THE membership of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) has been bolstered with the addition of 195 new recruits, many of them possessing first degrees in various disciplines.

As the new members take on their assignments, Minister of National Security Peter Bunting has urged them to make professionalism and integrity their guiding principles, in what he called a “transformed police service” organisation.

“Behave with integrity; you don’t only have the responsibility to enforce the law, you should be a model of lawful and orderly behaviour,” the minister told young constables at the passing out parade Wednesday at the Jamaica Police Academy in Twickenham Park, St Catherine.

“How you approach citizens, in large part, will determine how they respond to you… even when you are provoked by persons who misbehave, that is when you draw on your resources of discipline, and your understanding of what is required to respond appropriately in these situations,” the minister said.

He said the new recruits should understand the culture in which they will be serving, and that only proper conduct on their part with citizens will help in the crime fighting process.

“Ensure that every one of you understand what is the policy of the Government in policing, what is the strategy of the commissioner and the High Command, and how you play a part in your area of influence,” the minister said.

The graduates, he said, will be called on to implement the ‘Unite for Change’ initiative to facilitate violence prevention in all sectors of the society.

At the same time, he said Government would continue to allocate resources to expand and upgrade the JCF’s training facilities.

Last the year, the Government refurbished the state-of-the-art lecture theatre and opened a modern cafeteria, laundromat, as well as a new foreign language laboratory at the academy.