City police chief urges women personnel to take up criminal investigations, create outreach of safety initiatives

The new Bengaluru City Police Commissioner Seemanth Kumar Singh, on Sunday, encouraged the women personnel to join mainstream policing rather than opting for soft jobs.

Mr. Singh was speaking at a meeting with women police personnel above the rank of sub-inspectors in Bengaluru.

“A majority of the women personnel prefer soft jobs rather than field work, citing gender biases and other reasons. Senior officials present at the meeting motivated us to take up crime investigation, maintaining law and order and helping women in distress,” an official who attended the meeting said.

The meeting also became a platform to discuss and address challenges faced by women personnel during field duty, ranging from workplace conflicts to safety and infrastructure concerns. One of the main concerns raised by women officials was that they lack facilities like creches for their toddlers at the divisional level, rest rooms, and waiting rooms while they are on the ground.

The meeting also discussed the safety of women and children and the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to be carried out during any eventualities. The personnel were urged to increase the outreach of the various women’s safety initiatives taken up by the city police under the Nirbhaya Project and train women on how to avail these services.