Jamaica Constabulary Force

The Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) is the official police force of Jamaica.

Jamaica Constabulary Force
Common namePolice
AbbreviationJCF
MottoServe, Protect and Reassure
Agency overview
Formed1716
Jurisdictional structure
Governing bodyMinistry of National Security
General nature
Operational structure
HeadquartersKingston, Jamaica
Elected officer responsible
  • Dr "Horace" Chang, MP Minister of National Security
Agency executive
  • Major General Antony Anderson, Commissioner of Police
Facilities
StationsArea Headquarters: 5

Divisional Headquarters: 19

Stations: About 190

Recruiting Centres: 4
Website
Official Site

Areas of the JCF

Area one: Trelawney, St. James, Westmoreland, Hanover

Area two: St. Ann, St. Mary, Portland

Area three: Clarendon, Manchester, St. Elizabeth

Area four: St. Andrew Central, St. Andrew South, Kingston Western, Kingston Central, Kingston Eastern

Area five: St. Andrew North, St. Catherine South, St. Catherine North, St. Thomas

Role

The force is the arm of the Ministry which is responsible for the maintenance of law and order, the prevention and detection of crime, the investigation of alleged crimes, the protection of life and property and the enforcement of all criminal laws as defined by the Jamaican penal code. The JCF also provides general assistance to the public, as needed. By adherence to their Citizens' Charter, the JCF endeavours to serve its citizens in general service and through the impartial, transparent enforcement of law and order.

History

The history of law enforcement in Jamaica began in 1716 when night watchmen were appointed to serve the cities of Port Royal, Kingston, and the parishes of Saint Catherine and Saint Andrew. In 1832 the first attempt to establish a permanent police force began, and William Ramsay was appointed Inspector General of the police force in 1835.

This force continued in service until 1865, the year of the Morant Bay Rebellion. This uprising demonstrated the vulnerability of peace and law on Jamaica and caused the establishment of an improved police force, the Jamaica Constabulary Force. The force began operation with 984 members, under the direction of an Inspector General appointed by the British Governor to the island, and continues to carry out police duties to the present day.

In July 2014 Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of Operations, Glenmore Hinds was appointed the Acting Commissioner of Police following the sudden retirement of Police Commissioner Owen Ellington. In September 2014, the Minister of National Security announced the appointment of Deputy Commissioner Carl M. Williams, Ph.D., to become the new Commissioner of Police.

In December 2016, Dr. Carl Williams announced that he will be retiring from the Jamaica Constabulary Force effective January 6, 2017. The Police Services Commission immediately named Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Novelette P. Grant, JP, MA, M.Sc. to act as Commissioner of Police for 90 days effective January 7, 2017. DCP Grant is only female holding one of the four deputy commissioner rank in the Jamaica Constabulary Force.[1]

On April 10, 2017, the Police Services Commission announced the appointment of Deputy Commissioner George F. Quallo as the new commissioner of police effective April 18, 2017.

On January 26, 2018, Mr. George Quallo announced that he will be retiring from the Jamaica Constabulary Force, he was expected to demit office in August 2018.[2] On February 1, 2018, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Clifford Blake to act as Commissioner of Police until March 19, 2018 when Major General Antony Anderson will officially be appointed to the post. Major General A. Anderson will be the third former JDF head to be appointed as Commissioner of Police.[3][4]

Commissioners of Police[5]

A list of the Commissioners of Police from 1867 to present.

1867-1878 Major J. H. Prenderville
1879-1886 Mr. E H. B. Hartwell
1887-1891 Captain L. F. Knollys, C.M.G.
1892-1895 Major M. J. Fawcett, C.M.G.
1900-1904 Mr. Edward F. Wright, C.M.G.
1904-1919 A. E. Kershaw, C.M.G.
1919-1925 Mr. William E. Clarke, C.M.G
1925-1932 Col. M. D. Harrell
1932-1947 Mr. Owen (Jack) Wright, C.B.E.
1948-1953 Mr. W. A. Calver
1953-1958 Col. R. T. Mitchelin, C.M.G., C.V.O., O.B.E.
1957-1962 Mr. L.P.R. Browning[6]
1962-1964 Mr. N.A. Croswell, C.M.G, M.B.E
1964-1970 Mr. A.G. Langdon, C.M.G. C.V.O, Q.P.M, J.P
1970-1973 Mr. J.R. Middleton, M.B.E
1973-1977 Mr. B.L. Robinson, O.J., C.D. Q.P.M, J.P
1977-1980 Mr. D. O. Campbell, C.D.
1980-1982 Mr. W.O. Bowes, C.D.
1982-1984 Mr. J.E. Williams, C.D.
1984-1991 Mr. H.E. Ricketts, C.D., L.V.O.
1991-1993 Mr. R.E. Thompson, C.D.
1993-1996 Col. T.N.N. MacMillan, O.D., J.P
1996-2005 Mr. F.A. Forbes, C.D., J.P., L.L.B.
2005-2007 Mr. Lucius Thomas, C.D.
2007-2009 Rear Admiral Hardley Lewin, C.D. JP, psc (n)
2010-2014 Mr. Owen Ellington, C.D.
2014-2017 Dr. Carl Williams, OD, CD, JP, PhD
2017-2018 Mr. George Quallo
2018–present Major General Antony Bertram Anderson, CD, JP, MDA, BEng (Hons), psc

