LAHORE: Inspector General of Punjab Police Aamir Zulfiqar Khan has constituted a committee for the impact analysis of the Women and Juvenile Facilitation Centre (WJFC) established in Gujrat some four years back.

The committee shall be headed by additional IG Zulfiqar Hameed while some members from the respective wings of the police will also assist him.

The IG took the decision following a meeting with a delegation from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) here on Thursday.

Headed by Country Head Mr. Jeremy Milsom, the eight-member delegation also comprised members of the Royal Embassy of Norway.

After evaluation, more centres to be replicated in other cities

During the meeting, the delegation apprised the Punjab police about the performance of the WJFC as a specialised facility which was established with the support of the UNODC to investigate the incidents of violence, harassment and abuse against women and children.

Meanwhile, the experts proposed to replicate the WJFC in other major cities of the province. On this, the IG Punjab directed to form a committee to analyse the performance and impact of the centre established in Gujrat before replicating it to other cities, including Lahore and Rawalpindi.

“The establishment of the WJFC in Gujrat with the support of UNODC was no doubt a commendable step to help prevent and investigate gender and child-related crimes”, Aamir Zulfiqar said.

He said highly trained and expert women and officials were providing services for investigation of gender based and children abuse cases at the centre in Gujrat.

Moreover, modern facilities, legal assistance, psychosocial support and other facilities had also been provided for investigation, he said.

The provincial police chief has marked Lahore and Rawalpindi to provide the same facility in future after the assessment report of the committee.

The IG Punjab said: “The training modules are being upgraded to increase the efficiency of police investigation officers, while modern skills and use of scientific methods are being ensured for effective investigation of crimes related to women and children.

The delegation informed the meeting about training of staff posted in the Gujrat centre. It was agreed to continue joint projects regarding capacity building.

Mr Jeremy Milsom said UNODC would impart modern skills to investigating officers and Punjab police master trainers.

Likewise, he said, the capacity building of the investigation officers will also be enhanced by imparting modern training with respect to narcotics control under E-Learning.

Both sides agreed to extend bilateral cooperation for increasing efficiency of the police force.

At the end of the meeting, honorary souvenirs were also exchanged between IG Punjab and the UNODC delegation.

Published in Dawn, January 13th, 2023