KINGSTON, Jamaica — Commissioner of Police George Quallo today lauded the Geospatial Information System (GIS) for the part it has been playing in the management of crime.

The police chief was the guest speaker at this year’s (Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation) National Spatial Data Management Division – Land Information Council of Jamaica 15th GIS Day being held at the University of the West Indies.

Commissioner Quallo stated: “There is no doubt that controlling crime in Jamaica is a monumental task which can be overwhelming at times”.

“A big part of the problem is the slow pace of modernising the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) as opposed to how quickly criminals make use of newer technologies to commit crimes,” he added.

The JCF said it has embraced the use of GIS since 1991, adding that it uses it to map its assets across the country; locate distress calls to its 119 centre, and identifying crime hotspot and road traffic cars spot.

He also referred to the recent upgrading of the Police Emergency Control Centre where the “big books” used for logging reports and incidents have been removed and replaced with a more advanced computer networking system that uses mapping technology to geo locate incident locations based on information that is provided by the caller.

Additionally, support has been received from the Ministry of National Security with the introduction of the Stay Alert application.

“The app, in my estimation is a game changer in the fight against crime and should be downloaded by all Jamaicans who have a smart phone,” said Quallo.

Quallo spoke of the electronic station diary, which has been introduced in recent years as a pilot project in some police divisions, which will eventually replace the “big book” as most Jamaicans refer to it.

Technology continues to advance and change, and in so doing, it advances and changes the profession of law enforcement and other careers in criminology and criminal justice.

The Geospatial Information System will not only help the police in solving complex crimes and plotting preventative initiatives but the ripple effect will see Jamaica benefiting from a lower crime rate, which translates into safer communities.