HOPEWELL, Hanover — Instead of the infamous ‘big book’ in which information is recorded, Jamaica’s first fully automated police station, which was opened in Hopewell, Hanover, last Friday, has computers.

“This is actually not an ordinary police station. When you go inside, you’ll notice that there is probably no big book at the front. There are [computer] screens and technology. You’ll see that there are no ticket books here. There are [hand-held] devices that, once we know who you are, we’ll know a lot about you — whether you have outstanding tickets and warrants; whether that car that you are driving is yours. We will know these things at this station. So this station is perhaps the first station that has on-boarded all of our new technologies,” outgoing commissioner, Major General Antony Anderson, revealed.

The station’s opening was met with delight by residents and stakeholders. It was made possible through a partnership between the Hanover Municipal Corporation, which owns the building, the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF), and the Ministry of National Security.

“I remember when I came with people to look at this place as a possibility for a police post here, a small outpost to remove it from Sandy Bay and do something here. What you see here today is nothing like where we started. This is a police station, the full police station,” said Anderson.

Head of the Jamaica Constabulary Force Corporate Communications Unit (CCU), Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Stephanie Lindsay, explained to the Jamaica Observer that, upon entering the station, citizens will log a report with an officer using a computer instead of the usual big book. At the end of the process they can use a customer relationship management survey system touch screen device to provide feedback on the service provided by the officer and the station in general. The station is also monitored by closed-circuit television (CCTV). The men and women will also be equipped with body cameras and e-ticketing machines, while the two assigned vehicles are monitored with an Amber alert tracking system.

SSP Lindsay said another 200-plus stations islandwide will be gradually transformed into fully automated police stations.

Officer assigned to the statistics unit with responsibility for configuring systems Detective Inspector Donavon Henderson explained that the systems are configured to appreciate a report as well as manage an investigation.

“When the individual comes to the station, that initial report can be entered into the system and then the management of that investigative process all the way through disposal in the court is entered into the system. You can see, whether you are in Kingston or here, whether somebody is wanted. Where is he wanted? You can actually see his photograph and warrant. You can know what is happening with your case regardless of where you are and if it is a situation where you started in one location and ended in another, all you have to do is go on the system and bring up that information,” Henderson said.

He believes technologically equipped police stations benefit both law enforcement and citizens.

The Hanover station is expected to serve 21 of the 51 communities the Sandy Bay Police Station currently serves.

Anderson, who will demit office on Tuesday, had made Hanover the first place he visited when he took up office in 2018. It was again selected as his final stop before handing over to incoming commissioner, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Kevin Blake. DCP Blake was also in attendance on Friday.

In his farewell address, Anderson said work is underway to similarly equip other stations and promised that other technology will be rolled out within the JCF, which will boost their crime-fighting capabilities.

“It’s far more difficult for them to do things and get away with it. The idea is to catch them quickly, and do it in a manner that they won’t continue to be a problem to the communities,” he said.

During Friday’s opening ceremony in Hanover, mayor of Lucea, Councillor Sheridan Samuels, paid homage to the former head of the parish’s police division, Superintendent Sharon Beeput, and former councillor for the Hopewell Division, Devon Brown (Jamaica Labour Party), for the role they played in making the new station a reality.

“I think this is a first-class facility. One that is better than the Lucea Police Station. One that is better than the Lucea Police Headquarters, and I trust that with the assistance of this Government and our Minister (of National Security Dr Horace Chang) we’ll see improvement in these other facilities that we have,” stated Samuels.

He stressed that the police need comfortable spaces in which to work.

Minister Chang agreed. He explained that even though it does not fit the current specifications for a police station, the building that houses the “fairly new” Lucea station is a solid structure and work has been done to make it a bit more comfortable.

“We looked at all the facilities through this entire western coast to see what can be done to ensure the police will have quality facilities and have enough manpower, in terms of personnel, to provide the service that the community needs,” added Dr Chang.

The minister noted that while seven stations have been built to date by the Government across the island, there are still two to do in Montego Bay.

“We will be putting in place a new facility in Montego Hills, another $6 million spent, and, of course, we are doing some refurbishing of the St James facility. We are examining all the other facilities to ensure we get up to scratch,” he said.