POLICE Commissioner Owen Ellington yesterday urged members of the constabulary to be prepared as the country gets into election mode.

Writing in this week’s Force Orders, Ellington instructed divisional commanders to conduct resource and equipment audits and submit them along with a projected budget to the respective area officers by the end of the month.

“Commencing immediately, the Representation of the People Act and the Public Order Act must form the subject of lectures for the next eight weeks and the names of all persons who attend forwarded to area headquarters. Selection, vetting and training of special district constables must also be a priority over the next eight weeks,” Ellington said.

Education Minister Andrew Holness has been the only one nominated for the post of Jamaica Labour Party since Prime Minister Bruce Golding announced two weeks ago that he would be stepping down as party leader and subsequently as prime minister. There has since been speculations that Holness could call early election to secure his own mandate from the electorate.

The police are mandated to ensure that law and order is maintained at all political and public meetings leading up to general elections and the police chief said yesterday that once Nomination Day is announced the full extent of the Public Order Act must be applied.

“It is imperative that the police fully understand their role and functions under the Representation of the People Act, which ultimately is to ensure that everyone who is a legitimate voter is given the right to exercise his/her franchise in an atmosphere which is void of fear and intimidation,” the police chief said.

He added that the security of election workers must be guaranteed by the security forces for them to carry out their functions in a effective and efficient manner.