Lynde Johnston is a retired captain of the Rochester Police Department. He showed us the department's file on Nellie McElroy, the first woman police officer in Rochester and in New York state.

"She had full powers of a police officer to make arrests," said Johnston. 

McElroy was brought on by Chief Joseph Quigley in October of 1913. Chief Quigley thought it was appropriate to have women help with investigating prostitution cases here in Rochester.

"He had to have women do the inspection, making sure there were no curtains in front of the windows and they would be required to do checks on vice activities," said Johnston. 

More than a century later, RPD has nearly 100 women officers. The women on the force pay homage to McElroy for paving the way. 

"She was 38 years of age. She switched her career. She was originally a social worker and I give a lot of credit to city workers at the time who saw a need to have women in law enforcement," said Elena Correia RPD commander of the Administration Bureau.  

"To come into this line of work, knowing that it's a male-dominated field during a time where we women weren't welcomed in many other industries, let alone the field of police work, that's monumental for us," said Sergeant Kara Anglin. 

While on the force, Officer McElroy made her mark. She created a voluntary probation program, which allowed women to turn their lives around. 

"And that program was a huge success for both Nellie and the police department at that time," said Correia   

Even though McElroy paved the way for women officers, Sergeant Christine Wilson says more work needs to be done. While there are women officers on the force, few hold leadership roles in the department. 

"I think it's really really important for the community to see females in those leadership roles, so not just as an officer, but someone who has a rank as well," said Wilson.