Becoming a Female Police Officer in Delhi: Do You Qualify

Courtesy of Delhi Police A Delhi Police officer.

India’s capital city has promised to hire 2,500 new female police officers, as part of a push to increase the safety of women in Delhi after the fatal gang rape of a young student in December.

Women as young as 18 and as old as 45 are eligible for the post of constable, depending on an elaborate list of criteria that makes separate allowances for candidates’ socioeconomic status, caste, marital status, residence and previous participation in professional athletics.

A woman who is not from any of India’s defined socially disadvantaged classes, for example, can apply until age 25, and should be at least 157 centimeters (5 feet 2 inches) tall. On the other end of the spectrum, women who are part of India’s “scheduled castes” or “scheduled tribes” and who have already worked for the police force in some capacity, say as a cleaner, can apply until age 45 and only need to be 155 centimeters tall.

Every applicant needs to have finished secondary school, except for the daughters of current or past Delhi police, who can apply after completing grade 11 (and who only need to be 152 centimeters tall).

Applicants who fulfill the general criteria then need to undergo a challenging physical fitness test, which applies to everyone except candidates who already work for the police, whose criteria are somewhat easier. The credentials include the ability to:

*Run 1,600 meters, or about one mile, in eight minutes

*Complete a 10-foot long jump

*Complete a three-foot high jump.

Candidates who complete the physical then sit for a written test. Unlike in some other states, the Delhi Police department does not list a personality test or interview as part of the recruitment process for constables.

The Delhi Police has a much wider range of age requirements for female candidates compared to male candidates. Men who do not belong to any special categories are only allowed to apply if they are between 18 and 21 years of age.

Men are also required to hold a permanent driving license to qualify, which is not the case for female candidates.

The application form itself, like most application forms in India, asks female candidates for their father’s name or their husband’s name. Male candidates are not required to share their wives’ or mothers’ names because the question does not exist in their application form.

But getting into Delhi Police force is not just challenging â€" it is also highly competitive. Police recruitment drives can attract thousands of for just one job.

The entire recruitment process can take up to nine months, officials at the Delhi Police recruitment office said.

While the first round of applications closed on March 15, further rounds are expected to be held later this year.

The application can be found here.