PESHAWAR, Jan 19: The provincial directorate of reclamation and probation has not been able to function properly due to lack of funds, staff and other office facilities, officials said here. There is a shortage of office space and staff, especially probation officers for the 24 districts. The directorate cannot function without adequate financial resources, an official said.

In October 2005, the office of reclamation and probation was upgraded to directorate level following the promulgation of the Juvenile Justice System Ordinance (JJSO) 2000. Important duties were assigned to probation officers for the reformation of first-time offenders, also called probationers.

There are some 2,000 probationers but only 13 male probation and two pay-roll officers to look after them. There is no female probation officer in the entire province and according to recently compiled official figures 143 juvenile and 24 female probationers are under the supervision of male probation officers.

This is in violation of the law as under the JJSO 2000 a woman probationer could not go on probation under the sup-

ervision of a male probation officer.

Female probationers were given under the provision of male probation officers due to absence of female probation officers.

A summary demanding appointment of female probation officers in Peshawar, Mardan, Swat, D.I. Khan and Abbottabad districts is pending with NWFP Chief Minister Akram Khan Durrani for almost a year but the provincial government has not yet appointed a female probation officer.

“The government does not seem interested in appointing female probation officers,” said one official.

The number of probationers is greater in the NWFP as compared to the other three provinces but the probation officers are few.

Sources said the probation officer appointed in one district had to take care of more than one district because of the staff shortage.

One probation officer (PO) in Peshawar had 149 probationers and another one had 184 probationers. A probation officer in Charsadda is looking after 209 probationers.

The probation officer of D.I. Khan is looking after 74 probationers and at the same time some 50 probationers in Tank and 157 probationers in Swat, Bunair and Shangla are under his supervision.

A PO in Upper Dir with 50 probationers is also looking after some eight probationers of Chitral as there is no PO there.

The situation is not different in other districts and probation officers are overburdened. The probation officer of Bannu is looking after 479 probationers and 44 probationers of Lakki Marwat as there is no probation officer in this district, official data shows.

The officials at the directorate and the probation officers in districts are without proper facilities and in such a situation how can one work for the reformation of probationers or first offenders.

The directorate, currently working under the home department with 52 staff members, has demanded Rs3 million for six months so that it could start functioning, officials said. But the directorate has not been provided with the amount.

“The directorate lacks resources and it can not take any steps for the reformation of probationers,” officials said.

There are some 1,700 prisoners in Peshawar’s central prison and enough funds were allocated for them but for the reclamation and probation directorate with some 2,000 probationers, no funds were available for reform, an official said.

“If the directorate was given dietary charges of Rs20 per prisoner per day when a probationer was handed over to the probation officer, the amount could be utilised for the reformation of the probationers,” the concerned officials said.