Police Purge Streets of Sandberg District Women
City police launch a targeted campaign to round up and banish marginalized women from Tacoma's downtown.
Eight women, all former residents of the Sandberg district, were arrested on downtown streets last night by plain clothes men of the city police department for frequenting the streets at night. Special officers have been set to the task of rounding up all the women who are still in the city and Chief Duley stated today that he would follow orders and attempt to run every woman of this class outside the city limits.
“Chief Duley stated today that he would follow orders and attempt to run every woman of this class outside the city limits.”
This reflects an era of aggressive 'vice' policing that targeted women based on their perceived social status rather than specific crimes. The Sandberg district was a known area of poverty and working-class housing, and these 'roundups' illustrate how municipal power was used to enforce moral codes and displace vulnerable populations.
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