By Rennie Tembo

Lilongwe, March 16: Irish Rule of Law International (IRLI) has urged the police to give children in conflict with the law a chance to be transformed.

Speaking in Lilongwe on Friday during a two-day orientation workshop, IRLI’s Program Lawyer, Martha Pigott, said it is sad that in most cases young offenders are treated like adults, a trend which is against young offender’s law.

Piggott asked police to always follow the law when discharging their duties more especially when dealing with young offenders.

“It is high time police officers develop the mind-set that gives children who are in conflict with the law a chance to change their behaviour by utilising counselling and other law-based alternatives,” she said.

Piggott expressed optimism that the orientation will assist men and women in uniform to understand their job in order to reduce cases of young offenders that lead to unnecessary congestion in prisons.

Officer-in-Charge for Lingadzi Police Station, Assistant Commissioner Billy Chimbonga, described the workshop as timely and an eye opener saying it will assist police to handle cases concerning children professionally.

“We are happy to have this orientation. It is an eye opener on how to handle child related cases since most of them are recorded in lower police formations,” he said.

Chimbonga appealed to participants to act as community policing coordinators so that the message of child diversion can be disseminated.

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