22 December 2009 / AYŞE TOSUN , İSTANBUL
İstanbul’s Sultangazi district has recruited 14 new female police officers to work in its police stations in order to encourage more women to report problems to the district’s police stations.
Police force officials said they wanted to have more women workers, to encourage female residents to file complaints against suspects more readily. An official here told Today’s Zaman that some female residents preferred to wait until a male family member showed up before contacting the police station. Some residents, regardless of gender, also feel that if they do not have an acquaintance at the station, no one will deal with their problems. The officers say this is a misconception.The Sultangazi Police Department has launched a campaign to abolish misconceptions about police officers and made an effort to reduce the distance between the public and the police. The police officers said that with developments such as including more women on the force, their aim was to eliminate any misconceptions. They stressed that people can visit police stations even if they do not have any problems. The police in Sultangazi have started a “Come and have tea at the police station” campaign to encourage a breaking down of barriers. They said people do not have to be afraid of the police uniform, adding, “We don’t wear this uniform to oppress people, but to help them.”
