She was the first Indian woman to be appointed Civilian Police Advisor in U.N.

Kiran Bedi was offered a position as a Senior Advisor at the United Nations in New York in 2002. She consented to the suggestion and was chosen from a vast pool of excellent candidates due to the promise of getting international experience on a greater scale. The 7th Secretary-General of the United Nations, Kofi Atta Annan, named her as the Civilian Police Advisor in January 2003. Bedi made history when she became the first woman to hold such a position at the UN. She worked with her colleagues in the Department of Peacekeeping Operations, under the supervision of her superior, Under-Secretary General Jean Marie Guehenno. During her employment, she traveled extensively, authored studies, gave speeches, and interacted with a variety of universities and institutions. She returned to Delhi in 2005 following a successful tenure as a Civilian Police Advisor at the United Nations.

The Delhi Bar Association has been pushing to prevent her from being appointed to a position that would put her on the fast track to becoming the city's police chief. Bedi's elevation to the top position, the lawyers argued in a letter to government officials, may "unnecessarily cause confrontation between the legal fraternity and the police." She was promoted to the position of General Manager, Bodyguard. She was the Director of the Research and Development Police Department prior to her retirement.