A special pink police force on the lines of what Kerala and Delhi have, to tackle crime against women does sound like a welcome addition to the force, but Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant’s statement, “We need to work to prevent crime against women,” is a key takeway from the address he made to deputy superintendents of police. Prevention of crime against women, and any other crime for that matter, is essential. The chief minister went further to state that there is need to adopt new initiatives for the safety of women and that more efforts are required to keep women safe. The pink police force is still in the proposal stage, and may take time to materialise.Before Goa takes that step, it would be interesting to see how the pink force works in another State.
As per the Kerala Police website, they have a Pink Protection Project under which there are various programmes, but the one that Goa could look at initially is the Kerala ‘Pink Beat’ patrol that is specifically meant to enhance the safety for women and children in public places and includes specially trained women police personnel who patrol public and private transport carriers and are posted at bus stops, schools, colleges. The Pink Patrol cars are equipped with GPS tracking devices, cameras on the front and rear that send continuous visuals to the control room. These patrol vehicles are led by a women police officer and have two other women police personnel and deployed in areas that have a high presence of women. They monitor crowded public buses for misuse and hassle, look out for anti-social activities at bus stops, schools and other vulnerable areas.
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Besides the ‘Pink Beat’ patrol, there are various other aspects being covered by the Kerala Pink Protection Force. We have highlighted the beat patrol as that could be the first step that Goa Police take in preventing crime against women, for it is prevention that should be the focus of the project, and not just investigation after a crime is committed. The government has been facing a severe backlash over rising criminal activities and deteriorating law and order situation. The opposition Congress has even sought the intervention of the Governor PS Sreedharan Pillai and demanded dismissal of the BJP-led government. In the last four months there have been cases across the State where women have been attacked. The rape case in Benaulim, the washing up of the body of a girl at Calangute, bodies of two Russian women discovered, and others.
The proposal for such a special force, therefore, is a tacit admission from the government that crime against women is on the rise in the State. It also means that the administration and the Goa Police are making attempts to tackle such crime. Citizens have been complaining of a deterioration of the law and order in the State, as so too the opposition.
But, politics aside, crime is a matter of concern and the safety and security of women is a priority. If the pink force can bring about a positive change in the State where women’s safety is concerned, it needs to be set up without any delay. Setting it up, however, is only the first step, and could perhaps be the easiest. If the pink police project in Goa is to be a success it will have to change the manner in which the police look at preventing crime. The success of the project will depend on the police being more accessible to the women and more responsive to their issues. The police force is not known for either of these qualities and hence the staff will have to be trained on how to deal with the people. It cannot succeed otherwise.
