In an endeavour to ensure the safety of women in the city, Kolkata Police (KP) has put forward an initiative of introducing a female squad of 20 officers called “SHE”. The project including handpicked officers from across the fore will be first of its kind in Kolkata.
These officers will be provided with new motorcycles for official duty. The selected officers are supposed to have good profiles as sub-inspectors with good riding skills. One who can ride a two-wheeler will be given preference.
The all women squad on two-wheelers will patrol on scooters to watch over women in places where they are likely to need help, particularly around girls’ schools and colleges, lake and shopping malls where the footfall of women is relatively high.
It may be recalled that in 2014, female officers were deployed as part of the Reinforce City Patrol (RCP) fleet posted at strategic locations to react quickly to street crime. Talking on the move, a senior police officer said: “Project like SHE would help women feel secure, especially when they are alone on the street.”
Kolkata currently has eight all-women police stations, one in each division under Lalbazar except the East division which has been created recently.
These police stations have been set up for effective and sensitive handling of complaints about crimes against women. “As the number of complaints in these women police stations are not adequate, a strategy for recruiting more trained officers could be considered,” officer added.
According to the officer, the force of female personnel of Kolkata Police consists of 113 sub-inspectors, 131 assistant sub-inspectors and 444 constables.
Reportedly, an all women patrol squad called Knightingale was launched in the South Division area of KP on the eve of International Women’s Day on 8 March.