RAWALPINDI: Pir Mehr Ali Shah Arid Agricultural University to hold a two-day seminar on “Capacity Building and Risk Assessment of Punjabi Probation/Payroll Officers” in in light of a research project approved by the Higher Education Commission (HEC) for the recovery of offenders, convicts and inmates of Punjab Prisons as Beneficial Citizens of Society.
The seminar will be held from 20 to 21 December at the university with international and national partners of in project who shed light on modern standards and methods of turning prisoners, convicted and accused into useful citizens of society.
According to Professor Mazhar Hussain Bhutta, Chief Investigator and Chairman of Department of Criminology and Sociology, Pir Meher Ali Shah Arid Agricultural University, seminar organized in accordance with HEC approved research project Probation Service Modernization: Assessing Risks, Needs and Strengths of offenders on probation in Punjab, Pakistan”.
He said that international academic partner of it project Dr. Shelley Brown who it professor of forensic psychology and director of the Gender and Crime Lab at Carleton University in Canada. However, other partners included the Department of Law, policy and procedure of Women’s University. Fatima Jinnah, Punjab Probation and Payroll Department, National Police Bureau and research departments of relevant institutions included.
Prof. Dr. Mazhar Hussain Bhutta also informed about the two-day seminar, where Prof. Dr. Shelley Brown will speak. online in this workshop, while 15 probation officers appointed by the Punjab Probation and Payroll Department, an additional IG of Punjab Prisons, Ministry of General director of National Academy for Administration of Prisoners, Deputy Chief of National Police Bureau of Pakistan and Director of NAB Teaching and Research Headquarters and Chief of branch of Law and politics of Fatima Jinnah Women’s University will also share their thoughts on various themes.
He said that according to of Punjab probation/wage services, in month of January 2022, 55,687 prisoners on probation from Punjab prisons.
Dr. Bhutta added what steps to make these prisoners useful citizens of society matters most need of hour. Target of it project is to increase throughput of probation officers of Probation and Payroll Service in Punjab, who play a key role in prisoner counseling in jail, in context of international standards to find way forward close the gap in evaluation and rehabilitation process.
