The Hoysala response time at night in Bengaluru is an impressive three minutes. But that isn’t quite enough to assure people that the cops are on their side.
Bangalore has a long history with pubs and breweries. It boasts of one of the biggest pubs in south East Asia. Unfortunately, a long past doesn’t mean that everyone accepts or approves of drinking, especially if it’s women we’re talking about.
With huge disposable income youngsters, today don’t just pub hop on weekends they are pub hopping on weekdays too. Youngsters just want to have fun and Cops just want to maintain peace. Sometimes people think these things are mutually exclusive.
With increasing awareness of crime against women, the police force is on edge staying extra vigilant and they sometimes end up looking brash. The cops are just trying to do their duty of course, but they might not always be sensitive about it. They have hard jobs and well their attitudes aren’t that different from the general public.
Of course, sensitivity programs would be great and help both the police and the general public. The Bangalore police do a lot better than other police forces. To the police, the bottom line is responding on time and making sure that no crimes are committed, getting there itself is a great feat and sensitivity might not seem like an immediate priority.
No one can or should stop people from having fun, but the responsibility is a must. Policing with a little bit of restraint is the need of the hour while being vigilant on their duty. We should applaud the police for improving their response time and how they continue to improve and implement gender sensitivity programs.
—The writer is a National Social Media Coordinator for All India Mahila Congress and State Spokesperson for Congress
