THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Draw a police station in your mind. A spartan building with dull, musty interiors. A stone-faced sentry with a bayonet-fitted rifle. Piles of dust-coated case files. Noisy face-offs with criminals. Those usual images are scary enough to make one go weak at the knees. But all these perceptions are going to change as police stations in the state will soon undergo an image makeover with paintings of Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck adorning the premises.
The initiative is part of the Children and Police Programme (CAP) to make police stations children-friendly, state police chief Loknath Behera told Express. It will be implemented on a pilot basis in six police stations and it will be extended to other stations. As part of the effort, there will be a separate room for children complete with posters, attached toilet and drinking water facility. Separate registers will also be maintained to record cases related to children.
The police have come up with such a decision to sensitise officers about ‘social policing’ to bridge the gap between the law enforcers and the society. The Thiruvananthapuram Fort police station, Kollam East police station, Kadavanthra police station, Thrissur East police station, Kozhikode Town police station and Kannur Town police station will undergo the makeover before May 31 at the cost of Rs 30 lakh.
A first of its kind initiative in the state, CAP will equip police personnel with appropriate knowledge to effectively exercise their duty, ensure better protection of child rights and prevent the abuse of minors. The makeover will ensure children who are victims or accompanying complainants are entertained in the station, said Behera. “A Child Welfare Officer will be trained and designated in each station to interact with children and engage them in friendly activities,” he said. “The children may be victims, informants or accompanying their parents to file a complaint. They will be treated accordingly to ensure their time spent at the station is properly utilised,” he said.
According to a report, 21 indicators have been drawn up for the police stations to become child-friendly. They are drawn primarily from the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act 2000 and include structure, procedures, attitude, resources and coordination.