Twenty crimson red roses, one each for the police officers slain in the line of duty between December 2007 and November this year, yesterday fragrantly communicated the grief of colleagues, friends and families alike.

The 20 fallen cops, one female among them, were hailed at four commemorative memorial services held simultaneously in the parishes of St Andrew, Westmoreland, St Mary and Clarendon yesterday.

One by one, trainees of the Jamaica Police Academy in Twickenham Park, St Catherine, laid the scented emblem of their sorrow to the haunting strains played by the Jamaica Constabulary Force Band during a service held at the Boulevard Baptist Church in St Andrew.

An emotional Reverend Dr Vivian Panton, retiring police Chaplain, noting that the service would be the last he presided over as chaplain of the Jamaica Constabulary Force, said the number was too much.

“This is my last service as chaplain. Jamaica, perhaps, will never get to the point of recognising the extent to which the police gave themselves in service to this nation. Dear friends, it’s 20 of them. Twenty law enforcement officers, slain serving our country,” Panton, who had served for 18 years, said.

Speaking with the Observer afterwards, he acknowledged that young cops made up the majority of those slain.

“Very rarely you find a senior person taken in the line of duty; because it is the young men and women who are out there carrying out the patrols and the operations. It is the young guys who are out there and so they are the ones who are often targeted,” he told the Observer.

Panton said this often proved traumatic for those who worked closely with the individuals who are killed and those who were trained with them.

“In fact, the entire law enforcement family is affected by the violence,” he said, adding that he would continue to contribute to the JCF “simply by being available”.

In his address, National Security Minister Colonel Trevor MacMillan said too often members of the JCF have been taken for granted.

“We take for granted that it is you who don the armour and patrol roads while civilians sleep. We too frequently forget that you are mothers, fathers, aunts, uncles, wives, husbands and even grandmothers and grandfathers. We hail all those who have passed, their deaths were not in vain,” MacMillan said.

And Commissioner of Police Rear Admiral Hardley Lewin acknowledged that the police have “been severely challenged since the last thanksgiving service”.

“Our country asks a great deal of us as officers of the law,” Lewin said.

“We will remember them,” he added somberly in reference to the deceased.

In his sermon, Reverend Dr Stevenson Samuels said there was something foul about the numbers of cops slain.

“Twenty police officers losing their lives in the line of duty? This is not right. It is not fair, we have to put a stop to this,” he said, while pleading to Jamaicans to stop isolating the police.

“We have isolated the police from the rest of the population. We withhold information from them as if they are allergic to information. We give them names like Babylon. There are too many lines drawn in Jamaica. Until we mash up the lines between the police and society we will continue to see death and mayhem; giving information to the police is risky business but if Jamaica is to be helped we must be prepared to take the risks,” he said.

He also had a word for the police themselves.

“I say to the police force, wrap up the cases. bring the cases to closure. It will take a lot of sacrifice, but make the sacrifice for Jamaica land we love”.

The service held too many memories for member of the Community Safety and Security Branch of the JCF, Diane Thompson.

“I’m glad this is over. It is nerve-wracking when you know everybody. I’ve been to all those funerals,” she told the Observer.

Twenty two-year-old Gwendolyn Whyte, who attended the service in memory of her sibling 24-year-old Andre Whyte – a member of the Central Kingston Police who was killed in July – was also very reflective.

“It’s been rough. It was a memorable service,” she said quietly. She said Whyte was the last son of his parents eleven children.

Among those in attendance were Prime Minister Bruce Golding, Director of Public Prosecutions Paula Lewellyn, Assistant Commissioner of Police Justin Felice, Deputy Commissioner of Police Jevene Bent, Chief Justice of Jamaica Zaila McCalla and Chief of Staff of the Jamaica Defence Force Major General Stewart Saunders.