Singing takes pain out of training for women cops (video)

Police training is conventionally tough and rigorous, and candidates sometimes collapse in exhaustion.

But the Karnataka State Reserve Police has made training fun. It encourages its women recruits to sing songs as they march.

“Music keeps us fresh, and we go the extra mile, thanks to the songs,” a trainee told DH.

The police department is putting together an all-women anti-riot squad and has hired 120 candidates for it.

The hiring was the result of the realisation that the gender ratio in the force was lopsided. The police were at a disadvantage when it came to controlling women protesters.

Days after the regimen began, some trainees found it tough and quit. It was
then that KSRP decided to add music to the training. Usharani K, a trainee, said, “Music makes us to forget the stress of parades and warm-ups.”

Bhaskar Rao, additional director-general of police (KSRP), said the women were getting special training in karate and kung fu.  They also learn to use rifles and lob tear-gas shells.

The women are getting familiar with wireless communication devices and computers. “Candidates started marching to the songs and that boosted their energy,’’ Rao said.

 The first all-women anti-riot squad will complete training next month. “The department has decided to host KSRP Utsav, a fashion festival where fresh recruits, both men and women, will walk the ramp,” Rao said.

DH News Service