On back of incentive scheme, cops trace more missing kids

NEW DELHI: From August 6, the day Delhi Police announced that policemen and women would be rewarded with out-of-turn promotions for tracing missing children,the number of children reported to be lost until December 31 was 1,968. In the same period, the police traced 2,027 children, more than the number reported missing.

It turns out that the police had found children reported to be lost as long as two years ago. Delhi Police said on Friday said that it was the first time in many decades that the number of recovered children was more than those reported missing.

At his annual press conference, Delhi Police commissioner SN Shrivastava said that since August 6, police personnel across the Capital had been striving to trace missing children, citing one woman police officer as an example.

“The success story of ASI {assistant sub-inspector} Seema Dhaka is proof that our personnel on the ground are working round-the-clock to ensure that a parent does not lose his/her child. Our officers are visiting states across the country to reunite children with their families,” said Shrivastava.

Dhaka, who was a head constable, was promoted to the ASI’S post after tracing 76 children within three months last year. Two constables also received similar out-of-turn promotions for tracing more than 50 children.

Police said that the number of recovered missing children was also high in 2020 compared to the previous year.

In 2020, at least 4,297 children were reported missing and 4,052 were traced – a recovery rate of 94.29 % and an improvement of 32.65 percentage points compared to the previous year. In 2019, 5,412 children had been reported missing, of which 3,336 were traced- -a recovery rate of 61.64 %.

On August 6, the police chief had issued an order that any constable or head constable who finds at least 50 missing children aged below 14 (of whom at least 15 children must be younger than eight years) in a year would be eligible for an out-of-turn promotion.

The incentive is only valid for constables and head constables who are the junior-most in the police force.

Officials had said the emphasis was on children below eight although more children above that age, especially those in their teens, are reported missing because teens often flee home on their own and refuse to return.

In the normal course, constables become eligible for a promotion after five years in service and that too only if they clear a test. If a constable does not take the test, it takes around 10 years for promotion to the post of a head constable.

Former IPS officer Amod Kanth, who runs Prayas --an NGO for children -- said that reuniting so many children with their families is a commendable work. “We should appreciate the Delhi police for this. One of the few campaigns the present commissioner has undertaken is giving out of turn promotion to officers tracing these lost children. It also speaks of the priority of the police.”

THE INCENTIVE PROGRAMME IS VALID ONLY FOR CONSTABLES AND HEAD CONSTABLES