The new government has recast the city police force with a new commissioner, additional commissioners, joint commissioners and deputy commissioners. But one thing has not changed. No matter which government is in power: there are no women in top posts.
Currently, in Bangalore, there is not a single woman above the rank of inspector. In all, there are only 716 women police officers in a city with 45 lakh women.
The number of women in the police force may not directly reflect on the crimes against women. However, soon after the gang-rape of the paramedical student in Delhi, debates established that increasing the number of women in the police force made it easier for women to access justice.
Women in the police force are empathetic towards complainants, according to Jija Hari Singh, the state’s first female IPS officer. “Women will be able to look at cases of crime against women without being swayed by patriarchal, culturalised values,” Singh said. More women also means more initiatives to tackle crime against women. “Women officers can build awareness, intensify patrolling, boost the confidence of women,” she said. In time, this will ensure more complaints being registered and efforts to prevent crime.
More women in the police force also ensures less discrimination. Women will no longer be ignored, said D Roopa, SP (CID). “Men can use influence to get postings of their choice. They can wine and dine with people who matter for this, but its a luxury women don’t have,” she felt.
“With more women in the force, at every level, they simply cannot ignore us and will have to give us good postings,” she added.
Police Commissioner Raghavendra Auradkar said: “Most women in the police force above the rank of an inspector came in post 2000, thanks to reservation in the KPSC. Police officials at the lower rank are mostly people from the lower middle class.”
This, however, is changing and Auradkar felt that in a few years, more women will join the force.
