Unique initiative of Punjab Police: New direction to the misguided youth through ‘Yuva Saanjh’, strict attack on organized crime

Punjab News: Taking community policing to the next level, Punjab Police has further intensified its outreach to misguided youth under its ‘Yuva Saanjh Programme’. This initiative is playing an important role along with the ongoing action against organized crime under the ‘War on Gangsters’ campaign. Since January, several meetings have been conducted under the leadership of Special Director General of Police Gurpreet Kaur Deo, Community Affairs Division (CAD), aimed at sensitizing officials and community partners about the effective implementation of the programme.

Established as a preventive aspect of ‘Gangsters Te Vaar’, this program provides positive alternatives to the youth to keep them away from terrorism, gun culture, drug addiction and other negative influences. Five dialogue sessions have been organized in the last four months and 11 more sessions are planned in the next eight months to further expand its reach.

Focus on youth identity

Under this initiative, Punjab Police identifies youth at the community level who may be affected by online terrorism, violence or gangster culture. So far, 2,358 youth have been identified through social media analysis, out of which profiles of 1,519 have been prepared on the state level ‘Yuva Saanjh Software’.

Working on dual strategy of Punjab Police

Punjab Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav said, “Punjab Police is working on a balanced two-pronged strategy. Strict action through ‘Gangsters Te Vaar’ and constant outreach and monitoring through ‘Yuva Saanjh’. Psychological profiling, structured counseling and family involvement form the basis of this initiative. Cases that require intensive intervention are referred to sub-division level community centers to ensure continuous care. Our objective is to break down the criminal networks. To break and keep the youth away from them.”

522 new cases identified

So far, 1,490 youth have been sensitized, while 1,109 have participated in counseling sessions. Altogether 1,836 youth have been counseled by the district intelligence units, while another 522 such youth have been identified by the district teams.

At the grassroots level, District ‘Yuva Sanjh’ Committees are headed by officers of the rank of Superintendent of Police/Deputy Commissioner of Police nominated by the Commissioner of Police/Senior Superintendent of Police. Through these committees, civil society members, retired officers, psychologists, NGOs and community representatives come together to ensure coordinated action.

Emphasis on improvement of youth

Special Director General of Police Gurpreet Kaur Deo said, “While the objective of ‘Gangsters Te Vaar’ is to end organized crime, the objective of ‘Yuva Saanjh’ is to identify the misguided youth early and bring them on the right path. We behave strictly or leniently as per the need, so that timely intervention can change the direction of a youth’s life.”

Financial assistance to youth towards a stable life

Rehabilitation arrangements are made under the leadership of CP/SSP in collaboration with the district administration, Punjab Skill Development Mission and other partner organizations. This includes skill development, employment linkage and financial assistance as per need, so that the youth can be steered towards a stable and happy life by keeping them away from negative influences.

Unique initiative of Punjab Police

Fazilka SSP Gurmeet Singh said, “This initiative has not only helped in reducing the crime rate at the grassroots level but has also prevented the youth of the state from associating with anti-social elements. This may be a unique initiative of its kind launched by any state police in the country. Punjab Police has provided a big platform to the youth to clear their misconceptions and come face to face with the reality.”

He further said, “In our district itself, we have created a strong group of law-abiding youth, which further strengthens the strength of the state.