Building connections and collaboration between youth, children and the police is something we have been doing for years, and find very important. This is because Adivasi, NT-DNT, rural, and Bahujan youth don’t always have the best experiences in their interactions with the police. They are not very confident about, nor have the knowledge about accessing their local police stations which is unfortunate since the police system is such an important administrative limb. Through such visits involving children, youth, and parents – not only is their fear and misconceptions regarding the police reduced, but the police stations also gain sensitivity towards their more vulnerable residents.
Over September and October, we had 3 visits – from Circus Ground NT-DNT community to Ambernath police station, from Chon and Rahtoli to Badlapur gaon police station, and from Kolegaon to Ramnagar Police Station. We appreciate the police officers who made the visit meaningful and answered the various questions of youth.