E-Paper
28 juvenile delinquents taking vocational courses under ‘child-friendly police station’ scheme
The police have decided to identify ‘children in need of protection and care’ and ‘children in conflict with the law’ under this scheme
From being caught by the Kothrud police under charges of attempt to murder and having a criminal case registered against him, Mahesh Chavan (name changed), 15, is today a mechanic who works in a garage and repairs motorcycles to support his family.
Mahesh has been living with his mother – who spends her days in a tailoring shop to provide for the family - and sister, at Shastrinagar, Kothrud, ever since he lost his father. Having dropped out from Class 8, Mahesh got involved with some local criminals through one of his friends. The group used to rob people when one day, Mahesh was caught and detained by the Kothrud police. During interrogation however, the police came to know his story and decided to counsel him under the ‘child-friendly police station’ scheme. He was released on bail after spending a week in a children’s home. His parents and he were then counselled by the Hope for Children Foundation following which the police enrolled him for a vocational training course in motorcycle repairs. Mahesh is but one of eight children whose lives have been fruitfully turned around after being caught in an endless loop of drugs and criminality driven by circumstance.
Another such is Ramesh More, 17, who now works in a tailoring shop and helps his father run the family. Ramesh – whose father is a daily wage worker with no money to support his education – dropped out of school and took to marijuana and other cheap drugs under the influence of his ‘addict’ friends. One day, Ramesh was detained by the police in a mobile theft case and spent almost a week at a correctional facility after which the police decided to provide him with counselling and vocational training under the ‘child-friendly police station’ scheme. Mahesh and Ramesh are among the eight lucky children whose lives have been brought back on track by the police under the ‘child-friendly police station’ scheme. Launched on November 20, 2021, the police have identified 270 juvenile delinquents under this scheme out of which, 78 have been counselled by various NGOs. Twenty-eight of these 78 juvenile delinquents have been admitted to various vocational training courses offered free-of-cost by the police department.
Deputy commissioner of police (DCP) Pournima Gaikwad, who is leading the project, said that nearly all juvenile delinquents are associated with major criminals in their respective localities. The criminals use these juveniles to maintain their so called ‘territories’, and carry out crimes so that they don’t come under the police radar. The criminals also encourage these juveniles to consume drugs and related substances so that they become addicts themselves and help the criminals supply drugs to their clients for a commission which they then use to support their addiction. The juveniles get attracted to crime in search of quick money to meet their daily needs or gain respect within their groups. When the juveniles get caught, they are sent to correctional facilities for a short time but after release, it’s back to business. It is to end this vicious cycle that the police decided to set up the ‘child-friendly police station’ scheme under the Juvenile Justice Act, Gaikwad said. The police have decided to identify ‘children in need of protection and care’ and ‘children in conflict with the law’ under this scheme. Further, the police have decided to initiate child-friendly initiatives and discussions with the juveniles’ parents under it. “With the help of the social science department of the Tilak Maharashtra Vidyapeeth (TMV), we have conducted studies about juvenile delinquents and found the vulnerable group and accordingly, decided to intervene and create awareness,” Gaikwad said. Juveniles exposed to unhindered internet access and both of whose parents are working are the most vulnerable. “The content available to them at their age is disproportionately mature and hence, they become addicts and diverge from the main path,” she said.
Identification of such juveniles, discussions with their parents, and counselling and vocational training under the ‘child-friendly police station’ scheme have shown positive results. But this is not enough. The police said that this problem cannot be solved by enforcing strict laws. Many institutions like the police, NGOs, parents, government, teachers and counsellors need to work together to weed out the problem. Gaikwad said that these children could be committing heinous crimes on the streets if we do not wake up now.
Back on the right track
270 juvenile delinquents
78 have undergone counselling sessions
28 have been admitted to various vocational training programmes
Eight have got jobs
What is a child-friendly police station?
A child-friendly police station is one where children who come as victims of or witnesses to crimes or as the accused themselves feel comfortable due to the infrastructural changes such as colourful cartoons on the walls of these police stations. However, the joint initiative is not just about painting walls; it also involves rehabilitating children who are accused of crimes. Children often have to go to police stations, and beautification helps bridge the gap between the children and the police. The children who go to police stations might be victims themselves so the illustrations on walls can help calm them.
Initiative details
*Creating child-friendly police stations that are bright and friendly for children to come and register their grievances
*Capacity-building of the police in terms of understanding laws, policies and guidelines for children in India, and improving the police’s mindset so that they work with children with empathy and care
*Survey in selected communities to understand the issues children and families face, the reason why they commit crimes, face violence etc. so that the police can develop need-based interventions along with the related departments and institutions
*A child-friendly task force for hand-holding the police in child-friendly initiatives
*Rehabilitation of children in conflict with the law
Child-friendly police stations
Lashkar, Vishrantwadi, Lakshminagar, Yerawada, Range Hills, Khadki, Warje, Malwadi, Kothrud, Uttam Nagar, Alankar, Dattawadi, Sinhagad Road
