Jamshedpur, Dec. 8: Engaging in community services as an alternative punishment for juvenile convicts could well be a reality in the state.

To implement this, the district administration and the Juvenile Justice Board have to do some groundwork, felt experts at the conclusion session of the Juvenile Justice Board and police training programme at Centre for Excellence today.

Organised by Bal Shakha and East Singhbhum district administration, the programme was attended by over 40 police officers, advocates, district administrative officers and members of Juvenile Justice Board.

The convener of Bal Shakha, a Patna-based NGO, Sanat Kumar Sinha, said the Bihar board had introduced such a punishment and six juvenile convicts have been sentenced in accordance with the new system. Such juvenile convicts have been pressed into service for cleansing temple premises or any public place for a period of six months or more, he added.

“When we say today’s children are country’s future then we all, our society as a whole and the judiciary as well as the executive in specific, must think accordingly. This has to be applicable also with the children who are involved or implicated in legal conflict. Rendering community services instead of remaining confined to a cell, is a positive step to bring about reforms for misguided children,” said Sinha.

Surprisingly, none of the police officers those attended the programme was aware of the basic fact that no juvenile accused may be kept in a lock-up nor should be kept in the police station during night.

Moreover, the police officers, including the ones in the rank of deputy superintendent of police, appeared to be confused on the question of whether a juvenile accused booked with non-bailable charges could be released on bail from the police station or not.

The confusion got further compounded when they were explained by the panel that it depended entirely on the conscience of the officer-in-charge concerned as to whether such accused be given bail or should be remanded in the board’s custody.

Another crucial thing that came up in view that the district administration was not sensitive enough for addressing issues related to children. Though the state government has set up child welfare committee to be run under social welfare department in 2004, but there is no existence of such committees in district administration level as yet.