Campaign to prevent crime against children under way

Police personnel sensitising people to child safety during an awareness campaign in the central zone.

Police have launched an awareness campaign on child safety across the central zone ahead of Children’s Day and Child Safety Week.

The campaign has been launched in all nine districts in the zone and is aimed at checking sexual abuse and other crimes against children. Under the initiative, police personnel will go door-to-door in the villages to meet and interact with the people to sensitise them on the need to completely eliminate crime against children.

The police teams have distributed awareness pamphlets containing contact phone numbers and helplines in emergency situations. People are being told to get in touch with officials at the One Stop Centre by dialling 182, Women Help Desk at 1091, 1098 Childline or police at 100.

The campaign will go on till Children’s Day on November 14 and is being conducted under the leadership of the Additional Superintendents of Police, Crimes Against Women and Child, in each district. Deputy superintendents of police, police officers and constables will visit the villages under their jurisdiction to carry out the sensitisation drive. Volunteers, non-governmental organisations and child welfare committee members are also being involved in the campaign.

So far, police teams have reached out to 64,539 households with the help of 1,883 volunteers since the start of the campaign on November 1. This apart, 1,465 awareness camps have also be conducted in which nearly 65,000 people participated, a police press release said.