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Jamaica Constabulary Force

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The Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) is the national police force of Jamaica. Founded in 1867, during the period of British colonialism, the JCF was intended as a civil body with a military structure. Since the late 1990s, the JCF has undergone modernisation.

Jamaica Constabulary Force
Insignia of the JCF
Insignia of the JCF
AbbreviationJCF
MottoServe, Protect and Reassure
Agency overview
Formed1867
Jurisdictional structure
Operations jurisdictionJamaica
Size10,990 sq mi (28,463.97 km2)
Population2,838,427 (2024)
Operational structure
HeadquartersKingston, Jamaica
Elected officer responsible
Agency executive
  • Kevin Blake, Commissioner of Police
Facilities
Stations
  • 5 area headquarters
  • 19 divisional headquarters
  • 190 stations
  • 4 recruiting centres
Website
Official website

History

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The Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) was established by Law 8 of 1867, during the period of British colonialism in Jamaica and two years after the Morant Bay rebellion. The JCF was intended to be a civil body with a military structure and was based on the Royal Irish Constabulary.[1] Unlike Britain, where policing was by consent, this was not the model adopted in Jamaica, where its purpose was to entrench the colonial system.[2]

The JCF was established with an Inspector General as its head, with a Deputy Inspector General as his deputy, and a staff of inspectors and sub-inspectors. The Inspector General was empowered to recruit constables, who could then be promoted to Acting Corporal, Corporal, Sergeant, Sergeant Major, and Staff Sergeant Major.[3]

 
A constable of the Jamaica Constabulary Force controlling traffic, 1955.

In 1932, the JCF had 123 police stations across the island.[3] In 1948, it was reported that the JCF was split into three branches: the Uniformed Branch, Water Police, and Detectives.[4]

In 1993, Trevor MacMillan was appointed as Commissioner of Police, the first outsider since independence to lead the JCF. During his tenure, he attempted to enact reforms to move the JCF from a political to a professional force, but after failed negotiations around the degree of autonomy senior officers had from the political directorate, his contract was terminated in 1996.[5] In 1998, the JCF began a period of reform characterised as "police modernisation" but understood to involve the removal of colonial inheritances from the police.[6]

Leadership

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The Jamaica Constabulary Force is led by a Commissioner of Police. The title changed from Inspector General of Police in 1939.[7] The JCF falls under the authority of the Ministry of National Security.[8]

Commissioners of Police, 1867–present

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1867–1878 Major J. H. Prenderville
1879–1886 E H. B. Hartwell
1887–1891 Captain L. F. Knollys
1892–1895 Major M. J. Fawcett
1900–1904 Edward F. Wright
1904–1919 A. E. Kershaw
1919–1925 William E. Clarke
1925–1932 Col. M. D. Harrell
1932–1947 Owen (Jack) Wright
1948–1953 W. A. Calver
1953–1958 Col. R. T. Mitchelin
1957–1962 L. P. R. Browning[9]
1962–1964 N. A. Croswell
1964–1970 A. G. Langdon
1970–1973 J. R. Middleton
1973–1977 Basil L. Robinson,
1977–1980 D. O. Campbell,
1980–1982 W. O. Bowes
1982–1984 J. E. Williams
1984–1991 Herman Emanuel Ricketts
1991–1993 Roy E. Thompson
1993–1996 Col. Trevor N. N. MacMillan
1996–2005 Francis A. Forbes
2005–2007 Lucius Thomas
2007–2009 Rear Admiral Hardley Lewin
2010–2014 Owen Ellington
2014–2017 Carl Williams, OD, CD, JP, PhD
2017–2018 George Quallo
2018–2024 Major General Antony Bertram Anderson
2024–Present Kevin Blake

Source: [10]

Uniform and ranks

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A constable of the Jamaica Constabulary Force in ceremonial uniform.

Ranks

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There are 11 ranks in the JCF. They are (in order of highest to lowest):

  • Commissioner (one laurel wreath and one crown on each shoulder strap)
  • Deputy Commissioner (one laurel wreath and two stars on each shoulder strap)
  • Assistant Commissioner (one laurel wreath on each shoulder strap)
  • Senior Superintendent (one crown and one star on each shoulder strap)
  • Superintendent (one crown on each shoulder strap)
  • Deputy Superintendent (three stars on each shoulder strap)
  • Assistant Superintendent (two stars on each shoulder strap)
  • Inspector (two metal bars on each shoulder strap)
  • Sergeant (three chevrons on right sleeve)
  • Corporal (two chevrons on right sleeve)
  • Constable (No emblem)
  • District Constables (No emblem)

