‘Women have ample representation in global policing agencies’

Director of SVP National Police Academy Aruna Bahuguna presenting a memento to Australian Deputy High Commissioner Chris Elstoft in Hyderabad on Tuesday.--Photo: Nagara Gopal

Women are amply represented in international policing entities, including Interpol and Europol, even as their numbers are less in the UN peacekeeping missions, said Saskia Hufnagel, German legal professional and accredited specialist in crime law. According to Ms. Hufnagel’s research, in Interpol, percentage of women officers grew from 36 in 2000 to 44 per cent in 2014.

Women comprise 33 per cent of the total force in Europol, she said. However, only 20 per cent women are part of UN’s international peacekeeping missions in 2014. Ms. Hufnagel was speaking at an international conference on ‘Women in Law Enforcement’ which was inaugurated at SVP National Police Academy in the city.

Women officers who make it to these agencies are positioned at the entry level and not in organisational level, she said. Even as 35 per cent is considered to be the tipping point for acceptance of women in policing, Ms. Hufnagel said that it is not the volume, but the ranks that matter. “We don’t need that many women in the police force. What we need are women in positions with high ranks,” she said.

Police force units across the globe are short of women in top ranks, except in some countries.

In Sweden, 30 per cent of women who work in the force occupy top ranking positions. In Italy, 34 per cent have superior ranks and 27 per cent medium ranks.

Speaking at the inaugural ceremony of the three-day conference which is attended by 52 delegates from across the world, Aruna Bahuguna, Director of National Police Academy, said that women officers should build their own identities based on their talent. “Female officers should not let biases and traditional trappings hold them back,” Ms. Bahuguna said while addressing the gathering.

The conference will discuss in detail the role of women leadership in counterterrorism, de-radicalisation, cyber security and crime against women, among other issues that police units across the world are made to face.

The conference will also be a networking platform for women officers.