Women account for 7% of entire police force in India: Report.

The findings of the report also revealed that only six per cent of women among all police personnel in India are at the officer level.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Woman account for seven per cent of India's entire police force

• Not just women, the report showed that representation of SCs, STs and OBCs in police continue to remain poor

• It also highlights the low women representation in the judiciary system in India too

report compiled by a group of sectoral experts, ranging from human rights groups to legal policy groups, show that women account for seven per cent of India's 2.4 million police personnel.

The India Justice Report 2019, commissioned by Tata Trusts, was prepared by groups like Centre for Social Justice, Common Cause, Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, DAKSH, Tata Institute of Social Sciences - Prayas and Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy.

The findings of the report also revealed that only six per cent of women among all police personnel in India are at the officer level.

"Even if states commit to increasing women's representation at a modest additional 1 per cent per annum, it will take most of them and institutions decades to reach even to this aspirational 33 per cent," said the report.

Not just women, the report showed that representation of SCs, STs and OBCs in police continue to remain poor, with a large number of vacancies in the reserved positions.

Among other things, the report sheds light on the fact that over the last five years, only 6.4 per cent of the entire police force in India has been provided in-service training. In simpler terms, 90 per cent of cops are currently dealing with the public without any up-to-date training.

It also highlights the low women representation in the judiciary system in India too. Only 18 per cent of legal aid service lawyers are women across India, according to the report.

The report shows other shortfalls concerning the judiciary as well. It revealed that there are 28 million cases pending in Indian subordinate courts and 24 per cent have been pending for more than five years.

"In Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Odisha, Gujarat along with Meghalaya and Andaman and Nicobar Islands, at least one in every four cases have been pending for more than 5 years," the report said.

Meanwhile, a total of 2.3 million cases are pending for more than 10 years. There is also a shortfall of about 4,071 courtrooms across the country compared to the sanctioned strength of judges in the country.

The report also shows that Maharashtra ranked fist in all categories while Uttar Pradesh came in last. It is worth noting Uttar Pradesh had over 50 per cent vacancies in the police department, as per the 2017 data.

Last but not least, the state of Indian prisons is also in bad shape. It is worth mentioning that there are just 621 correctional staffs across 1,412 prisons in India. As per the data, 95,366 inmates are handled by 1 sanctioned correctional staff in Uttar Pradesh.