THE Public Safety and Traffic Enforcement Branch of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) got a big boost yesterday with the handing over of 80 motorcycles at the Police Commissioner’s Office in Kingston.

An elated security minister Horace Chang said that the occasion symbolised a re-establishment of the JCF as a modern, fit-for-purpose force.

He said that for too long there has been little investment in the JCF and much of the officers’ working conditions, equipment, and vehicles that have deteriorated over time and no longer gives officers the support they need in order to efficiently carry out their duties, hence the need for rehabilitation.

“We have taken a systematic and pragmatic approach to re-equipping and restructuring the constabulary force. The expectation is that within the next two years we would have concluded the rehabilitation of all 186 police stations, built additional stations, and would have provided the police with a quality reliable fleet of vehicles with which to carry out their duties.

“An added dimension to this process is the development of a fleet management system that will provide greater transparency in the procurement and maintenance of the motor vehicles and motorbikes being utilised by the Jamaica Constabulary Force. This is part of the Government’s thrust to not only equip the officers, but to implement systems that are sustainable, that enforce accountability, and that are in the best interest of Jamaica for generations to come,” Chang said.

At the same time, he announced that the traffic management system is being revamped in order to be more effective.

“For many years, and over multiple administrations, we have witnessed a gradual decline in the effectiveness of this system. Needless to say, motorists are aware of the system’s inefficiencies, and in many cases they take advantage of the system, and display a nonchalant attitude towards traffic violations.

“The revamped Traffic Ticket Management System is a centralised, web-based system that will improve the management of traffic tickets throughout the various stages – application of payments, demerit points, court fines, issuing of warrants, etc. The system will reflect in real time from the point the ticket is issued to an offender, to when it is either being paid at the tax office or adjudicated in court,” he said.

According to the minister, technical teams were ironing out the final details of the system to ensure that when it goes live it would have addressed all the possible issues that could prevent it from functioning properly.

Additionally, he stated that one aspect of the Traffic Ticket Management System that the public should begin interfacing with in the coming weeks is the issuance of electronic warrants (also referred to as ‘e-warrants’).

“This is a value added of the new Traffic Ticket Management System. It allows officers of the Public Safety and Traffic Enforcement Branch to access real-time reports that detail information on all the warrants that have been issued for an individual and flags the warrants that remain outstanding for that individual at any point in time,” Chang said.

This, he said, will allow the police to be in a better position to target and address repeat offenders who have been able to avoid detection and apprehension under the previous system.