The Rajya Sabha was informed on Wednesday that while the Centre has repeatedly advised states to boost the participation of women in the police force to 33 percent, their actual strength as of January 1, 2022, remained 11.75%. In a reply furnished at the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday, the union home ministry informed the house that the centre has written to the governments of states and union territories six times in the last ten years, asking them to increase the share of women in police to 33%.
According to Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai, the Ministry of Home Affairs has advised all individual states to boost the representation of women police to 33% of the total force in advisories dated April 22, 2013, May 21, 2014, May 12, 2015, June 21, 2019, June 22, 2021, and April 13, 2022.
“According to data compiled by the Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D), as on January 1, 2022, the actual strength of women police personnel is 11.75 per cent at all India level,” he said in a written reply to a question by BJP MP Radha Mohan Das Agarwal. The Rajya Sabha MP wanted to know whether 33% of posts in police forces have been reserved for women, the relevant govt order in this regard, and the percentage of women working in police forces in different states and UTs in India.
The reply by the home ministry stated that as per data compiled by the Bureau of Police Research & Development (BPR&D), as on 01.01.2022, the actual strength of women police personnel is 11.75% at all India level. It further stated that as ‘Police’ is a State subject, it is primarily the responsibility of the State Governments/UTs to increase the number of women personnel in police forces.
According to the minister, it has been urged of all state governments to convert any open positions for sub-inspectors and constables into new positions for women. In order to have a women’s assistance desk open round-the-clock, each police station needs to have at least three female sub-inspectors and ten female police constables, he stated.
“The Ministry of Home Affairs has issued advisories dated 22.04.2013, 21.05.2014, 12.05.2015, 21.06.2019, 22.06.2021 and 13.04.2022 to all the State Governments to increase the representation of women police to 33% of the total strength. All the State Governments have been requested to create additional posts of women Constables/Sub-Inspectors by converting the vacant posts of Constables/Sub-Inspectors. The aim is that each police station should have at least 3 women Sub-Inspectors and 10 women police Constables, so that a women help desk is manned round the clock,” the reply in Rajya Sabha said.
According to the home ministry reply, Ladakh (28.3 %) has the greatest proportion of female police officers, followed by Andhra Pradesh (21.7 %), Chandigarh (21.6 %), and Bihar (21.2 %). The states having the lowest %age of female police officers include Jammu & Kashmir (3.2 %), Tripura (5.29 %), and Meghalaya (5.9 %). The share of women in police forces at the national level is 11.75%.
