Kerala police has a new addition- The Pink Police. These women officers will move around in pink coloured cars and they will have a special badge on their shoulders.
On Monday, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan inaugurated a new beat of city police called the Pink Police Patrol, aimed at enhancing women’s security. The state has allotted five vehicles to the Pink police, three of the vehicles have been deployed in Thiruvananthapuram and two in Kochi.
Speaking to The News Minute, Coordinator of the Pink Police and Control Room Assistant Commissioner, A Pramod Kumar, explains the details of the project: “As of now, 20 to 25 policewomen and five vehicles will be assigned in the city per day. Each team will have a Sub Inspector ranked woman officer. They may be present anywhere in the city - bus stops, buses, hang-out areas, places near educational institutions and so on.”
Pramod Kumar says that the teams will monitor these crowded areas from 8 am to 8 pm. “Apart from that, they can be reached by the public through the toll free number 1515. They are there to look at all crimes against women in public places – harassment, anti-social activities, women abuse etc. They will act as a guard to women, children and people with disabilities, especially late in the evening,” he adds.
Pramod Kumar continues: “Sexual molestation is not the only crime against women. Anything that harms the dignity of a woman should be checked. It can be verbal abuse or showing some gestures. This team will even ensure that women get their reserved seats in buses and public places.”
Why the name pink? “It is the general belief that blue is for boys and pink is for girls, so we have named the initiative ‘Pink’,” he replies.
Pramod Kumar states that the Pink Patrol teams will be continuously monitored from the police control room. The cars will have GPS tracking devices as well as cameras installed on all sides. This will enable the police team in the control room to monitor the movements of the Pink teams. In case there is some trouble, they will be able to deploy more force to the area easily to help the women cops.
As of now, two Pink Patrol teams have been constituted and they will work on alternate days.
“Now we have started with five vehicles and they will be centered in five major places of the city which are more crowded and where crimes against women regularly take place. People in other areas can contact them through the toll free number,” Pramod Kumar says.
Initially the Pink team will work along with the shadow police, a special wing constituted five years ago for crime prevention and resolution, and will later function as an independent team.
The venture will be supervised by the Thiruvananthapuram City Police Commissioner, G. Sparjan Kumar, and monitored by ACP Pramodh Kumar. The Deputy Commissioner of Police, Law and Order, and Traffic will do a daily review of the beat.
Kerala police has stated that the Pink Police patrol will be extended to other cities in the state too.
Great initiative, but we would like the Kerala police to take a minute and listen to Riley, the little girl who broke the internet with her rant over the “pink and blue” obsession… and perhaps re-think the name?