Training programme on women’s safety
SHILLONG: Chief Secretary MS Rao pointed out that the conviction rate in Meghalaya is abysmally low and that is an area of concern which might lead to increase in number of crime against women and children.
Speaking at the concluding day of the police training programme for investigators on women’s safety in the city on Friday, the chief secretary said that while crime rate shows a declining trend, the figures are unreliable and many crimes still go unreported.
“Over the years, we have managed to improve the infrastructure with support from the Government of India. However, the conviction rate in Meghalaya is abysmally low. The Criminal Amendment Act, 2018 too has not been of much help,” Rao said while adding that if justice is delayed then society will demand instant justice as happened in the case of Disha in Hyderabad last year.
Rao also admitted that the FSL (forensic science laboratory) required upgradation as presently the state is reliant on Guwahati and Kolkata and this impedes investigation.
He informed that the Emergency Response Support System (ERSS) that has been implemented in 27 states will be implemented in Meghalaya by March 31. He rued the fact that the Nirbhaya Fund created to provide legal assistance and rehabilitation of rape victims had not been adequately tapped by Meghalaya.
While pointing that the crimes against women and children had increased, Director General of Police, R Chandranathan asserted that society has an important role to play in deterring crimes against girl children since the bulk of such crimes happened within families which are private domains.
Chandranathan observed that while the cognisable crime rate had dropped, crimes against women and children had increased alarmingly. He suggested a serious rethinking in tactics and strategies but regretted that police did not have the luxury of long term thinking.
He said that established training institutions are no longer adequate and suggested that training should be contextual and nuanced. “Police need to work in concert with social scientists and academics to understand the sociological nature of crime in order to become more sensitive to social issues. We need to humanise the law enforcement system and make it more empathetic. This will happen if justice is meted out with equity, fairness and due diligence,” Chandranathan observed.
Former DGP of Meghalaya and presently the President, Indian Police Foundation, N. Ramachandran, rued the fact that India has fallen several notches below in the Global Peace Index, 2019 ranking at 141 which is just a notch above Palestine.
He said the economic burden on the country caused by violence and crime is phenomenal. India’s loss due to criminal activities is 469 billion dollars and the economic impact is to the tune of 852 billion dollars.
“If even one percent of that amount was invested in policing, it would have brought at least 10% improvement in crime detection and prevention,” Ramachandran stated.
Ramachandran said the principal role of the Indian Police Foundation is to bridge the gap between civil society and police and the aim of the day’s workshop was to bring about this convergence.
“The police in some states were doing good work but such information was not communicated. Hence they became islands of excellence when their work should instead be documented and replicated,” Ramchandran said. He also said that statistics in India were highly unreliable and working on such undependable statistics leads to faulty outcomes.
He suggested that a comprehensive standard operating procedure (SOP) needs to be prepared which is nuanced to Meghalaya.
The panelists all agreed to the need for better and more sensitive counsellors for traumatised children.
They felt that sex education and ethical living be included in the school curriculum. Emotional Quotient and integral survival kit for children is not being allowed to develop as they are addicted to mobile phones and tablets which have become tools of instant gratification.
One of the key takeaways from the workshop was that an action plan for convergence between police, NGOs, educational institutions, churches and other key stakeholders in society be worked so that a concrete way forward is evolved. This would pave the way for community policing.
The workshop included stakeholders across a wide spectrum of society and Government. NGOs working on issues of women and children’s safety, namely, North East Network, Impulse NGO Network and legal experts made strategic and enlightening presentations.
Also present was the Chairperson, State Commission for the Protection of Child Rights (SCPCR), Meena Kharkongor, representatives from the Health Department, Social Welfare Department, Law Department, NEHU, and DP Shadap, senior scientist Forensics Science Laboratory and police officials who made informative presentations on cyber crime and trafficking of women and children.
The five-day police training, which began at Police Training School, Umran from February 17 was sponsored by the Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D), New Delhi and supported by Meghalaya Police and Indian Police Foundation .