It’s time to dismantle the JCF
Dear Editor,
They say if you keep encountering certain problems along the flow of a river, maybe it’s time to go upstream to the source to address the problem.
As I look on at the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) it’s the same old, same old, an organisation full of undertrained officers surrounded by people, who are cemented in their positions, simply going through the motions, having given up hope of ever truly solving the country’s crime problem.
The only solution to our crime problem is to dismantle the JCF and institute a robust three-year academic programme under the banner of a new police academy where current officers from all ranks of the JCF are screened and vetted, and those not meeting the required standards are paid and separated from the organisation.
That’s just how it is. If you want things a certain way, you have to take the required actions necessary for the benefit of the entire populace. Current officers should not be necessarily required to do a three-year programme, but accommodations must be made for everyone in the entire force to go through a one-year training programme over a period of time at some point. Jamaica is too small a country for us to be unable to get this right. One force, one academy.
I believe that it is time for the organisation to be dismantled so that we can finally part ways with its colonial origins and ensure that the people who are trusted with guns and wielding the power that comes with the job are properly trained rather than being engaged in some six- months hogwash programme.
I believe the training time for police officers in Jamaica is ludicrous. Only gangs should be able to recruit people in such a short space of time. It is laughable that our leaders think it’s okay for young, impressionable people to train for a few months, mostly shadowing others, and then be expected to take on crime fighting like the discipline it truly is.
I say increase training for new police recruits to three years then award them a degree. Look at the model of some of the best police forces/academies in the world. Norway and Finland should be a great start.
I call for this because one, I think it’s so sad that police officers are not able to advance like other professions, so a degree in hand should not only make them more of an asset to the JCF, but wherever they go in the world they will be able to access more opportunities. Two, given that the JCF’s training would be at the degree level, the salaries of police officers should be improved, taking into consideration that so many of them are corrupt and caught up in illegal activities because their salaries aren’t enough.
How can you really look at another man and tell him not to want more out of life? Address their salaries so that so many of them will not get themselves involved in illegal activities to live a comfortable life.
It’s obvious that no amount of public relations will fix the rotten underbelly of the JCF. The sore has to be surgically removed so that it can start fresh, and I like to think that, with this approach, a revamped police academy and police force can certainly pave the way for other good things in this country.
For a small, beautiful island such as ours, I would hope that the need for policing would become so minimal that we only require a manageable police force and there wouldn’t be a real need for guns in our crime-fighting efforts, but first we will have to stop the guns from coming into our country.
Lastly, I want to suggest that this new revamped programme would take on a softer approach to training recruits. It’s an academic discipline like any other. I personally believe that recruits are probably being too aggressively trained. Yes, I know the realities of crime fighting, but I believe the way JCF officers are trained contributes to how aggressively they deal with citizens on a regular basis.
Shanica Blair
shanicablair1@gmail.com