Sergeant Gladys Brown – Campbell; A lawyer and a cop

She’s bold, dynamic , assertive, brave, athletic and intelligent. She is the first woman police to have gained a law degree. She is Sergeant Gladys Brown-Campbell of the Constabulary Communications Network (CCN).

She is also the author of a book entitled, “Patriarchy in the Jamaica Constabulary Force: Its Impact on Gender Equality” which chronicles the hardships of women in the force.

Despite many firsts in her life, she is especially proud of obtaining her degree.

“It’s a very good feeling to know that you are the first at something,” said a proud Brown-Campbell.

With the burden of police work and being a wife and mother, this astute women staved off all challenges and pushed ahead in pursuit of her dreams.

Today, she’s extremely proud of gaining her degree in the midst of trying circumstances. “Sometimes I felt like giving up, but with God and family behind me, I pressed on,” she said.

A devout Christian and member of the Calvary Evangelical Church of God on Swallow Road, Kingston 11, Brown-Campbell reveals that her source of inspiration comes from her belief in God. “God keeps me going,” she prides.

She completed her LLB at Cave campus, Barbados, last June after doing her first year at Mona campus. “I am very proud (of gaining a degree)…I worked very hard for it.”

At 37 years old, life is just about blossoming for this charming police officer who stumbled and got pregnant at 17 years old. “I got pregnant early…I was only 17 years old.”

Today, that child Dwayne Spencer is 20 years old and is serving in the Jamaica Defence Force.

Nevertheless, she demonstrated remarkable resilience when she picked herself up, dusted off and carried on her life – buoyed by her ambition and drive to succeed.

Brown-Campbell remembers the early days attending school in James Hill, Clarendon. After attending primary school there, she moved and lived in St Thomas, where she went to the Whitehall Primary in the parish.

After three years, she moved back to Clarendon where she registered with Claude McKay Secondary and then to Edwin Allen High.

“I was one of those persons who didn’t pass any Common Entrance. I did it once and I was unsuccessful…that’s how I ended up at Claude McKay, where I did the Nine Grade Achievement Test,” she explained.

She passed the Grade Nine Achievement Test with flying colours, coming third islandwide. “I came third islandwide and that’s how I got into Edwin Allen,” she went on.

After leaving school and doing a number of odd jobs, Brown-Campbell knew she wanted more…so much more. So, in 1988 she made applications to Mico Teachers College and the Jamaica Constabulary Force in the hope of moving “up the ladder”.

Both applications were accepted and on September 12, 1988 – the very day that Hurricane Gilbert ravaged the island – she was asked to report to both institutions.

It was difficult to decide, but she did. “At that point I had two choices…I had to think hard… at the end of the day the Constabulary won…that was my first love,” she told All Woman.

Her decision to become a law enforcement officer was cast in her overwhelming desire to protect her five sisters, three of whom went into nursing.

“I just couldn’t go into nursing like the others. I had to find another profession where I could protect the others. In my little mind at that time, that’s what I was actually thinking,” asserted Brown-Campbell.

After six months at the police academy at Twickenham Park, the pesky young recruit graduated with the honour as the Best All-round Recruit – leaving her male counterparts in her dust.

“It was a big adventure for (time at academy) me. I enjoyed it to the max.”

After she graduated from the academy, she was placed at Beat and Foot patrol. “I was really ecstatic about that. I really wanted to go on the road in my uniform,” she said smiling.

Beat and Foot did not work out for an eager Brown-Campbell who, after a month, had to beg for a transfer because she found the police hat too heavy to wear.

“The hat was too heavy…I was couldn’t bear the pressure it brought on my head…I troubled with migraine.”

She got her transfer and was sent to the Finger Print Bureau where she underwent a three-month course on scene-of-crime techniques and ended up spending 10 years at the unit.

Bored, she sought something new to excite her again. It wasn’t long before she heard about the new Mediation Unit and applied to its director, superintendent James Forbes.

Her application was accepted and she became one of the first women to be admitted to this unit. “We were the first set of women who graduated as mediators,” she boasts. Another first for her.

Police mediators’ job is to assist complainants settle their differences out of court.

Although she has never been on the front-line, Brown-Campbell made absolutely clear that she would be willing and ready to go if called upon.

“I would be ready at anytime. I am always ready to serve,” she said firmly.

Apart from her outstanding academic and professional achievements, she has excelled in the field of sports. She plays football at both UWI campuses where she studied and is the current holder of the female javelin record in the Constabulary.

“I am very physical. I like to do anything that makes me sweat,” said the stockily-built child of God.

In recent times, the image of the force has been taking a battering and Brown-Campbell thinks what it needs is “a woman’s touch”. “What we need is a gentler approach and that’s where the females come in. We need women out there to interact with the people.

“You notice women are hardly ever killed, because they are not targets. Criminals don’t see us a threat but we can be a force to be reckoned with.”

“I believe our society needs a calming influence, and I think that’s what the women can do. We need more women to be out there directing traffic and doing spot checks, instead of having these rough men (police) out there…we can have them, but keep them in the background,” she pointed out.

And on the point of women’s upward mobility in the force, she said: “Up to 1998, women were not being promoted…but since 2000 there has been a shift, and I guess it’s the whole restructuring of the examination and promotional system now, more people are hopeful of getting where they want to get.”

She is confident that one day a woman will lead the force and believes there’s is a good candidate in Deputy Commissioner Jevene Bent. “As far as I am concerned, I think we have a wonderful candidate in Jeneve Bent…she is right there where it matters.”

On problems affecting women in the force, Brown-Campbell, who is an advocate for her colleagues, says the most pressing concern is that of housing.

“These women are finding it extremely difficulty to find suitable accommodations they can afford. I had recommended in my book that in each new housing scheme, they should set up a complex for women police.”

Gender issues are hot topics in the male-dominated JCF as well, which only has about 1,200 women. “Gender is an issue. There are a lot of men who are resentful of women. Some don’t want to work with women because they think they are soft-hearted…others don’t think that women should be getting the same pay.”

Another bothersome issue of women in the force is sexual harassment and Brown-Campbell gives an insight: “It is happening especially at the training school. It is always the senior men and many of the victims are afraid to report it in fear of repercussions.”

Many accused of sexually harassment has been brought up but most have only been transferred as a means of punishment, Brown-Campbell outlined.

She is also very pleased with the progress women have been making in all strata of the society and says she is particularly impressed with the successes of politicians Portia Simpson and Olivia “Babsy” Grange.

For the time being, Brown-Campbell says she has no plans of quitting the force and going into the practice of law. “That’s a long way of, maybe after I am retired,” she concluded.