Panaji, Nov 26 (IANS): Counselling skills are being imparted to 300 policewomen, including 80 sub-inspectors of Goa Police, to enable them handle better cases involving crimes against women, Director General of Police (DGP) T.N. Mohan said.

Speaking to IANS on the sidelines of a women's rights-related function Tuesday, Mohan said the trained officers and constables will be uniformly posted across Goa's police stations and tasked with handling and investigating crimes against women.

"Most of the cases of domestic violence require counselling. We are training these 300 policewomen for this purpose," Mohan said, adding that with trained women cops in-charge, crimes committed against women would be handled more sensitively.

The top cop said that nearly 90 percent of the cases which come to the police do not need application of criminal law, but require a more socially-oriented intervention, which is why counselling is gaining a more important role in matters related to policing.

"There are issues that are not criminal in nature, but are more familial, interpersonal and ones which cause problems and discontentment within the family. They need to be handled more through counselling than purely by criminal law application," Mohan said.

The DGP, however, said that at present there was no scope for recruiting full-fledged counsellors in the police force.

The Goa Police in the recent past have been under a negative spotlight for their insensitive handling of cases involving domestic violence and crimes against women.