Women Are Less Corrupt Than Men

At least that is what senior police officers believe in Peru. Drive anywhere in Peru and you will see the traffic at rush hour being directed by lovely young ladies on motorcycles in crisp green uniforms, Ray Bans, tan jodhpurs, and riding boots. Since 1998 these women have been in the vanguard of helping to improve the public perception of law enforcement in a country known for rampant corruption. Male traffic cops have been assigned to desk jobs and the ladies have taken over – everywhere.

Today 11 percent of officers in the PNP (Peru’s National Police) are women but in the Lima traffic division a staggering 93 percent are women. The police bosses are happy “since female officers are more harsh at giving tickets, strict and difficult to bribe.” but it seems that a lot of taxi drivers were initially up in arms at the fact that they could no longer get away with driving recklessly in unsafe cars; they used to be able to pay to get away with it – but not now.

The ladies here are in Cusco as the policy has spread across all of Peru with great success. I cannot imagine the kind of lewd comments and disrespect that these women must encounter every day in this macho Latin country, but I surely do not plan to mess with them whilst I am here.