Cops take taxis to respond to emergency calls,

cook on coal fire

Condemned lock-ups still in use, roofs leak, insects roam freely

The people of Port Antonio have reason to love their police. On a given day, the station receives an emergency call; the one station motor vehicle is not working or is already out. No problem. The officer calls a taxi and off he goes to serve, protect and reassure the citizenry.

At the Buff Bay station, a detainee needs a bath. He fills a tub, jumps in and washes himself. He needs to go to the toilet? No problem. He grabs the good old tub, relieves himself and then empties his tub in a manhole at the back of the station.

In a recent swing through 20-odd police stations on Jamaica’s east and west coasts, the Sunday Observer witnessed first-hand the appalling conditions in which the men and women who must often put their lives on the line for their country, carry out their duties.

“We don’t have a station, because it is rotting and leaking and we need new bathrooms,” complains Inspector Anthony Scott of the Buff Bay station in Portland.

Rotting, leaking roofs, dim lighting, with creaking floors and doors that a child could push down, grimy bathrooms, embarrassing toilet facilities, sewage running freely and co-existence with rats and cockroaches are common features of many police stations.

Police Federation chairman, Sergeant David White, estimates that 60 of the island’s 171 police stations are in urgent need of repairs or refurbishment. In an interview with the Sunday Observer, he says the federation is not prepared to wait any longer for the promised repair, refurbishment and re-construction of police stations.

“We want our stations fixed now so we can offer professional services,” White declares, his face a mask of frustration.

“The Ministry of Health has warned that it will soon close 25 of these 60 stations badly needing repairs, and the Ocho Rios station recently got a closure notice,” White continues.

He notes that the Port Maria Police Station was relocated after being closed by the parish health department. Many others might have to go that same route.

He put the repair tab at J$2.9 billion, stressing that some urban stations, like Mavis Bank, Port Royal and Old Harbour are as dilapidated as their rural counterparts.

Unexpectedly, national security ministry spokesman, Donovan Nelson, faces the issue squarely. “Every police station in Jamaica needs repair, maybe those 60 White spoke of are in dire need of repair, but all the stations will be mended,” he says.

Officials of the security ministry went on a one-day tour of six police stations in Clarendon recently, a clear recognition that conditions are bad.

. Morant Bay, St Thomas: Filth runs from the pit at the station onto the road and into the sea. Residents often create a stink about the matter. “We are not blaming them (the police) for this, because they respond on time and do their job, but the parish council needs to address this,” a businesswoman remarks angrily.

. Golden Grove and Seaforth, St Thomas: Residents have grown accustomed to the unsatisfactory conditions at the stations. Their main complaint is about the slow response of the police to their calls, because of unavailability of vehicles. “Most times we have to call Kingston, because they say they don’t have any vehicles and also because they say they are afraid to come,” one road construction worker from Seaforth comments.

. Buff Bay, Portland: The floors are rotting, the roof leaks and the bathrooms should not be used by humans. The lock-up does not have running water, so detainees can’t shower. “We have to run the hose through the lock-up for the inmates to bathe. They catch the water in a tub and use it. They have no toilet, so they pass their waste in a tub which they have to carry around the back and dump in the manhole,” explains Constable Arlando Terrylong.

. Hope Bay, Portland: Officers there believe that they should get the dubious prize for having “the worst station ever”. When it rains, the place is drenched and this constant wetting of the wires affects electrical outlets. The kitchen, barracks and bathroom are dirty and dilapidated. They are not expecting improvements any time soon. “The leaking station was shown in the news in November and still nothing is done,” says an officer who didn’t want his name in the story.

. Manchioneal, Portland: When it rains, the station is inundated through the leaking roof. The cops there painted their rotting fridge in December, but cannot do much to stop the leaks. “Everybody knows that the stations are in bad condition,” says an officer. He wonders out loud how it is that Portland has the lowest crime rate in the island. The station has only one running vehicle, so residents say they are often forced to call the Port Antonio police for help.

. Port Antonio, Portland: This station is lucky. Conditions are generally reasonable, thanks to the citizens in the area who raised money to build and furnish the traffic office and the community relations department. This was the only station visited that boasted an air-conditioning unit, also donated by the citizens. “Before that, the station was uncomfortable and hot.” Sergeant Henry Forbes recalls.

But with one working vehicle, cops here are known to take taxis to respond to emergency calls, the Sunday Observer hears.

. Harbour View, St Andrew: Broken windows and missing window panes characterise this police station. Old rusting chairs and a beaten down sofa constitute the recreational room. A number of plastic tubs, which the officers say are used for catching rain water, are stacked at the steps of the barrack room.

. Mile Gully, Manchester: The lock-up and the outdoor kitchen were condemned over a year ago by the Ministry of Health. It was suggested that the bathroom also be condemned, but that was impossible since the court also uses it, a cop tells the newspaper. The building leaks and a policeman recently patched the leak with zinc sheets from his home.

. Balaclava, St Elizabeth: Most of the windows are broken, the lock-up is condemned and according to cops there, the ceiling is caving in because of water seepage. Currently, there is only one good vehicle.

. Siloah, St Elizabeth: The station has one running vehicle, the rooms are cramped and hot. “The TV you see is a policeman’s TV,” the officer says. Bits of wood from the duck ants-infested ceiling often drop on their heads. The kitchen is leaking and dirty, there is no recreation room and the light is dim. Cops walk with a flashlight to get to the bathroom at night.

. Maggotty, St Elizabeth: When a frantic 119 call comes in, officers at the station have to call other stations for assistance, since they have no vehicles. The lock-up is condemned, the kitchen, bathroom and barracks flood when it rains. “Inmates could have easily drowned if there was a major flooding, since sometimes the nearby river comes right up into the kitchen when it rains,” discloses Constable Leebert Burton. “Most of the bulbs have been blown for years,” Burton adds.

. Little London, Westmoreland: The backdoor cannot close and even if it could, the termite-infested board walls of the station can easily be kicked down, the lock-up leaks, drenching the detainees and the guard room is flooded when it rains.

. Cambridge, St James: The sturdy-looking stove in the kitchen is somewhat of a decoy, since the officers use coal for cooking.

“The stove doesn’t work,” comments an obviously frustrated officer who also complains that the Criminal Investigation Branch office floods when it rains. Cambridge, unlike most other stations visited, has two working vehicles.

. Port Maria, St Mary: Darkness greets the visitor to the guard room. The one working light was contributed by a resident, explains the officer in charge. The station is served by one working vehicle and even that is not in good condition, the men complain.

Plans are in the pipeline to repair the stations, officials insist. The national security ministry is undertaking a five-year modernisation programme, which started last year August with reconstructive work on the Pedro Plains station in St Elizabeth.

Opposition spokesman for security, Derrick Smith, knows that he might some day inherit the situation and is concerned. “Government has fooled the island’s police force, with their visits and lip service promising undelivered repairs,” he tells the newspaper.

“In 2001, then minister of national security, K D Knight, broke ground for a new Falmouth Police Station, in Trelawny. But two years since, nothing has been done,” Smith says.

Smith believes that “the Government’s disregard for the officers” is reflected in the cut in the repair budget. “In 2002-2003, J$114 million was budgeted for repairs to these stations, but the 2003-2004 budget is only J$58-million.”

Citing a survey conducted by the Opposition Jamaica Labour Party, Smith claims that approximately 85 police stations were unfit for human occupation and suggests that each parish public health department conducts an immediate assessment.