Denmark's First Female Criminal Detective

On January 15, 1920, Ellen Jensen-Saltø became the first woman in Denmark to work as a criminal detective, joining the Copenhagen Police's Homicide and Morality Division. Born in 1884 on Saltø Estate near Karrebæk, where her father worked as a tenant farmer, she went on to have a career spanning until 1952.

Author Frode Z. Olsen has written a book about her life and work, which included investigating the Dagmar Overby case and the Damhus murder, as well as solving cases across the provinces often under difficult conditions. Upon retirement, she received the Order of the Dannebrog - an honor rarely awarded to police officers without royal appointment at that time.

Ellen's story reflects an entire era of Danish history: industrialization, migration from countryside to city, women's suffrage, and reforms of the police and courts - all set against the backdrop of two world wars.