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Police Reforms By Introducing Women Police Stations in Haryana: An Analysis in Context of Gender Justice
The present police system in India resembles the colonial Irish constabulary and Indian Police Act of 1861.Various police acts do not set up any mechanism for effective political and civic control of the police force. The jurisprudence of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 and some other acts/rules enshrine the power and duties of the police. The image of police is not so bright since the general tendency of the male police Investigation Officers (IO’s) is of hard core and canned style probing. Recently, the Government of Haryana has undertaken certain police reforms by introducing All Women Police Stations in each district, which, indeed, will infuse confidence amongst the women victims in getting their complaints registered without any hesitation at any of these women police stations by making the victims as comfortable as possible in their given state of trauma because the reported incidents will be investigated by women Investigation Officers (IOs) only.
Normally, in semi-urban and rural areas, women police didn’t get to conduct investigations but these newly appointed female staff in the police stations will change the ongoing trends and develop their skill to deal with the grievances as IO’s and at other different levels. It will also enhance the ratio of women in police organization (which at present is very low i.e. 6.7%). The present study attempts to analyse the nature and dimensions of the power, duties & administrative practices of newly appointed police personnel at women police stations in Haryana. It is anticipated that apart from grievance redressal, these police stations will help promote mutual understanding between police and public in special reference to women, when the police are failed to bring laurels in earning people’s faith.