Bengaluru: It is difficult for people with criminal backgrounds to lead a normal life because of the stigma attached to their past and many times they are forced to go back to their old ways. To help ex-criminals join the mainstream, the West division police under their community policing programme have started workshops to equip these former criminals who want to reform with social skills.
The workshops are conducted once a month in cooperation with NGOs. These are three-day workshops and depending on the interest shown by participants they are offered more extensive courses.
Ravi D. Channannavar, DCP, West division, said, “The workshop includes meditation, counselling, English language speaking and various other soft skill courses. It was started a month ago and will be conducted in every subdivision of the West division.”
He said, “Those involved in criminal activities and want to mend their ways can attend these workshops. We also inform our personnel to pick up those who are interested. This is to ensure that they do not get back to their old ways.”
Another senior police officer said, “These are short courses and if anyone expresses interest, we organise more extensive courses with NGOs. For example, you cannot learn to speak in English in three days, so if they want to pursue it, we help them.”
He said, “We started this programme after we heard that several people who were involved in criminal activities earlier and wanted to lead a normal life could not even get a small job. We have taken the initial steps and once it is successful, we would like to implement it across the state.”