Ranks

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)

Badges

Gazetted ranks

RankCommissionerDeputy CommissionerAssistant CommissionerSenior Superintendent
Insignia
RankSuperintendentDeputy SuperintendentAssistant Superintendent
Insignia

Non-gazetted ranks

RankInspectorSergeantCorporalConstable
InsigniaNo badges assigned

Uniform
Constable through Sergeant
  • Blue/black serge trousers with red stripes down each seam, worn with either a white and blue striped short-sleeved shirt. The hat is a black peaked cap with a red band.
Inspector through Commissioner
  • Light khaki jacket, shirt and trousers, with epaulettes on the shoulders. A blue/black cap is worn with a black band and silver braiding on the peak. The hat for Inspectors is a black peaked cap with a red band.

A white, high-collared tunic is sometimes worn by all ranks on ceremonial occasions, with blue/black peaked cap and trousers.

Payscale

An entry-level police constable's basic pay is J$$852,000 each year or $71,000.00 per month. They receive a housing allowance of $34,500.00 and get $19,000.00 for a set overtime period of 10 hours, which totals $124,500.00 before taxes. After taxes, a Constable's net pay (take-home pay) is $121,000.15. The salary in each rank gradually increases with experience.

At the top of the officer class — excluding the ranks of commissioner and deputy commissioner which are contracted posts — assistant commissioners at the top of the scale for that category moved from $4.7 million on 1 April 2008 to $6.27 million in basic salary last year, an increase of 33 percent, or more than $1.5 million. Over the same period, those at the bottom of the scale moved from $4.06 million to $5.27 million, an increase of 30 percent.

Deputy commissioners earn in the region of $6.5 million while the commissioner is paid between $8 and $10 million per annum.

Training

Members of the Jamaica Constabulary Force are trained at one of two colleges; Twickenham Park, Spanish Town, St. Catherine and Harman Barracks Training Wing in Kingston, adjacent to Up Park Camp. Recruits undergo a minimum of six months' basic training. Students are required to sit four written examinations called modules and twelve practical tests. They are exposed to on-the-job training through visits to selected police stations and Parish Courts. Upon completion of basic training, they are transferred to various divisions (where they are placed under supervision of the Divisional Training Sub-Officer) to continue their two-year probationary training. At the end of 18 months' service, probationary officers return to the Jamaica Police Academy for an additional five weeks of training. Thereafter, they return to their divisions to complete the probationary period. Some elements of the JCF are trained in a para-military fashion, and the element of the force is the Specialized Operations Branch (formerly Mobile Reserve).

Equipment
  • Glock 17 & 19


  • Patrol Vehicles


  • Transport
  • Aircraft

Policing style

Use of deadly force

The Jamaican police have a history of extra-judicial killings.[7] 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".[8] 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.[9]

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[10]) and Cornwall "Bigga" Ford ([11] who was on the scene at the alleged killing of seven 15–20-year-old youths in Braeton in 2001) became folk heroes.[12] 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[7]—five times the death rate in 1990s South Africa. Current rates may be as many as 300 per year.[13] This makes Jamaica's police force "among the deadliest in the world".[14]

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.[15] 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.

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See also

References
  1. "UPDATE: DCP Novlette Grant To Act As Police Commissioner". The Gleaner. Retrieved 7 January 2017.
  2. "Police Commissioner George Quallo stepping down". jamaica-gleaner.com. Retrieved 26 November 2018.
  3. Limited, Jamaica Observer. "New Top Cop". Jamaica Observer. Retrieved 26 November 2018.
  4. "Jamaican Police Commissioner George Quallo quits - Caribbean News". 28 January 2018. Retrieved 26 November 2018.
  5. https://www.jcf.gov.jm/about-us/history/past-commissioners
  6. "Mr. L.P.R. Browning | The Jamaica Constabulary Force". www.jcf.gov.jm. Retrieved 2 July 2018.
  7. "Jamaica:Killings and Violence by Police:How many more victims?". Amnesty International. Archived from the original on 2 August 2009.
  8. Summers, Chris (14 May 2004). "Jamaica wrestles with police violence". BBC news.
  9. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 28 July 2011. Retrieved 9 May 2010.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  10. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 12 August 2011. Retrieved 9 May 2010.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  11. "Bigga Ford testifies at Braeton inquest - News". Jamaica Observer. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 6 September 2015.
  12. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 1 October 2012. Retrieved 4 December 2016.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  13. Brabazon, James (1 September 2007). "Gun-happy police add to Jamaica's killing spree". The Guardian. London.
  14. "Island of music and murder". aljazeera.net. Retrieved 6 September 2015.
  15. "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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