The Bhutanese Leading the way.
The 17th phase of Police Youth Partnership Program began in Pasakha, Phuentsholing, with 44 participants of which 24 are female.
The two week program, which started on 3rd January and will go on till 18th January, will educate participants on juvenile crime and its prevention, education on health, legal provisions and engage them in practical classes on traffic rules, fire safety and have visits to detention cells.
“We want to reach more information on youth related crime like battery, assault, malicious mischief, prowling and burglary as these are the crimes they indulge in and we also have emphasized on affect of alcohol and drugs,” said Pasakha Officer Commanding (OC), Phurba Wangdi. “Youths are committing crime because they are not aware of its consequences and once we sensitize them, I think that they will know better whereby in one way or the other they will get alerted and refrain themselves.”
He said that participants have started sharing information such as a drunken man sleeping by the roadside and people smoking in public places. “This shows they needed awareness and since they were made aware, they are now reacting, which is a positive outcome from the program,” he said.
Phuntsho Tashi, 17, said that through the program he came to know about crime and how it can be prevented. “We got an opportunity to learn on different types of penalty,” he added.
He also said that the practical classes were more knowledgable and meaningful because they got insight into how traffic checking is done, how to react if they find a driver with no license, how to deal with the people if found under the influence of alcohol and more.
Puja Mongar, 20, said that, she learned more on laws, penalty, health issues, crime, traffic and other issues. “When I go back to school, I want to form a group whereby we can work to inform about crime in school and outside the school campus also. Hereafter, if I see any crime happening around me I will make sure to inform police,” she said.
The Royal Bhutan Police launched Police and Youth Partnership Program (PYPP) on December 21, 2008 in Thimphu in collaboration with National Commission for Women and Children (NCWC) and Save the Children International, Bhutan.
A total of 225 youths participated in the first phase of PYPP in Thimphu. As of 2015, PYPP completed 12 phases with participants reaching 6,372 students of which 3,155 were female and 3,217 were male participants.
The program was launched as an embodiment of a partnership based model of crime prevention with the objective to protect, nurture and educate the children on laws and their rights. In addition, through the program, RBP aspire to foster a closer relationship with youth to reduce juvenile crime.
The Phuentsholing RBP division started their 2nd phase of PYPP program in July 2009 with 100 participants and since then they have been conducting the program every year.
