KINGSTON, Jamaica — The mandatory polygraph screening for Jamaica Constabulary Force recruits is slowing down the recruitment process, according to Commissioner of Police Dr Carl Williams.

“Our recruiting is not as smooth as we would like it to be because we are determined that even as we try to build our force [we have] to ensure that we improve its professionalism,” he said at the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ) President’s Forum on Tuesday.

Williams explained that he is on a drive to clean up the police force and as such, must ensure that as they “root out bad ones inside they are not replaced by bad ones coming in”.

The Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF), in April, introduced polygraph screening for recruits as part of its strategy to prevent corrupt or tainted individuals from joining its ranks.

In August, it was disclosed that 88 of 191 potential recruits to the police force failed the required polygraph screening for enlistment.

“…That is a sacrifice that we must make because we have to clean up this organisation so that it can become the professional organisation that we want it to be,” Williams said.

Keleshia Powell