India, Police, Stories
 

Data: Women in Police Force as of 2022 is About 12%, Much Below the Recommended 33%

0

In 2013, India had a total of 16.6 lakh police officers, with 97 thousand of them being women, comprising nearly 6%. By 2022, there were 2.46 lakh women officers, making up almost 12%. However, this well below the standing committee recommendation of 33% women in police force.

According to data from the United Nations Women’s Organization (UN Women), India ranks 122 out of 162 nations in the Gender Equality Index and 135 out of 156 countries in the Gender Gap Index. UN Women also highlights several critical issues in India, such as the lack of constitutional provisions, a national action plan and strategy, and specific laws against marital rape, among others, to combat violence against women. Additionally, data from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) shows an increase in crimes against women, from 57 to 66 incidents per lakh population between 2013 and 2022. In this context, effective policing with proportional representation of women in the police force is crucial.

In the previous story, we looked at the issue of vacancies in the police force in India. In this story, we look at the representation of women in the police force.  

Methodology and Notes

  • The data for the story is sourced from Dataful, which curated datasets on police strength, vacancies, women representation, and other pertinent parameters, based on the data published by the Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPRD) in its annual Data on Police Organizations (DoPO) report.
  • The BPRD publishes data annually, reflecting the status as of the first day of the subsequent year. For instance, data as of 01 January 2022, is published in the 2022 report and in this story, the years referred to denote the data up to January 1 of the same year.

Women in the Police Force doubled from 6% in 2013 to 12% in 2022

In 2013, India had a total of 16.6 lakh police officers, with 97 thousand of them being women, comprising nearly 6% (5.87%). By 2022, the total number of police officers increased to 20.9 lakhs, with 2.46 lakh women officers, making up almost 12% (11.75%), effectively doubling their representation. As seen in our previous story, the national vacancies in the police force have been consistently above 5 lakh from 2012 to 2022, translating to more than 20% vacancies. In other words, the number of women in the police force as of 2022 is less than the quantum of vacancies.  

As of 2022, only 2 States and 2 UTs had over 20% Women in Police Force

In 2013, only three States/Union Territories (UTs) — Tamil Nadu, Chandigarh, and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands — had over 10% women in their police force. The crime rate against women in these states/UTs was 22, 73, and 42 per lakh population, respectively, ranking them 30th, 13th, and 19th in terms of crime rates against women. Seventeen States/UTs had more than 5% women in their police forces. Notably, Assam and Nagaland had only 1% of women in their police force. Assam ranked second in terms of crime rate against women with 114 per lakh population, while Nagaland had the lowest rate at 6 per lakh population. Delhi had the highest crime rate against women at 147 per lakh population.

By 2022, four States/UTs — Ladakh, Andhra Pradesh, Chandigarh, and Bihar — had over 20% women in their police force. The crime rates in these regions were 12, 96, 58, and 34 per lakh population, ranking them 34th, 6th, 16th, and 28th, respectively. Another 11 States/UTs had more than 11% of women in their police force, more than the national average. A total of eighteen States/UTs had above 10% women in their police force while 19 had below 10%. Jammu and Kashmir and Tripura had the lowest representation with 3% and 5%, respectively. 

As of 2022, there are only 36 Women Police per lakh Women Population

According to NCRB data, the all-India average number of women per each woman police was 3,647 in 2013, decreasing to 2,706 in 2022. This reflects a positive trend in the representation of women in the police force, in line with the increase of women police in the national police force. However, this is still significantly low. As highlighted in our previous story, in 2013, there were 131 police per lakh population, which increased to 152 in 2022. Assuming women make up half the population, the representation of women in the police should have been 65 women police officers per lakh in 2013 and 76 in 2022. However, the actual number of women police officers per lakh women was only 16 in 2013, rising to 36 in 2022. This highlights the substantial gap in the representation of women police relative to the female population.

This disparity is also evident when one compares the number of women police stations (PSs) in India in 2013 and 2022. In 2013, there were 502 women PSs, which increased to 744 by 2022. According to government data, there were 17,379 sanctioned PSs across the country as of 2021, making the percentage of women police stations only 4.2%. 

Further, only 7 states in 2013 and 12 states in 2022 had more than 15 women PSs. Notably, the National Capital Delhi did not have a single women PS even as of 2022, despite having the highest crime rate against women in both 2013 and 2022. Tamil Nadu had the highest number of women PSs, with 196 in 2013 and 202 in 2022.

As of 2022, only 17% of Women PSs are in Rural areas, while it is 66% for General PSs

As per 2022 government data, out of the total 17,379 PSs in India, 9,378 are in rural areas, 4,929 are in urban areas, and 3,072 are special purpose PSs with unspecified locations. Excluding the special purpose PSs, the combined total of PSs in rural and urban areas is 14,307, with a rural share of 66% and an urban share of 34%.

However, as of 2022, women PSs are more in urban areas than in rural areas. Out of the total 744 women PSs in India, 126 are in rural areas and 608 are in urban areas, representing 17% and 82%, respectively. Notably, 22 States/UTs had no women PS in rural areas, and 6 had only single-digit numbers. Only Gujarat and Tamil Nadu had double-digit women PSs in rural areas, with 34 and 61, respectively. Six States/UTs did not provide data about women PS in rural areas.

MHA recommended states to increase Women Representation in Police

As per the Constitution of India, Police is a state subject. In a letter dated 13 April 2022, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) urged the state governments to increase women’s representation in the police force to 33%, based on the recommendation of a standing committee report. However, the data shows that as of 2022, none of the states have a 30% and above share of women in the police force. In another letter dated 21 April 2022, the MHA also recommended the states to have at least 3 women Sub-inspectors and 10 women constables, along with constituting at least one all-women PS in each district. 

Data shows that just like in many other important sectors, representation of women in the police force is also low, as the crime rate against women continues to increase in the country. Despite recommendations, most states have not been able to increase the share of women in the police force. 

Share.

About Author

Comments are closed.

scroll