Tamara Foster admits that she once had a nasty temper. In fact, the 16-year-old doesn't hide the fact that she was quick to throw a punch whenever she was aggravated.

Today, however, Foster is a changed person, having undergone training at a behaviour modification camp run by the Community Safety Security Branch of the St Catherine North Police Division.

Members of the Community Safety Security Branch of the St Catherine North Police Division show the group of young men and women who are participating in an annual disciplinary camp how to use a two-way radio. (Photos: Lionel Rookwood)

"Before I came into the programme I did not know what I wanted to do with my life," says a smiling Foster, who admits she was once arrested by the police for smoking. "In the past, I was always involved in fights. But now, based on my training, I am looking at life from a different perspective."

Foster is one of more than 3,000 young people to have benefited from the series of 'discipline camps' managed by Lasco Police Officer of the Year, Constable Marvin Franklin, Corporal Kevin Marsh from the Spanish Town Police Station and a team of 10 other persons.

The group, for the past five years, has been hosting the camps under the name the St Catherine North Inter-schools Brigade.

Through the camps, the police say they are waging a battle against criminals and drug lords, who are in search of young recruits. The programme is held three times per year - during the Easter, Summer and Christmas holidays - with each camp running three to four weeks.

The programme, considered by the police organisers as the first of its kind in the history of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF), requires police personnel to go into various schools and some of the toughest inner-city communities to select young men and women to join the camps. This is at no cost to youngsters. The police say that since the start of the programme they have gone to 15 schools with plans to reach out to several more in months to come.

The cops say that many times during their tours they are successful in their efforts, but like so many other programmes there are occasions when they encounter hurdles, such as lack of support from parents and the unwillingness of some youngsters who are invited but never turn up.

There have also been instances where youngsters are invited to the camp and, despite their participation, fail to reach satisfactory disciplinary levels at the end of the programme. This sometimes results in the officers recommending that they are sent to a disciplinary home to undergo further counselling.

The cops are obviously proud of the programme's success rate so far. However, they believe there is still room for improvement, as the parish of St Catherine continues to be plagued by crime.

The St Catherine North Police Division recorded 31 murders in May this year, the highest in the country for that month.

A few weeks ago when the Sunday Observer visited the camp, we were greeted with a sight no different from what would be observed on some inner-city street corners, where young men and women sit and talk about issues.

However, a single command from Constable Franklin resulted in the youngsters, some of whom once rebelled against authority, effortlessly responding like a unit of well-trained soldiers.

Constable Franklin, like so many of the youngsters, comes from humble beginnings, but has been able to emerge as a role model, thus meeting his childhood expectations.

"I am not going to hide it, I came up and faced very trying times, problems such as going to school without lunch or proper books, but I knew and strongly believed that if I stayed focussed I would achieve, and that is paying off today," explains Franklin, who is from St Mary.

Under the programme, youth are taught how to speak properly and how to conduct themselves in a respectful manner. They are also taught survival skills and military tactics.

The police explain that to run the programme costs an average of $3 million per year, part of which comes from sponsorship. Extending the programme, adds Franklin, will run the organisers approximately $10 million.

"Right now, we have students in this programme who were expelled from school, but today many of them are eager to tell others of the successes," says Franklin.

Similar to Foster, 17-year-old Jeffrey Brown is from one of Jamaica's most volatile inner-city communities - Tawes Pen in St Catherine.

Brown, who says he wants to one day become an author, was a member of a gang for several years. He says he was once confused, but for the first time he was now clear on the direction he wants to take.

The programme has also been lauded by some residents and parents.
"Since my son got involved in the camp, he is a changed person and I truly hope that similar programmes such as the one organised by the police will become a fixture in St Catherine," Samantha Smith tells the Sunday Observer.

The organisers of the programme say that one of the biggest problems they are now facing is the strong peer pressure experienced by the participants when they return to their communities at the end of the programme. The cops, however, say that to address that they will be meeting with some of the parents and will carry out regular checks with the participants.

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