Bengaluru: More women police stations on anvil as crime spikes

BENGALURU: In the wake of rising crimes against women, the police department is preparing to overhaul the model and functioning of women police stations in the city. All seven police divisions in the city are likely to get all-women police stations (AWPS) based on the model followed by neighbouring Tamil Nadu. The city now has only two police stations for women. Consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), which was tasked with auditing the functioning of the 10 AWPS in Karnataka, has recommended that the state government should consider division-wise establishment of women police stations to ensure better coverage for safety of women and children.

“Crimes against women and children have increased drastically year on year. Data show that 75% of crimes were against women in Karnataka (in 2013) . We wanted to know how AWPS are functioning and what can be done to improve their condition,“ said Brijesh Kumar Dixit, chief evaluation officer at the Karnataka Evaluation Authority, which commissioned the PwC study .

The first AWPS in India was established in Kozhikode in 1973. Karnataka got its first AWPS at Halasuru Gate in 1994, followed by the one at Thyagarajanagar (called Basavanagudi AWPS).

These stations were meant to handle cases related to immoral trafficking of women and children, dowry, rape, kidnapping and prostitution. The reality , however, is that the two women police stations in Bengaluru do not handle any of these cases.Reason: Severe staff shortage and lack of infrastructure.

About 45% of the policewomen in the two AWPS in Bengaluru told PwC that the stations did not have adequate staff and 24% of them said they faced difficulties during investigation. The jeep at Basavanagudi AWPS was found defunct.

Jija Hari Singh, Karnataka's first woman IPS officer, urged the government to fill up the vacant posts immediately. “Policewomen also need training on new laws concerning women and children. Also, the government should increase the number of women police officers in general police stations,“ she said.

The PwC study also recommended replacing sarees with shirts-trousers, and ensuring policewomen are physically fit.