THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The government has decided to appoint women as police drivers. The Public Service Commission (PSC) will issue notifications in November.

Currently, pink police vehicles are driven by female police officers but they have not been recruited as drivers. In women police stations, male drivers are responsible for the vehicles. This decision by the government is based on a recommendation from the Civil Service Reforms Department. It aims to provide equal opportunities and treatment to women. A total of 760 driver positions will be created within the police force.

Although there are women's battalions and women's stations in the police force, women have not been employed as drivers. The new positions will be announced for both men and women. Applicants must possess a valid driving license and badge. They will need to demonstrate their ability to drive heavy vehicles through a practical test conducted by the PSC. A road test will also be part of the selection process, along with certain physical requirements.

Women will be appointed as drivers in all 17 divisions of the police including stations, battalions and the crime branch. Currently, the police force operates 3,610 vehicles excluding two-wheelers with 3,071 drivers. There are 19 positions for Sub-Inspectors and Motor Transport Inspectors each and only 38 head constable positions. The total number of driver positions is 3,128. In 2017, it was decided to create an additional 1,160 driver positions but only 400 were actually created. Due to the confidential and urgent nature of police operations, the police cannot rely on hiring vehicles or temporary drivers. As such each patrol vehicle requires a team of three drivers.

Police vehicles

Heavy Motor------------------328

Medium Motor---------------203

Jeep-----------------------------------158

SUV-------------------------2719

Car-----------------------------------132

Light Motor------------------70

Total-------------------------------3610

Administrative Reforms Department Instructions

1. Working hours of drivers should be maximum 12 hours. Do not assign other than for emergency purposes.

2. Aadhaar based software should be developed for maintenance of vehicles. The log book should be digitized.

3.Vehicle purchase should come with 10 years maintenance contract

4.Vehicle purchase should take into consideration the terrain to be used

5.Thiruvananthapuram and Ernakulam should buy Innova for Escort and Pilot only

6. Shelves and racks should be provided in the station for drivers to store their belongings

7. A centralized system should be set up with the help of KSRTC for vehicle repairing.