What comes first to your mind when you read ‘Pink Police Patrol’? Is it Suki’s Honda from Fast and Furious 2?

‘Pink police patrol’ is an initiative by Kerala’s Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to monitor the insides of the crowded public buses for misuse and hassle against women and children and to look out for anti-social activities at bus stops, areas attached to schools, and other prime target spaces.

With a good number of 22 policewomen in Kannur district, 11 in Kannur town, and 11 in Thalassery, the pink cars wheel around to restore peace and order. There are two cars in each of the cities, each with a woman driver and three policewomen. The patrol functions from 8 am to 8 pm with 24X7 toll-free number (1515) where help can be sought.

Pink Patrol’s 53-year-old assistant sub-inspector Kumari says, “This programme has been highly successful. In fact, if we look at this particular area (the Guest House area where I found them patrolling) we used to see a lot of young girls (below 16) being brought here by adult men, which is illegal. So we have managed to discourage that. Because of the patrolling, the numbers have gone down drastically.”

Kumari proudly tells about the impact the initiative has already managed to create, “As a result of this patrolling, there is a huge reduction in the number of incidents at the beach fronts, parks, railway stations, and bus stops. Not just these generic incidents but other crimes such as chain snatching and eve-teasing and overall behavior of bus drivers and conductors towards women too has seen an overall improvement.”

With a constant watch over wrongdoers, women will surely feel safer in the streets. However, Kumari reminds that Patrolling can prevent and reduce the crime but not eliminate it. “To eliminate crime, we need to let the system step in and do its work, and that is possible only when crimes are reported. So I request women not to shy away from seeking help and reaching out and filing complaints,” she urges.

Ladies, are you listening?