Selangor Launches All-Female Traffic Police Team And They're Called 'Tweet'
The move is working and they are doing better than their male counterparts.
By Darian Goh — 04 Dec 2014, 12:50 PM — Updated almost 10 years ago
Malaysian traffic policemen have it tough. They are out in the unforgiving weather both rain or shine, and they are often disliked by the public when they dole out traffic summonses.
There were some complaints that male officers are too intimidating, leading to motorists becoming defensive and refusing to cooperate
“We have had complaints that perhaps male officers were too aggressive or intimidated motorists while some motorists refused to cooperate, even when officers just wanted to give them a warning, rather than a summons. They reacted defensively or tried to instigate officers.
thestar.com.myTo be perfectly honest, most Malaysian drivers would’ve once or twice come across seemingly rude and aggressive male officers at late night road blocks. Or broad daylight road blocks, even.
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But the fact is, these traffic police are just doing their job to make our roads safer. In an effort to improve the negative perception of traffic policemen, Selangor has launched the country's first all-female traffic police team.
The new Traffic Women Estimable Enforcement Team (Tweet) comprises six officers and is the first all-woman traffic patrol team in the country.
thestar.com.my"This is also an image improvement for the unit. PJ as an urban area sees less difference between men and women, and we can reflect that.
It's called Tweet, which stands for Traffic Women Estimable Enforcement Team. It might sound like a strange concept, but it has been working, motorists are responding better to female officers compared to male traffic officers.
DSP Mohamad Roy said that hopefully with the softer approach, motorists would respond better to their officers. "The women officers can appear less aggressive and easier for motorists to work with," he said.
Insp Hariati Hamdan, who leads the team of six, said the plan with Tweet seemed to be working thus far. “Some motorists were surprised that we were all women. However, they seemed more open to admit their offences and talk with us,” she said while manning a roadblock along Persiaran Tropicana yesterday.
thestar.com.myTo ensure the safety of Tweet, a male policeman would be stationed nearby in case motorists react aggressively
One male officer would be stationed with the women on their rounds in case motorists turn aggressive, said DSP Mohamad Roy.
thestar.com.myThe formation of Tweet also serves as a good opportunity for female officers to have more field experience as most have them are tied to their desks
He added that Tweet was also a means of providing more field experience for female officers in his unit as most of them had been desk-bound. "This is also an image improvement for the unit. PJ as an urban area sees less difference between men and women, and we can reflect that.
“Most female officers get stuck with administrative work and don’t get the chance to be out in the field. If this team is successful, we can request for more women to try out for enforcement work,” he said, adding that the officers had to undergo enforcement courses first.
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