Mumbai, Apr 27 (Mumbai Mirror): A Mumbai Railway Police woman commando performs stunts. The women beat marshals will be trained in a similar style Taking a cue from the beat marshal system introduced by the Mumbai police in 2003, woman cops will soon patrol the city streets.
Over 200 women constables have been shortlisted for the purpose and they will start the training next month. The candidates will be trained in riding mobikes, using firearms, unarmed combat, wire-less communication and so on. Their primary job will be to prevent crimes against women, mainly sexual harassment and assault, and make them feel safer on the streets.
"The women beat marshals will be trained like commandos but their job will be to specifically tackle crimes against women on the streets of Mumbai. Their presence should deter miscreants from harassing women," said Mumbai Police Commissioner Rakesh Maria.
According to the police, a woman in distress will be more comfortable communicating the problem to a woman, and then these beat marshals will be able to tackle these issues professionally.
Maria said they have identified areas across the city where women are more vulnerable than others. "The women marshals will tackle these specific problems," he said, adding that soon every police station in Mumbai will have at least one women beat marshal team.
According to the sources, the idea for women beat marshals came up in March when the Mumbai police had organised a workshop for its women cops on the occasion of International Women's Day. After the interaction, Mumbai police's top bosses were convinced to work out the women beat marshal system, they added.
The beat marshal system was introduced in Mumbai by the then police commissioner Ranjit Singh Sharma. The concept clicked as the marshals were supposed to be the first response system on the streets. Since they are equipped with communication sets, arms and two-wheelers, they can reach places quicker and are more effective.
The system succeeded in curbing street crimes to a marked extent, as a result of which the concept was assimilated by police units across the country.