Mumbai Police's 'Buddy Cop Squads' to offer women real-time safety support during late-night travel

Women returning home late from work will soon have a direct line to their local police station with Mumbai Police rolling out Buddy Cop Squads across the cityUnder the initiative every police station will create a dedicated team of eight to 10 personnel including women officers to assist women while travelling at night The squads will be backed by 24x7 monitored WhatsApp groups allowing women to share their live location and seek immediate assistanceThe poster to publicise the initiativeThe initiative part of Mumbai Polices zerotolerance policy towards crimes against women was ordered in May and implementation began in June Senior officers have now directed police stations to expand awareness at the grassroots level The initiative is aimed at women returning home after latenight or graveyard shifts in various sectorsHow Buddy Cop worksStep 1Every police station will form a Buddy Cop SquadStep 2Women in the jurisdiction will be added to or connected through a dedicated WhatsApp groupStep 3If a woman feels unsafe while travelling she cangtgt Share her live locationgtgt Send a distress messagegtgt Request police assistanceStep 4The group will be monitored round the clockStep 5The nearest police personnel will respond and coordinate assistanceRepresentation picAtul KambleOfficial speakMahendra Shinde senior inspector Dindoshi police stationldquoWomen working latenight shifts often have to travel home at odd hours Through Buddy Cop Squad we want to ensure that they have a direct point of contact through the helpline number 112 and with the local Buddy Cop Squad team If a woman feels unsafe or faces an emergency she can share her location and details with us so that we can provide assistance at the earliest Our aim is to ensure that more and more women are aware of the Buddy Cop Squad and know whom to contact when they need help We want women to feel confident that the local police are just a message or call awayrdquoExisting safety measuresPolice clarified that the Buddy CopSquads will complement mdash not replace mdash the existing Nirbhaya Squads which will continue to patrol and respond to crimes against womenWho is it forThe initiative is expected to benefit women workinggtgt Hospitalsgtgt IT companiesgtgt Call centres and BPOsgtgt Officesgtgt Mallsgtgt Factoriesgtgt Other establishments with latenight or graveyard shiftsAwareness drivePolice stations will publicise the initiative throughgtgt Postersgtgt Bannersgtgt Public awareness campaignsgtgt Local outreach programmesThe objective is to familiarise women with the Buddy Cop Squad and encourage them to seek help whenever requiredWhat happens in an emergencyIf a woman feels unsafe she cangtgt Contact the Buddy Cop Squad through WhatsAppgtgt Share her live locationgtgt Call 112gtgt Seek assistance from the local police stationPolice personnel will assess the situation and coordinate a responseQuick viewInitiative Buddy Cop SquadsCoverage Every Mumbai police stationTeam size 810 personnelIncludes Women and male police personnelCommunication Dedicated WhatsApp groupsMonitoring 24x7Emergency helpline 112