In India, it is seen, people usually look at the police as a male bastion. A need for a gender-diverse force had been felt for a long time, not only to create a safe environment for woman, but also to encourage members of the fairer sex to break the shackles and join the armed forces, so that they walk hand in hand with their male counterparts in developing and protecting the nation. The recent trends have been encouraging as the number of women in police force seems to be steadily increasing. And, in a first-of-its-kind initiative, women beat police have been appointed under the ‘Prashakti Programme’ in the Central District of Police in Delhi to curb street crimes.
PRASHAKTI BEAT STAFF
The aim of this initiative is to help the women police to work at the forefront. They will be called ‘Prashakti Beat Staff’ and will perform intensive patrolling in sensitive areas on Emergency Response Vehicles (ERVs), Quick Response Teams (QRTs), and two-wheelers to control crime and make Delhi’s streets safer for its residents.
The central district is headed by Deputy Commissioner of Police, IPS Shweta Chauhan and she has initiated the Prashakti programme. She has said to media organisations that earlier, only men were deployed in traditional policing beats but now the central district will deploy more women in such beats.
“Traditional policing roles of crime prevention and detection, which were earlier considered male bastions, will see increased participation of women officers at every level. They will play an important role in crime prevention, detection and investigation of crimes such as robbery, snatching, pickpocketing, burglary and organised crime,” DCP Chauhan said.
PINK BOOTH
DCP Chauhan has also formed ‘Veera Squad’ and ‘Pink Police Booth’ to address the grievances of the public.
Pink booth is manned by all women staff. It has been set up at the Karol Bagh police station. This booth takes care of women’s grievances by directing women police to take immediate legal action on women’s complaints.
“The booth is an attempt to provide a safe complaint redressal mechanism for women in a busy marketplace instead of them needing to visit a police station. The purpose is to sensitise citizens about crime and obtain their feedback. The policewomen will also motivate women and girls to report cases of violence against them,” said DCP Chauhan told media.
According to her, earlier women police were deployed mainly to tackle crime against women. However, through these initiatives, they will now also tackle hard core crimes in the capital city and will also participate in community policing. “Women staff has also been posted to Cyber Cell and Special Staff of the central district,” she added.
