JOIN USPolice promotion may be linked to attitude towards women
Policemen misbehaving with women could end up on the losing side if state governments accept a Central advisory to link their promotions to their attitude towards the fairer sex.
Advocating a “comprehensive and holistic” approach to tackle crime against women, the Union Home Ministry on Tuesday asked the states to develop a gender-sensitivity index and apply it appropriately while taking decisions on posting of police officers in the field.
With the recent incident of a Delhi traffic policeman hitting a woman with a brick making headlines, the ministry’s advisory also wants inclusion of gender sensitivity in the Annual Performance Appraisal Report (APAR) to ascertain the conduct of personnel.
“Attitude of police personnel towards women should be considered for their posting or promotions,” it said.
Besides the suggestion for organising gender sensitisation programmes, the advisory has asked for strict action against police personnel, “who exhibit discourtesy or bias against women or neglect their supervisory responsibilities”.
Another concern is the rise of cybercrimes targeted at women and children. The ministry wanted the police to “periodically” check internet content to curb pornographic videos on women and children. The advisory suggested setting up of specialised cyber crime cells.
The ministry said state police personnel are not registering crimes against women under “appropriate” sections of the IPC “leading to suppression of heinous crimes and misrepresentation in crime data”. “Proper sensitisation of lower level functionaries is needed to make optimum use of existing legislations,” it said.
The advisory observed that in some cases, acid attack victims were not given Rs 3 lakh compensation as mandated by the Supreme Court. Same is the case with the mandatory registration of FIR in missing children case.
The ministry warned that these “deficiencies need to be rectified immediately” to avoid contempt proceedings.
Citing official statistics that 94.3 per cent of rape cases are committed by people known to victims, the advisory noted that this has “some serious social connotations” as it points out a deep-rooted social malady. It wanted states to encourage Universities to undertake research on the causes of “such criminal psyche and possible solutions” besides deterrent punishment through legal trial.
“The police is a state subject and hence it is the duty of the state government to modernise the police with respect to societal aspirations, sensitivity, gender and operational needs,” the advisory said.
“The government of India has already greatly enhanced the state’s share of central taxes from 32 per cent to 42 per cent. In view of the same, the states are requested to take immediate and effective measures,” it added.