Police to handle kids better

Children need to be nurtured. The offence of a child, however grave, must be considered as a mistake and not a crime. So society should look towards rectifying the child’s mistake and not punishing him. This is essentially the crux of the Justice Juvenile Act, according to which children who are in conflict with the law should be sent to counselling homes so that his offence is set right. Section 63 of the act also ensures that child offenders will have separate officials to report to and not the regular police officers. Every district should have a special juvenile police unit (SJPU), whereas every police station is supposed to have a child welfare officer. However in practice, majority of the police stations in the city do not have a CWO.

Isidore Phillips, chairman of the Child Welfare Committee, Ranga Reddy district says, "The act came up in the year 2000, but it’s only today for the first time all CWOs and SJPUs are coming together and there will be an appropriate orientation programme. We must understand that a proper system is needed to treat kids who come within the ambit of this act."

The one-day orientation programme, to take place today at the police commissioner’s office at Basheerbagh, is aimed at sensitising the police so that they become more aware of kids’ needs and rights. Though the law spells out that a child should not be branded as a criminal, in real life often the contrary happens. Marked as criminals from an early stage in life, many of these kids suffer from its consequences throughout their lives. They are often pushed further into the world of crime. To prevent this experts agree that it is essential to counsel them. "Though the kids who are in conflict with the law are often sent to counselling homes, they are first brought to the police station. There should be a separate mechanism to treat such children," says Advocate Venkat Ramdas.

While many of CWCs workers complain that the police handle these kids roughly, the latter think otherwise. "It is fashionable to blame the police for everything but we are doing our best. It is not only our responsibility to deal with these kids. The government and NGOs should also get involved," says V. Ramakrishnaiah, additional commissioner of police, Banjara Hills. However, he agreed that the police should be sensitive when it comes to dealing with juvenile offenders. "The police are not voluntarily rude or abusive. But we have to do multifarious jobs and are often stressed. It is always better to have special officers at police stations to deal with young offenders," he adds.

It is also interesting to note that the JJA does not only deal with such children but also includes kids who are are abandoned or abused in different ways. "With this orientation, we hope the cells will work properly and the authorities will also be sensitive to children’s needs," Isidore says.

source: Hyderabad Chronicle, Monday 2 July 2007.