Police to give lessons in unarmed combat to women

A training programme for women in unarmed combat, specifically designed for day-to-day life, will soon be unveiled by the city police under the ‘SthreePol' campaign, being launched to make the women aware of the dangers they are susceptible to and enable them to counter them.

Through Israeli martial art Krav Maga, hands-on training in self-defence will be imparted to the women by skilled officers to be deputed by the city police.

“We have roped in an expert in Krav Maga for the job, and he will impart the training to others,” City Police Commissioner Manoj Abraham told The Hindu.

Initially, the training will be restricted to students and government employees. Skilled officers will visit educational institutions and government offices to provide training to the girls and women.

Mr. Abraham said the police also planned to train the women by joining hands with residents' associations in the city and through self-help groups such as Kudumbasree.

The techniques of Krav Maga are highly practical and effective for the street and countering crimes such as chain-snatching, he said. Individuals could attain a high level of proficiency within a relatively short period.

A self-defence system developed by the Israeli army, it is practiced in over 30 countries. In Hebrew, Krav Maga literally means contact combat.

SthreePol

Mr. Abraham said they were bringing out a collection of 36 short films as part of an awareness campaign under ‘SthreePol,' being launched as part of the revamped Janamaithri police system. Each film, shot by police officers, was of one minute and dealt with different techniques employed by chain-snatchers and fraudsters on women.

The city police have decided to screen the films in schools, colleges, meetings organised by residents' associations, and government offices to create awareness among the women.

The programme has been launched in view of the increasing crimes against women, especially chain-snatching by people on motorcycles.

Under the programme, the city police will give cash awards to the women who assist them in detecting crime. Mr. Abraham said the women who passed on information such as the registration number of motorcycles on which the chain-snatchers escaped would be rewarded.

267 crime cases

During the first six months of the year, 267 crime cases against women were registered in the city police station limits compared to 562 in the rural police limits.

Of the 267 cases, 117 cases related to molestation, 22 were rape cases, five of kidnapping, 22 of harassment, 83 cases related to cruelty by husband and relatives, and 18 to other offences. No dowry deaths were reported during the period, according to the figures compiled by the State Crime Records Bureau.