Uniform

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In 2021, the Commissioner of Police, Antony Anderson, announced that the working uniform would be redesigned to accommodate equipment such as body cameras.[11] Officers began being issued with the new uniforms in 2023.[12]

Training

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The Police Academy of Jamaica opened in 1983 at Twickenham Park, St. Catherine. It was based on the old campus of the Jamaica School of Agriculture.[13] The Police Academy was refurbished and reopened in 1997. In 2014, the National Police College of Jamaica was established following a merger of the Police Academy, the Jamaica Constabulary Staff College, the Caribbean Search Centre, the Firearm and Tactical Training Unit, and the Driving School, which all operated independently at Twickenham Park.[14]

Equipment

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A Mitsubishi L200 pickup truck of the Jamaica Constabulary Force.

Vehicles

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In 2020, the JCF received 107 Mitsubishi L200 pickup trucks and Mitsubishi Outlander compact crossover SUVs.[15]

Personal equipment

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JCF officers are equipped with batons, pepper spray, and handcuffs.[16][17] In September 2006, the government approved a contract get 600 ballistic helmets, 1,500 bullet proof vests, and riot shields for the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF).[18] In 2013, the Jamaica Constabulary force received 20 motor vehicles, 500 ballistic vests, and 500 tactical uniforms from the United States government.[19] In September 2021, International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the European Union (EU) donated binoculars, camcorders, night vision goggles, key chain voice recorders, digital voice recorders, mini keychain video cameras, hidden camera glasses, and flexible waterproof tripods to JCF. In 2022, Jamaica Constabulary Force received three laptop computers, cell phones, a printer, and printer cartridges from the IOM and EU to that was used to help combat human trafficking on the island.[20] In 2022, the JCF received video cameras, monitors and some software from the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) which was employed in the JCF’s ‘Enriching Your Health and Wellness’ initiative, that was run by the organization’s Medical Services Branch (MSB).[21] In 2023, the JCF received 3,000 e-ticket machines.[22]

Controversies

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The JCF has been accused of carrying out extrajudicial killings.[23] In 2003 the Crime Management Unit (CMU), headed by the controversial Reneto Adams, was disbanded following allegations that it was "Jamaica's version of Dirty Harry".[24] Mark Shields, then of Scotland Yard and later Deputy Police Commissioner of the JCF, was brought in from London to investigate; Adams was acquitted of shooting four people in an alleged extrajudicial execution.[25]

In a climate of gang warfare cops with a record of killing gangsters such as Keith "Trinity" Gardner (noted for shooting several members of the Stone Crusher gang[26]) and Cornwall "Bigga" Ford ([27] who was on the scene at the alleged killing of seven 15–20-year-old youths in Braeton in 2001) became folk heroes.[28] The police team was searching for suspects who had killed a teacher in cold blood, and a policeman a few months earlier.

Per capita killings by the JCF are among the highest in the world. With a population of less than three million, police killed 140 people each year in the 1990s[23]—five times the death rate in 1990s South Africa. Current rates may be as many as 300 per year.[29] This makes Jamaica's police force "among the deadliest in the world".[30]

