SERGEANT Heather McLean of the Police Mobile Reserve Division yesterday launched a self-published book of poems, in a bid to highlight the positive side of the Jamaica Constabulary Force.

The launch, held at the Police Officers’ Club in Kingston, was under the patronage of Commissioner of Police Lucius Thomas.

The 39-poem anthology – ‘Excerpts from a Police Woman’s Diary’ – comprises words of encouragement and depicts McLean’s experiences as a police officer and a Jamaican woman.

“I want to help in highlighting the positive things that are happening in the force, especially when there are so many negative images attached to the force,” said McLean, a mother of three.

“The adversities that come upon us in life can benefit and motivate us. We should never let them get us down,” she said.

She added that she was greatly motivated to write poetry after witnessing the murder of a colleague by gunmen.

Veteran journalist and Observer columnist John Maxwell, who gave the main address at the launch, praised McLean for her efforts.

“She shows that the force has a lot of talent in it,” Maxwell said. “It also shows that the police force is becoming more intelligent because the women used to have a hard time being in the force, but this shows that all that is changing,” he added.

At the same time, Maxwell urged the police to improve their performance as officers to create more harmony in society.

“We need to get the police and the people back together because if you know the people and the people know you, you will keep each other safe. We need a force that will respect the people,” he said.

In the meantime, the chairman of the Jamaica Police Federation, Raymond Wilson, said the federation was proud to be associated with the launch as it helped to promote the capacity building aspect of the force’s mandate.

“At the forefront of our mandate is capacity building within the force and her (McLean’s) work is a clear indication that she is building on hers. It is also a clear indication of what our policemen and women can do,” Wilson said.

Sergeant McLean, who hails from Clarendon, joined the Jamaica Constabulary Force in 1990 and was a divisional awardee in the 2004 Lasco Police Officer of the Year Awards.