EVENT HONORS DEPARTMENT'S 1ST FEMALE OFFICERS.

Byline: Rick Orlov Daily News Staff Writer

Forty years ago, the first women to become Los Angeles police officers wore a uniform of a skirt, a blouse and high heels, and they carried their guns and handcuffs in a purse.

They performed many of the same jobs as their male counterparts - walking beats, investigating crimes, performing undercover work, doing the grunt work of a cop in the booming Los Angeles of 1946 after World War II.

Four of the women who were part of that first class of 12 said they always felt part of the department, but there was something missing. Friday it was handed to them - a diploma certifying they had graduated from the Los Angeles Police Academy.

Mayor Richard Riordan and Police Chief Willie L. Williams presented framed certificates to Margaret Boyd, Elizabeth Eggleston Carr, Audrey Melane and Alice Houghton Singleton as part of a police graduation ceremony.

``You became a symbol for Los Angeles and the nation,'' Williams told the four during the ceremonies. ``You were pioneers for the women who have come and made law enforcement a career.''

Riordan said the four served as an example of the best of the Los Angeles Police Department, and he was pleased to see the policy corrected to allow them to receive their recognition for their years as police officers.

The LAPD has changed dramatically since then. Today, there are more than 1,500 women officers on the force and the city has pledged to hire more so that eventually 43 percent of the department is women.

Carr, of North Hollywood, who eventually achieved the rank of sergeant and was on the force 30 years, said she did not encounter a climate like that alleged in a lawsuit at the center of a proposed federal consent decree dealing with sexual harassment and discrimination.

``I never experienced sexual harassment,'' Carr said. ``I never had to make a report of something like that. We were just out there doing our jobs.''

Melane said the women never got enough credit for their policing work.

``We did everything and a lot of stuff that people never realized,'' Melane said, who added that she used her experience in the LAPD to branch out to computer programming.

``It was just after the war and we were used to doing different things, the things that men did,'' Melane said. ``We did the same work, received the same pay and no one complained.''

As for the problems facing women officers today, Melane said, ``You can't separate the problems of being a man or woman officer. As you know, watching life in general, there are a lot of things that need to be addressed.''

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Photo: LAPD Chief Willie L. Williams is flanked by Audrey Melane, left, Alice Houghton Singleton, Elizabeth Eggleston Carr and Margaret Boyd, who received police academy diplomas Friday.

Gene Blevins/Special to the Daily News