On 31 July 2010, three policemen were arrested after they were filmed beating (and then shooting to death) an unarmed murder suspect, Ian Lloyd, in Buckfield, St. Ann; Lloyd was lying on the ground, writhing and apparently helpless. The footage was shown on TVJ television news 30 July 2010. Initial police reports were at variance with the actions shown in the amateur-video footage later released.[31] The officers involved in the killing were acquitted due to an inability to present the maker of the video for court to authenticate it for evidentiary purposes.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Blue Book: Island of Jamaica, 1914-1915. Kingston: Government Printing Office. 1915. pp. J3.
  2. ^ McDavid, Hilton; Clayton, Antony; Cowell, Noel (2011). "The Difference between the Constabulary Force and the Military: An Analysis of the Differing Roles and Functions in the Context of the Current Security Environment in the Caribbean (The Case of Jamaica)". Journal of Eastern Caribbean Studies. 36 (3): 40–71.
  3. ^ a b Adam, W. P. C. (1932). "The Jamaica Constabulary". The Police Journal: Theory, Practice, and Principles. 5 (2): 257–266.
  4. ^ Annual Report on Jamaica for the Year 1948. London: HM Stationery Office. 1950. p. 62.
  5. ^ Harriott, Antony (1997). "Reforming The Jamaica Constabulary Force: From Political To Professional Policing?". Caribbean Quarterly. 43 (3): 1–12.
  6. ^ Maoz, Eilat (2023). "Black Police Power: The Political Moment of the Jamaica Constabulary". Comparative Studies in Society and History. 65 (1): 115–140.
  7. ^ "Council in Brief". The Daily Gleaner. 16 March 1939. p. 3. Retrieved 11 June 2024.
  8. ^ "Jamaica Constabulary Force | The Ministry of National Security". www.mns.gov.jm. Retrieved 11 June 2024.
  9. ^ "Mr. L.P.R. Browning | The Jamaica Constabulary Force". www.jcf.gov.jm. Archived from the original on 3 July 2018. Retrieved 2 July 2018.
  10. ^ "Past Commissioners | the Jamaica Constabulary Force". Archived from the original on 20 May 2019. Retrieved 12 January 2018.
  11. ^ "Police Commissioner announces plan to redesign JCF uniforms". Radio Jamaica News. 17 June 2021. Retrieved 11 June 2024.
  12. ^ Bartley, Abigail (3 February 2023). "JCF Members to be Outfitted in New Uniforms This Year". Nationwide Radio. Retrieved 11 June 2024.
  13. ^ "Plans for new police college underway". The Daily Gleaner. 13 December 1983. p. 19. Retrieved 11 June 2024.
  14. ^ "JCF training arms merged to form National Police College of Jamaica". The Gleaner. 3 July 2014. Retrieved 11 June 2024.
  15. ^ "Police Receive 107 New Motor Vehicles". Jamaica Constabulary Force. 5 May 2020. Retrieved 11 June 2024.
  16. ^ Lyons, Romardo (13 November 2021). "Batons still around, but wooden devices not being used". Jamaica Observer. Retrieved 11 June 2024.
  17. ^ Irving, Shelly-Ann (14 November 2014). "JCF Receives Non-Lethal Equipment". Jamaica Information Service. Retrieved 11 June 2024.
  18. ^ Jamaica Information Service (January 14, 2022). "JCF to get More Bullet Proof Vests and Helmets" Jamaica Information Service, https://jis.gov.jm/jcf-to-get-more-bullet-proof-vests-and-helmets/
  19. ^ MNI Alive (November 20, 2013). "United States Donates $64 Million Worth Of Equipment To Jamaica's Constabulary Force" MNI Alive, https://www.mnialive.com/articles/united-states-donates-64-million-worth-of-equipment-to-jamaica-s-constabulary-force/
  20. ^ INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION FOR MIGRATION (November 30, 2022). "European Union, IOM Donate Equipment to the Jamaica Constabulary Force to Aid the Fight Against Trafficking in Persons" INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION FOR MIGRATION, https://www.iom.int/news/european-union-iom-donate-equipment-jamaica-constabulary-force-aid-fight-against-trafficking-persons
  21. ^ MCINTOSH, DOUGLAS (January 14, 2022). "JCF Receives Equipment and Software from PAHO" Jamaica Information Service, https://jis.gov.jm/jcf-receives-equipment-and-software-from-paho/
  22. ^ "JCF gets 3,000 e-ticketing handsets". The Gleaner. 20 December 2023. Retrieved 11 June 2024.
  23. ^ a b "Jamaica:Killings and Violence by Police:How many more victims?". Amnesty International. Archived from the original on 2 August 2009.
  24. ^ Summers, Chris (14 May 2004). "Jamaica wrestles with police violence". BBC News.
  25. ^ "What Reneto Adams brings to policing". Archived from the original on 28 July 2011. Retrieved 9 May 2010.
  26. ^ "Jamaica Gleaner News - the 'Trinity' legacy ... 17 months of success - Sunday | September 3, 2006". Archived from the original on 12 August 2011. Retrieved 9 May 2010.
  27. ^ "Bigga Ford testifies at Braeton inquest - News". Jamaica Observer. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 6 September 2015.
  28. ^ "Jamaica: The killing of the Braeton Seven - A justice system on trial. | Amnesty International". Archived from the original on 1 October 2012. Retrieved 4 December 2016.
  29. ^ Brabazon, James (1 September 2007). "Gun-happy police add to Jamaica's killing spree". The Guardian. London.
  30. ^ "Island of music and murder". aljazeera.net. Retrieved 6 September 2015.
  31. ^ "Three cops arrested over video killing - Latest News". Jamaica Observer. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 6 September 2015.
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