of this meeting, are fascinating to consider. In 1970, the Division, at least as far as the uniformed officers were concerned, was complemented by several hundred officers with about two or three being black. There were very few Asians that I recall, and of course, there was a smattering of Hispanics. This was Los Angeles, after all. There were two or three women, one of whom was Gayleen Dunn, and a really nice woman who worked in community relations. Prior to joining the LAPD, she had worked as a Playboy Bunny and if you thought anything negative about that, you'd be wrong. She was top notch. And if there were any gays, they were not simply staying in the closet, they were under deep cover.

Now fast forward forty years. At Van Nuys today there are significant percentages of blacks, Hispanics, Asians, females, and gays. That's right gays. The LAPD even has a liaison office to foster good relations with the gay community and officers who specialize in recruiting gay and lesbian applicants. One division, at least, from what I understand, is influentially dominated by lesbians. Tolerance is everywhere. In one particular instance, the former spokesman for the LAPD Commander Tim McBride allegedly greeted a female officer with the salutation, "Hi babe" and rather than simply accepting an apology, she sued him and city for huge sums of money. Yeah, "zero tolerance" while still being tolerant has worked out pretty well. And this is what Gayleen Dunn missed in her book.

Policewoman One, like Roxanne Adams said, is light reading. Is it a bad book? No. Absolutely not. It's just not as good a book as it could have been. Gayleen Dunn was an up close eyewitness to events that not only shook the LAPD, but the country as a whole. The story would have been much more important and compelling if she had objectively but seriously described the conditions in which she worked back in the 1970s, while still presenting the light stuff that she wanted to discuss. As it is, the story is so light that it is relatively uninteresting and bland. Providing background on the fluff would have contextualized the story and made it more interesting and comprehensible. If you're into light reading, this isn't a bad book. But if you like some degree of seriousness, this wouldn't be a book for you.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Police Woman Number One, March 8, 2008

By 

Sam I Am (los angeles) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This book is light and enjoyable reading. Author Gayleen Harris, a retired LAPD cop, loved her career, and her memoir is free of the bitterness and angst that marks the autobiographical stories of other current and former LAPD officers.

There's nothing shocking or revelatory within the pages of this book, but not every book needs to be groundbreaking and thought provoking, and it's refreshing to hear from a retired LAPD officer that actually liked their job.