The Centre has written to all states to set up desks in each police station in the country to deal exclusively with crime against women and children.

Asking the states to sensitise police towards crime against children through well-structured training programmes, the women and child development ministry has said there should be no delay in registering FIRs in cases of crime against children.

“All-out efforts should be made to apprehend all the accused named in the FIR immediately so as to generate confidence in the victims and their family members. The administration and police should play a more proactive role in detection and investigation of crime against children and also ensuring that there is no under-reporting,” the ministry said in its letter.

Chargesheets should be filed within three months of a crime without compromising on the quality of the investigation, the letter said. “Steps may be taken not only to tackle such crimes but also to deal sensitively with the trauma that follows. Counselling to the victim as well as to the family may be provided by empanelling professional counsellors,” it added.

The latest National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) report has revealed a 7.6 per cent increase in crime against children in 2009 over the previous year. As many as 2,107 children were murdered last year, it said.

Instances of child rape went up by 13.23 per cent in 2009 — 6,025 cases were reported — over 2008, when 5,321 cases were reported. A total of 7,677 cases of kidnapping and abduction of children were reported, compared to 5,902 cases in the previous year. This was an increase of 30.07 per cent.

The NCRB report has also said that the conviction rate at the national level for crimes against children stood at 34 per cent.

The letter said the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights, which has visited various states, has observed that crime against children is not handled with the desired sensitivity and care.