SHE Teams is a division of

Telangana Police The Telangana Police, officially known as the, Telangana Police Department is the law enforcement agency for the state of Telangana in India. It has jurisdiction concurrent with the 33 revenue districts of the state. The police force was create ...

for enhanced safety and security of women. They also work to prevent

child marriages Child marriage is a practice involving a marriage or domestic partnership, formal or informal, that includes an individual under 18 and an adult or other child.* * * * Research has found that child marriages have many long-term negative con ...

Telangana State Telangana is a States and union territories of India, state in India situated in the Southern India, south-central part of the Indian subcontinent on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, ele ...

. The teams work in small groups to arrest eve teasers, stalkers and harassers. They operate mainly in busy public areas in

Hyderabad Hyderabad is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India. With an average altitude of , much ...

. They respond to complaints delivered by WhatsApp and through social media.

History

SHE Teams stands for Safety, Health and Environment. The division was started on 24 October 2014, is a brainchild of

Chief Minister of Telangana The chief minister of Telangana is the chief executive of the Indian state of Telangana. In accordance with the Constitution of India, the governor is a state's ''de jure'' head, but '' de facto'' executive authority rests with the chief minist ...

, K. Chandrashekar Rao who was impressed by a similar initiative in

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

. Additional Commissioner, Hyderabad, Swathi Lakra heading the division ever since its inception.

The Teams

A team comprises an Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI), who acts as a lead with four to five male and female constables in each Zone, they all work under Assistant DCP rank woman police officer. They work

undercover A cover in foreign, military or police human intelligence or counterintelligence is the ostensible identity and role or position in an infiltrated organization assumed by a covert agent during a covert operation. Official cover In espionage, a ...

. The cases related to harassment of women under Rachakonda commissionerate had come down by 85 percent. The 24×7 monitoring by the teams, conducting decoy operations, SHE Shuttles, Margadarshak and counselling sessions are proving to be effective in curbing the crime rate.

Case lodging

As a deterrent, the first time offenders are mostly booked under petty cases like Sec 290 IPC and Sec 70 (c) of the Hyderabad city police act. More serious and repeat offenders are likely to be booked under 509 IPC (word act or gesture intended to insult the modesty of a woman), section 354IPC (assault or criminal force on a woman with the intent to outrage her modesty), could potentially lead to an offence under section 376 (rape).

Expansion

In Hyderabad, there are 100 teams in operation by March 2018. The division is present in Adilabad, Nizamabad. It is being expanded to other districts in Telangana State.

References

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External links

Official site
Telangana Police Government of Telangana KCR Government initiatives Specialist law enforcement agencies of India 2014 establishments in Telangana Government agencies established in 2014