The unification of PCR and police stations, according to Delhi Police Commissioner Rakesh Asthana, has reduced the average response time from over eight minutes to over three minutes.
He further noted that, in accordance with Indian government regulations, there should be 33% women in the police force, and that the number of women in the Delhi Police is increasing with each recruitment.
During a meeting with nearly 50 journalists at the Indian Women's Press Corps (IWPC), Asthana remarked, “we are working on that and hopefully by 2025, it will be 25 per cent which is 13 per cent right now”.
The unification of PCR and police stations has not only increased the strength of police stations by adding roughly 6,500 PCR workers, but it has also increased police visibility by increasing the number of vehicles monitoring local beats. According to him, the merger has reduced the average response time from seven to eight minutes to 3.7 minutes.
The Delhi Police is dedicated to making every effort to ensure that women in the city feel safe and secure. Shadow areas are being selected for increased police presence, and integrated police booths would be built in the future to improve police presence in such places, Asthana added.
He reaffirmed during the interactive session that crime against women and children remains one of the Delhi Police's top priorities.
As part of the force's women empowerment initiative, six women Deputy Commissioners of Police (DCPs), eight women Additional DCPs, eight women Assistant Commissioners of Police (ACPs), and nine women Station House Officers (SHOs) have been awarded key field postings, he said.
According to the commissioner, each district has its own crime against women (CAW) cell, in addition to the Special Police Unit for Women and Children (SPUWAC), which deals with complaints and cases involving women.
