Some few years ago, Janet Rowe attended a law enforcement officer convention in Pittsburgh and was impressed with that city’s police museum. On another occasion, she came across a book telling the history of the Alexandria Police Department. Nothing comparable existed for Arlington’s police department. She bided her time and this year took a first step in remedying the situation. “Arlington County Police Department” is now on booksellers’ shelves.
Rowe served as police officer in Arlington from 1981 to retirement in 2012. Since
she had two years experience in California before completing the local police academy, it was “out the academy door” and “directly on patrol.” She laughs imagining the scene in a traffic situation with her dress bent out of shape by all the leather belting, including a holster.
Rowe never took a promotion examination and remained a patrol officer for her career. She could not bear to sit behind a desk and give up the daily and ever-changing encounters with real people on the street and in their homes and businesses. Time passed and she wound up marrying a fellow officer on the Arlington force, having a family and seeing one child join the Fairfax County Police Department. Rowe thinks her son joined that department “to avoid competing with Mom.” Law enforcement roots also include her parole officer father. With laugh, she confides that the handsome young actors in uniform on the television show “Adam-12” may have had a substantial influence on her career choice.
Rowe’s tenure included lowlights, middle-lights and highlights. The worst time was 9-11, and being one of the many on duty almost non-stop for three weeks when the aircraft hit the Pentagon. The best time was being recalled to active duty for five months following the hubbub of retirement, while the department waited for the next class to graduate from the academy.
Middle-lights were the many times she, often with other officers, could do something to help individuals; in other words, the “serve” part of “protect and serve.” One instance involved grandparents who shoplifted in company with their 10-year-old grandson shortly before Christmas. One look revealed that the merchandise was food; the elderly couple had none, and no money to buy any. The outcome was Runyonesque. The storekeeper was persuaded not to press charges, responding patrol officers bought food and took the family home and, in short order, the entire squad had decided a real Christmas was in order. Food and gifts aplenty followed. Even the cat had a present.
Black-and-white photographs in the folds of a book cannot convey Rowe’s positive feelings about the department, but it is a start. She tracked down the same publisher of the book about Alexandria’s police force and, obtaining a commitment, spent 10 or so months selecting pictures and confirming text. All “author’s proceeds” go into a fund which assists officers in need.
Rowe currently is taking a breather before reviving step two of her plan: Creation of a museum, open to the public, or at least formal displays of artifacts connected to the Arlington Police Department. She has located caches of items in headquarters, but believes other retirees and their families have mementos marking the service of so many over the 75 years of the department.