Background of the Consultancy
The Zambia Police Act Chapter 107 of the laws of Zambia provides for the general duties of the Police - prevention and detection of crime, apprehension of offenders, the preservation of law and order, the protection and due endorsement of law and order.
The police have a duty to safeguard and protect children and their families and they are often the first line of contact when a crime has been committed. The reporting of violence or abuse of children to the Police incurs obligations at every stage of the police response. These obligations extend from initial deployment and response of the first officer on the scene, through the whole process of the investigation and the multi-agency processes for the protection and care of children. Therefore, training police officers to apply child sensitive procedures during investigations and the child’s continuum of care is critical. The training must cover the knowledge to ensure the Police are aware of the special needs of and protections due to children in contact with the law – as victims, witnesses or perpetrators. It must also cover the competencies necessary to ensure impartiality, child friendly interviewing, effective listening and non-judgmental engagement with children.
Since 2003, UNICEF has been supporting the Government of the Republic of Zambia (GRZ), through the Ministry of Home Affairs, to implement police reforms by training designated district police officers responsible for child protection cases and victims of violence (specifically the Victim Support Unit). However, these workshop oriented trainings are not certified and attendance is not linked to performance and career progression thereby limiting the impetus of police officers to implement new knowledge or skills. Other issues include: trainings are short and often one-off; limited number of officers are trained; high turnover of those trained when they get promoted, retire or change duties resulting in skills leaving the police force.
Looking at the kinds of cases referred to the Police, coupled with little specialization in child protection and rights at the police training academies, it was felt that all police officers should receive basic training on how to manage child protection cases and children in contact with the law before they are deployed to serve. With support from UNICEF, Zambia Police conducted several stakeholder consultative meetings and a child protection course outline was developed and synthesized into 10 modules. All modules should be tailored to address police attitudes and practices in relation to child rights and child protection. The course outline is as follows:
- Introduction to Child Protection
- Legal and Policy Frameworks
- Situation of Children
- Violence against Children (VAC)
- Children in Contact with the Law
- Juvenile Justice
- Institutional Frameworks
- Applying Statutory Services
- Networking and Strategic Partnerships
- Emerging Issues
Justification for the Consultancy
Within Zambia Police (ZP) there is a Technical Committee comprising UNICEF, Zambia Police, (ZP) Curriculum Development Centre (CDC), Ministry of General Education, Ministry of Community Development and Social Services (MCDSS), Ministry of Justice (MoJ), National Prosecution Authority (NPA), Legal Clinic for Women and Zambia Law Development Commission (ZLDC). The Technical Committee will oversee and guide the process of developing the training modules. The official approval of the training course lies with TEVETA which has the mandate of accrediting Trade Certificates and Diplomas.
The time involved and the competencies required to develop 10 child protection training modules for the Police training colleges requires the services of dedicated and specialized human resources. Thus a consultant with specialized training development skills and knowledge in child protection is required for completion of the tasks at hand.
Objectives and Targets for the consultancy
The purpose of this consultancy is to support the Zambia Police to develop ten child protection training modules specified in the course outline. The consultant must produce the following materials:
- Trainers guide
- Students’ handbook
- Reference materials, teaching and course evaluation tools
- Five sets of bound copies and soft copies on five CDs for Trainers Guide and Student Modules
Description of Assignment and Scope of Work/Specific Tasks
Working under the guidance and supervision of the Child Protection specialist the consultant is expected to carry out the tasks below. The scope of the consultancy involves designing and developing tailored training modules to develop and enhance the knowledge, understanding, attitudes and skills of police officers so that they are able to deal with children in contact with the law and child protection cases in a sensitive manner taking into consideration the age, gender and specific needs of the child.
The specific tasks include:
- Review the proposed course outline and gather and assess existing child protection modules used by the Police to ascertain how they can be adapted and consolidated for each of the modules.
- Design clear outline of module structure, learning outcomes, methodology (taking into account learning styles and delivery mechanisms), timing for each session and module
- Develop for each module the following:
- a trainer’s guide detailing how the trainer will teach the session and module. It will need to provide a clear methodology for each session (differing as needed for each type of session); timing for each session, all session materials and evaluation tools for each session/module.
- a student handbook including reference materials on relevant laws that relate to children; bridge the gap between theory and practice relevant to policing and child protection so that police are able to act in the best interests of children;
The modules should be tailored to enable police to work with child victims, witnesses and perpetrators; and have practical sessions to allow the trainees to implement the learning and ensure child sensitive approaches within the police force.
- The consultant will be expected to hold fortnightly meetings with the Technical Committee in the Zambia Police to ensure the drafting and development is on track and approved by the Technical Committee.
- Organise and facilitate pre-testing workshops at two police training colleges to test the course modules for effectiveness of methodology, correct timing for sessions, correct reference and support materials. The objective is to make revisions to the modules in order to meet the requirements of the students. The pre-testing will ensure the ten modules respond to the following:
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- Relevance
- appropriateness of wording/concepts,
- timing- flexibility in teaching and learning styles,
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materials/equipment needed
Plan and co-facilitate, in cooperation with Zambia Police, a validation meeting and submit the report on the feedback and update the training modules accordingly.
Application deadline is 22 March 2018.