Some people think that women should not be allowed to work in the police force. Do you agree or disagree?
Some people think that women should not be allowed to work in the police force. They might have their reasons to deny women participation in policing but women’s participation is crucial in almost every field of life to maintain equality and social justice. In this regard, the words of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah are worth mentioning here. He uttered that no nation can rise to the height of glory unless your women are side by side with you. Women should join the police because women in the police can better address the cases pertaining to gender-based violence and would also increase the reporting of crimes among the presumed lesser gender in society.
As far as the duties of police are concerned these are to safeguard freedom, to preserve life and property, to protect the constitutional rights of citizens, and maintain respect for the rule of law. Moreover, the police force is obliged to perform investigation-related duties, crime prevention, crime detection and to maintain peace and security. Women can perform all these tasks equally well if they are facilitated by the institutional set-up and through proper career counseling.
There are various reasons why women must not stay away from policing and security institutions. Firstly, women officers are less likely to use excessive force or pull their weapons. Female law enforcement officers are more likely to utilize de-escalation tactics intense circumstances. They do so because of the natural propensity of women towards peacefully handling the situations or they might be at a physical disadvantage because of being physically weak when engaging with a suspect.
Secondly, women in law enforcement can help in addressing gender-based violence. A study conducted by the University of Zurich found that “as female representation increases among officers in an area, violent crimes against women in that area, and especially domestic violence, are reported to the police at significantly higher rates.” This report also found that as female officer representation increases, there is a marked decline in intimate partner homicide rates and in rates of repeated domestic abuse.
Similar findings were noted about reports of rape and sexual assault cases, where studies found that having a greater number of women in the policing workforce is correlated with higher reporting rates of rape incidents and higher clearance rates for rape cases.
Additionally, it is absolutely critical to have women working in criminal justice because a female victim would be comfortable talking to a woman officer in cases pertaining to sexual abuse.
Also, women’s participation in policing might improve police-community coordination. Studies have consistently found that women possess a number of traits that make them trusted partners in their communities, ultimately helping to improve police-community relations. Women have high levels of interpersonal communication skills thereby improving the soft image of police in the overall community. Furthermore, women police officers are perceived as being more honest and compassionate than their male counterparts.
In short, women’s participation in policing is indispensable at all ranks. To inspire more women in police proper measures must be taken like career counseling, promoting equitable hiring, merit-based appointments.
Above all, a respectful and supportive environment for women in all ranks and roles of law enforcement is crucial to encourage more and more women to join the police force. Women are no less than men in any field of life and Michelle Obama rightly said that there is no limit to what we, as women, can accomplish.
