Annie May Jackson

Who was Annie May Jackson?

Annie May Jackson was the first female police officer in Canada. Jackson was made a Constable to the Edmonton Police Department on October 1, 1912, winning out over 47 other applicants. Her photograph as a policewoman appeared on the front page of the London Daily Mirror on August 8, 1913. A neighbourhood of Jackson Heights, in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, is named in her honour.

Jackson was given the task of helping young girls and women uphold "high morals and manners". She dealt with young women immigrating to Canada who were recruited immediately into prostitution. In 1918 she married William Henry Kelcher and was forced to leave the police force. In 1919 she gave birth to a son, Henry Murray Kelcher.

Jackson died in 1959, after she was hit by a car while walking near her Edmonton home. Since then the Edmonton neighbourhood of Jackson Heights, a nearby road, a park and a school have been named after her to preserve her memory and legacy.