Police stations across the state are getting a makeover in attempt to become more women and child-friendly
Words: Vandana Devi Images: Various Sources
In a tie up with UNICEF, some police stations around the state are getting makeovers to make them more “Janamaithri”. This facelift involves making the stations more women and child-friendly. This includes infrastructural changes – play equipment, cradles, washrooms and restrooms for mothers to feed infants- a designated child welfare officer, separate space for interaction between officers and children, a separate register to record cases related to children and so on. The child welfare officer will coordinate with other related agencies as well.
The pilot project has 6 stations in the state first being turned women and child friendly and in a year, after evaluating the outcomes, it will be expanded to police stations across the state. They will be drawing the service of one-lakh volunteers trained under Kerala Police’s Student Police cadet programme and the will serve as the intermediary between the victim and the police.
Kadavanthra Police station has already begun the process of converting into a women and child-friendly station. Toys, cribs, paintings all take away from the formidable image a police station usually portrays.
A set of 21 indicators drawn mostly from the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act have been developed for the police stations to qualify as child friendly. “The project was undertaken to improve community policing. With the crime involving children increasing, there is a need to make police more accessible. With child-friendly stations, police will be more accessible to children with grievances and minors who are accused of crime,” said Yathish Chandra, deputy police commissioner, Kochi.