Divya Gandhi and

Swathi Shivanand

BANGALORE: After the knee jerk reaction of suspending officials at the observation home at Madivala, the Government seems to be finally taking notice of the many underlying problems in the juvenile justice system that have emerged after the escape of 46 children.

A meeting was held here on Tuesday by child rights organisations and government officials where key recommendations have been made.

The strength of the staff, which stood at nine for 76 children when the break-out took place, was held to be grossly inadequate, for both the care and control of the children.

"At least four probationary officers, 10 guards and four wardens have been recommended for a better functioning of the observation homes," says Arlene Manoharan, research officer at the Centre for the Child and Law at National Law School of India University.

For better functioning of the Juvenile Justice Board, more administrative staff and a permanent office have been recommended.

Since one of the problems faced at the observation home included the younger children sharing space with older ones accused of more serious offences, segregation of the children based on their ages and offences has been recommended. To this effect, separate living arrangements to house the ones accused of more serious offences has been proposed.

A multi-disciplinary committee could take on this responsibility of classification. The committee could also provide the magistrate with informed opinion on the bail and final orders of the children, says Ms. Manoharan.

The other areas of concern included lack of legal and psychological assistance provided to the children. The government extends no legal help to the children, which is handled almost solely by Empowerment of Children and Human Right's Organisation (ECHO). Similarly, virtually no government provided facility for regular counselling exists, which is handled at the Observation centre largely by two non-government organisations, ECHO and BOSCO at the moment. A mental health team has been proposed to help children through their stay at the observation home.

Police reforms

Father Anthony Sebastian, Director, ECHO, believes that the Special Juvenile Police Unit needs to be strengthened, as a step toward reform of the police system.

"Only three divisions have such a unit, where a special officer is employed to look at these cases in a child-friendly way. We need all the city divisions to have such a unit, and also to increase the number of officers from one to three. We need more women officers to take charge of cases where a girl child is involved," he said.

The suspension of the superintendent was unanimously believed to be unnecessary. "Everyone objects to the suspension of Kamalamma. She was one of the few staff members who was able to handle the children in a sensitive and effective manner. She happened to be out, on duty, when the break-out happened," Fr. Anthony said.

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