The Special Women Police Contingent (SWPC) of the Bangladesh Police was created in 2008 to specifically track down female criminals increasingly involved in criminal activities such as prostitution, drug smuggling and human trafficking. With increasing proportions of female criminals in Bangladesh, the SWPC, composing entirely of female officers, would be used to gather intelligence that men are seen as less capable of gathering.

Formation

The Special Women Police Contingent (SWPC) was formed in 2008 with the intention of developing a special unit comprising only of women that would investigate crimes involving female criminals. Bangladesh's Narcotics Control Department reported that as many as 100,000 people were engaged in drug trafficking, of whom 40 percent were women. Bangladesh Police considered male officers to be less effective than women in gathering information and investigating crimes involving women and had already been using female police officers more in tackling crimes involving female criminals. As an all-women force, the SWPC is the first of its kind in Bangladesh's history.

Activities

The SWPC was created to gather intelligence and investigate criminal activities that have increasingly involved female criminals. The SWPC will track down female criminals involved in criminal activities such as prostitution, drug smuggling, human trafficking, theft, homicide and swindling. Female criminals have proliferated in crime as women have traditionally aroused less suspicion in the police and public.

Organisation

Bangladesh Police has organised an SWPC within the Dhaka Metropolitan Police and plans to raise units across the country. Currently, there are roughly 2,000 women officers in Bangladesh Police - less than two percent of the total force and one-third of whom are deployed in the capital Dhaka. Bangladesh Police plan to train and hire 3,000 women officers to bolster the SWPC. The Assistant Commissioner of Police in charge of the Dhaka SWPC is Sadira Khatun, leading a detective force of 24 women officers.

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