India Has A Female Chief of Police

Anita Punj is a thirty nine year old female who is currently the Police Chief of the Indian Police Service in Punjab, India. She has been a member of the Indian Police Service for twelve years. Prior to her joining the Indian Police Service, she was an attorney. Recently she was a participant in a three month Indian Women In Leadership Management Course given at several locations including the Bradford Central Police Station in the United Kingdom. Prior to her participation in the Management Course, she visited the West Yorkshire Police Headquarters in Wakefield and spent time in the Operational Support Unit and went on patrol with officers.

Currently, Anita Punj works with the Indian Police Service's Anti Corruption Unit called the Vigilance Bureau probing allegations of corruption against civil servants. Prior to that, she investigated allegations of violations of the UN's Code of Conduct by international police officers while she was stationed in Kosovo at the UN as a police trainer.

Anna described in a recent news article how India encourages women to join the police service however, she also indicated that at times, there is a tendency to assign females to "soft" or "office" jobs. She is attending this course in the hopes that she will gain the needed knowledge how to combat this "tendency" and to learn strategies that will counter it. In the article, she described the new concepts she learned in the UK Management Course such as part time and flexible time hours for women. She indicated that the UK's Sex Discrimination Act and the work performed by the Equal Opportunities Commission have made a great difference in the UK and compared it to the Indian Constitution that prohibits discrimination. Although it is written in the Indian Constitution, she admitted that it even though it is documented in the Indian Constitution, attitudes would also have to change and women would need to change their perception on how they view themselves in order for it to be effective. During the course she worked on a 6000 word project that focused on strategies used to counter the gender stereotyping of women in the police force.

Analysis

The event itself, a three-month Women in Leadership Management Course was well thought of and is much needed worldwide. Very rarely do women have the opportunity to take on an extensive course such as this that will help them develop skills to change attitudes and policies that enhance women in leadership positions. It was encouraging to see that the Indian Government actually encourages women to take on roles in police agencies whereas here in the United States, we appear to put stumbling blocks in front of our female workforce when they delve into uncharted waters such as law enforcement.

Stereotyping women in law enforcement and ushering them into "softer jobs or office jobs" as the article states, is common throughout history. Women were typically depicted as being vain, smaller, weaker, submissive, sympathetic and gullible. They were also seen as being susceptible to being corrupted and vulnerable to evil. As we can see, Anita Punj is just the opposite of what women were thought of in society. She has proven that women are just as strong as men and she has attained the position of Chief in the Indian Police Service and is credited with probing investigations into what women were thought of partaking in, corruption. In Chapter 1 of Gender, Justice and Social Control, women were also delegated "softer jobs" such as clerical positions.

Lombroso, a criminal justice theorist, had various theories about women. One in particular was his theory that women were "less evolved" than men and couldn't be expected to produce as well as males. In this theory, females would not be capable of holding the position of Police Chief. Obviously, Anita Punj discredits this theory and has far succeeded it by being a lead law enforcement officer. She has also risen above the at times, dangerous obstacles that women in law enforcement face. Many times, female officers, are faced with life threatening discrimination when male co-workers do not back them up as they would male police officers.

Anita Punj has overcome major obstacles to achieve the position she has attained. The Indian Government also seems to be more user friendly when it comes to encouraging women to enter the law enforcement field, than our own government. It is also commendable that she is not only increasing her education in the law enforcement field, but also plans to go deeper on a personal level and perhaps change the environment by focusing on strategies to counter gender stereotyping in police departments.

Something to Think About...

1. Do you think society in the United States is more receptive to women working in the Law Enforcement field than other countries such as India?

2. What other obstacles do women in Law Enforcement face when they are in positions of directing, supervising and leading male police officers?

3. Do you agree with Lombroso's theory that women are "less evolved"? Do you think women are capable of not being subservient to male police officers and capable of directing and supervising them?

4. What can we as women do to correct or change gender stereotyping in Law Enforcement?