Policewoman power at the wave of a gun

Press, 10 February 1981, Page 12

Policewoman power at the wave of a gun

By

RONALD CLARKE,

NZPA-Reuter, in Los Angeles

Detectives Helen Kidder and Peggy York believe no one gets such instant results as a woman waving a gun. “You wave the thing about and shout, ‘Get over there, get over there’ to the person facing ypu..He wonders what this whacky woman is going to do with the gun,” Miss York explained. “The result is instantaneous. I have never had to fire my gun at anyone yet,” she added, with a smile. Miss York, a brunette who likes big, drop, gold earrings, and the blonde, fashion-conscious Miss Kidder form what the Los Angeles police believe is the only all-woman murder investigation team in the United States. In this city of rising crime, where the police investigated 1045 murders last year, a staggering 25 per cent increase over the previous year, Detectives York and Kidder often work 24-hour days. Their beat includes the areas of some of the most vicious gangs in Los Angeles, including the Dogtown and Frogtown gangs and the Little Freaks. The detectives carry revolvers in their handbags, along with handcuffs and extra bullets, and sometimes jiave a shotgun in their car.

They stress that this is where any resemblance between themselves and the actresses who play glamorous Californian detectives in the television series, “Charlies Angels” ends. Their superior officer is Lieutenant Gordon Harrison, and they are very tired of one thing —being called “Gordon’s angels.” Miss Kidder, who is single, and Miss York, who is a divorced mother of three children, reached their present position last June only after working in

the police force for 13 years. They believe their main weapon is their patience and their willingness to listen to both sides of a story. “I think that, as women, we probably have a kinder, a softer approach to trying to solve murder cases,” Miss Kidder said. “We have what we refer to as our secret weapon, which is simply that we are women, and some people are more willing to talk to us,” Miss York agreed. She added, with a chuckle: “It could be because they think we’re stupid and it doesn’t matter what they say to us,

or that they feel they, are talking to their • mother and can tell us anything.” “Peggy and I have dealt with some very dangerous people. We have never had a fight yet,’ Miss Kidder said. They teamed up last June because they felt they would like to work together. In one, of their recent cases, they traced a man! suspected of killing his girlfriend to. a rundown, downtown hotel. “We heard something drop to the ground, and it

had a sound . something like a gun,” Miss Kidder said.. “The man, who was very antagonistic, was sitting on a bed and reached down to where the object had fallen. “We were shouting to him to keep his hands on the bed, but he ignored us and finally came up with a big metal seal. But he could have a gun and we could have been shot.” “You are not frightened at the time because everything is happening,” Miss Kidder added. The detectives believe being women helped them to solve another crime, a gang murder of a delivery man.

“The gang included a couple of girls so we talked to them,” Miss York said. “One of the girls looked . like the sweetest little thing. When she smiled her whole face lit up. She really looked like-a doll. . “When she opened her mouth the truth fell out. She couldn’t help it. She fold us everything. She is just a darling — except that she is a gang member and takes part in crimes.” The two women, who have much more sympa-

thy for the victims, than the criminals, believe the hardest part of their job is telling people a . loved one Ihas been killed. “This can. totally destroy the peoples’ lives. Then we have to walk away and continue doing our job,” Miss York said. The women agreed that their jobs take a big toll on their personal lives. “I may not be willing to do it for the rest of my time with the police force,” Miss Kidder said...

She said she joined the police force because she saw too much television: “Women detectives on television never . get their hair messy, never go to court, never do any paper work, and solve all their cases in an hour.” “It is total fantasy. We have a very exciting job , which is very rewarding, and very fulfilling. But it is a lot of hard ..work, much of which is basic and boring. “When I saw my first body I was scared to death,” Miss Kidder -recalled. "But the coroner’s office has since become a highly interesting place forme. .‘‘l like to find oiit why the body reacts the way it does and the effects of various injuries.” People are never, Miss York points out, murdered at convenient timqs: “If you are on call you have to go to the murder scene and you may be in the midst of a dinner with a boyfriend at the time.” “I think most boyfriends understand,” Miss Kidder added. “But I’m not sure they like it.’!