RANCHI : Jharkhand police along with UNICEF launched the child friendly police station programme here today. This two year programme will cover 502 police stations and rail thanas in the state.
Ms. Sampat Meena, IG Crime said, “As a part of the initiative, a set of 21 indicators has been developed as self-assessment tools to be shared with thanas. The Officer-in-Charge of the thanas will assess progress against these indicators and report to the Superintendent of Police who heads the Special Juvenile Police Unit in the district. These 21 indicators are in line with the provisions under Juvenile Justice Act and orders of the Supreme Court. The long term goal is to translate these indicators into practice.”
She said, “Some of the indicators listed out are – is there a child welfare officer posted in the thana; is the name displayed; has a separate room/area for interaction with children; is there a place for children to sit; are cases of missing children registered within 24 hours; is the complainant given a copy of the First Information Report (FIR), etc. This will be a continuous process with a provision for monthly and yearly feedback, assessment and review.”
Mr. Rajeev Kumar, DGP said, “The stations which fulfil all these criteria will be given a certificate at the end of the first year and those that are able to sustain this over the two year period will be awarded. Making all stations child friendly and the missing children helpline functional will ensure all rights accorded to children as per law. This will also improve and strengthen the relationship between the police and the public.”
The DGP stressed on the need for sensitizing the police force on issues relating to women and children. He said, “The image of the police in society will improve if they are child friendly.”
Mr. Job Zachariah, Chief, UNICEF Jharkhand said, “How the society protects the rights of children and how the police treats children are indicators of a developed country. Jharkhand has already met some of the child friendly indicators like appointment of child welfare officers in all police stations. Other indicators are easy to achieve and all police stations in the state could become child friendly thanas in the next two years.”
Mr. Zachariah said that UNICEF will provide a set of copies of Acts relating to children and women in all police stations in the state. We will continue to impart training to child welfare officers in police stations as well as members of the child welfare committees and juvenile justice boards in all districts.
Missing children helpline launched
Jharkhand police along with UNICEF today launched the missing children registration helpline. The number is 9471 300 008.
Mr. Anurag Gupta, IG Provision said, “Registration of missing children throught he helpline is a very important issue. The callers will be advised on the procedure for filing complaints/First Information Report (FIR). This helpline is located in the CID office, Ranchi and is manned by trained NGO workers from the Diya Seva Sanathan with support of UNICEF. So far, 36 cases have been registered and 4 children traced. The Supreme Court had passed orders for compulsory registration of all missing children in the country.”
A portal for maintaining a database of missing and found children to track every missing child has been launched in the country. The database will also record details of children living in child care institutions. In Jharkhand, 258 entries of missing children have been made in the portal.
The names of the children registered with the helpline will also be uploaded in the missing children website.
Mr. Natarajan, IG State Crime Records Bureau (SCRB); Mr. Akhilesh Jha, SP CID; Mr. Subodh Prasad, DIG CID; Ms. Sangeeta Kumari, SP CID; Senior police officers from the head-quarters along with nodal officers, Special Juvenile Police Units from all districts attended the programme.
