Within the next 10 years, 10 per cent of the Kerala Police force will comprise women, Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala has said, adding that the government is also considering an exclusive women police battalion.
He was inaugurating a women’s police station at the Kollam East police station complex on Monday. With this, Kollam becomes the second police district in the State to have a women’s police station. Kannur is the first.
Mr. Chennithala said the new police station would have the revenue district of Kollam under its jurisdiction and would be manned by 15 officers. Such police stations would soon come up at Kottayam, Alappuzha, Thrissur, and Malappuram. All the 19 police districts of the State would have women’s police station, he said.
The government had been giving a lot of thrust to the safety of women and children. So there was an appreciable fall in the crime rate against women and children. The government had given strict instructions against third degree methods at police stations. To ensure compliance, CCTVs had been installed in all new police stations. Old police stations would have the facility soon. All new police stations would have reception counters to ensure that those with complaints are treated with respect.
Under the ‘Shubha Yatra’ project of the Kerala Police all important roads of the State was being covered by CCTV cameras to put an end to speeding, which was the main cause of all road accidents. In this connection, the Mata Amritanandamayi Math had agreed to fund the project from Oachira to Paripally along the National Highway, he said.
The function was presided over by A.A. Azeez, MLA. Mayor Honey Benjamin; K.N. Balagopal, MP; Inspector General of Police (South Zone) Manoj Abraham; and City Police Commissioner P. Prakash were present.
