THE police high command has signalled to legislators that it wants consideration to be given to creating unique laws for members of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) who engage in criminal conduct.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Dr Kevin Blake, in an impassioned presentation on Wednesday to Parliament’s Public Administration and Appropriations Committee (PAAC), argued that those members of the JCF who choose criminality should pay a higher price than other categories of perpetrators.

“A criminal is a criminal, it doesn’t matter what uniform they put on, and they should be treated way, way harsher. They are the persons who are paid by the taxpayers and the stakeholders to provide security. You have no business [getting involved in crime], so these persons have to decide which side of the fence they are on. I wish we had stronger legislation, separate from legislation that deals with the normal citizen. There should be a higher level of consequence when you betray your office, when you betray your country; there should be no love,” said DCP Blake,who is in charge of force development and logistics in the JCF.

He was speaking on the factors driving crime in the country and how the JCF is handling the challenges of crime management.

Blake further insisted that the JCF must guard its reputation.

“Every time that a member falters, the perception — each of us have to live with that,” he said, pointing out that, with the best of efforts, some members still find themselves on the wrong side of the law they have vowed to enforce.

“Our responsibility is to ensure that even those with ill intent do not have the opportunity… we don’t have the luxury of frustration, but it does weigh on us sometimes when we see these things happen, [but] we are committed to ensure that we leave no stone unturned to remove these members from among us,” he stated.

DCP Blake’s comments come after 42-year-old Constable Shelian Allen, who was held with cocaine on and inside her body entering the United States in February, pleaded guilty to charges in a federal district court in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Allen, who was suspended from the JCF after her arrest, faces up to 49 years in federal prison on drug charges.

Further, in March, several members of the constabulary were arrested in a major police operation after they were identified as members of the Clarendon-based Ronko gang, which has been linked to shootings, robberies and abductions between 2019 and 2021. The police also reported that the leader of the gang is a cop.

On Wednesday, DCP Blake said the entire country needs to send a strong message to criminals.

“We need to send a signal to these individuals as a State that this is not okay. That signal must be sent unequivocally. It is not just about policing,” he said.

He argued that criminals are now profiting from crime out of sheer greed, not out of need.

“It’s not survival anymore, it’s greed; it’s not for want of economic opportunities, it’s gone beyond that, and the State must demonstrate a level of intolerance to these types of things,” he stressed.

Noting the damage to Jamaica’s reputation internationally, DCP Blake pointed out, for example, that most Government sites in the US currently block business from Jamaica due to the level of scamming associated with this jurisdiction.