Source : Chicago Magazine
Turn of the century reporters summed Alice Clement up as “ furs , heels and jujitsu . ” Appointed on August 5th , 1913 , Clement was the only woman in the class of almost 100 new police detective and would remain so for many years after .
Clement ’s appearance was often the focus of the mean solar day ’s newspapers , and it may not have beenentirelybecause she was female . The 5’3 ’’ police detective would routinely bust onto a Chicago crime scene in beautiful robe and an attractive bobbed haircut en style in the other 1920s – all while wave a tommy gun for hire . If Clement ’s choice of livery did n’t announce her presence , her large - than life personality certainly did . Clement ’s trademark statement , which has become something of a crime - dramatic play touchstone these days , often announced her presence before her gleam jewels : “ Back ! draw up ! Right against that wall ! ”
Source:Chicago Magazine
While some newspapers of the twenty-four hour period poked play at her , Clement made no apologies whatsoever for her femininity . In fact , she owned it . She was also seriously passionate about her oeuvre and did n’t see any cause that the two aspect of her personality pauperism be mutually single : each dark she lie her roller - raiment head word down for some beauty eternal sleep — with her gun under her pillow . Her missy - power belief system extended into social issues of the daylight , and she was a major proponent not just for women ’s rights ( including , of course The Vote ) but the repeal of prohibition .
She also believed in a woman ’s rightfield to become independent from a stale marriage and herself sued her first husband for divorcement ( in an era where it was virtually unheard of to do so ) for “ desertion and intemperance . ” It took four years for the divorce to be award , but as before long as it was , she married her second husband — in the presence of afemalepastor .
Clement certainly had plenty of fan in the media , but not necessarily among the police force violence . Her superscript , a man nominate Chief McWeeny , finally became so fed up with her successful presence there , and the eventual increase of new distaff atomic number 46 , that heresigned . However , many of those on the force and around Chicago crime scenes recognized the value of distaff palladium who could go undercover and infiltrate otherwise difficult to rupture crime scenes .
Source:Chicago Magazine
One of her most far-famed cases urge an Agatha Christie serial , The Dulcimer , which take the murder of a vernal fair sex who was most probable a woman of the street badly sick with Typhoid . The male detectives on the force seize that she ’d plainly succumbed to her “ lifestyle ” but Clement stay unconvinced . Further investigation revealed that the char had , in fact , get Typhoid as part of a slaying plot , the germs entering her eubstance via the string of a dulcimer she play .
The new woman had of late do into a sizeable heritage , and an auntie of hers wanted to claim it as her own . Looking for a way to kill the young char and claim the prop as hers , the aunt infected the dulcimer drawing string with Typhoid bacteria , which succeeded in killing the new woman . Clement ’s suspicion , and subsequent investigation , unwrap that in between the plucking of bowed stringed instrument , the young woman would often lick her fingers — giving the auntie ’s program to infect the instrumental role full credenza .
When Clement pop off to pick up the auntie for the murder , she get a confession — but never suffer her to amply admit the motive . Before they were able to remove her from the home , the fair sex stabbed herself in the neck with a pen knife , a mortal injury from which she did not recover .
Source:Chicago Magazine
