The
Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) is the
policeThe police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
force of the island nation of
JamaicaJamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
. The official JCF staff numbers 9,930 plus 55 auxiliary positions, making a total of 9,985; its current strength (as of 2011) is 8,441. Its commissioner is Owen Ellington, M.Sc, B.Sc, CD. Approximately 50 police officers have been killed in the line of duty since 2002.
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 adherance 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 in Jamaica began in 1716 when night
watchmenWatchmen were groups of men, usually authorised by a state, government, or society, to deter criminal activity and provide law enforcement. Watchmen have existed in various guises throughout the world and were generally succeeded by the emergence of formally organised policing.-Early origins:An...
were appointed to serve the cities of
Port RoyalPort Royal was a city located at the end of the Palisadoes at the mouth of the Kingston Harbour, in southeastern Jamaica. Founded in 1518, it was the centre of shipping commerce in the Caribbean Sea during the latter half of the 17th century...
,
KingstonKingston is the capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long sand spit which connects the town of Port Royal and the Norman Manley International Airport to the rest of the island...
, and the parishes of Saint Catherine and
Saint AndrewSaint Andrew Parish may refer to:*Saint Andrew, Barbados *Saint Andrew Parish, Dominica*Saint Andrew Parish, Grenada*Saint Andrew Parish, Jamaica*Saint Andrew Parish, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines*Saint Andrew Parish, Tobago in Tobago...
. In 1832 the first attempt to establish a permanent police force began, and William Ramsay was appointed
Inspector GeneralAn Inspector General is an investigative official in a civil or military organization. The plural of the term is Inspectors General.-Bangladesh:...
of the police force in 1835. This force continued in service until 1865, the year of the
Morant Bay RebellionThe Morant Bay rebellion began on October 11, 1865, when Paul Bogle led 200 to 300 black men and women into the town of Morant Bay, parish of St. Thomas in the East, Jamaica. The rebellion and its aftermath were a major turning point in Jamaica's history, and also generated a significant political...
. 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
BritishThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....
GovernorA governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...
to the island, and continues to carry out police duties to the present day.
Organisational units
The JCF has a total of 45 organisational units. 18 of these units are:
- Bureau of Special Investigations
- Child Abuse and Sexual Offences
- Marine Division
- Motorized Patrol
- Mounted Troop
- Narcotics
- Special Anti-Crime Task Force
- Traffic Headquarters
- Constabulary Communication Network
- Canine Division
- Band Division
- Administration and Support Services
- Special Branch
- Remand Centre
- Fraud Squad
- Operation Kingfish
- Mobile Reserve
- Special Operations Unit
Ranks
There are 11
ranks- Australia :Generally, all police forces of Australia follow this rank structure with some individual state police forces have ranks differing slightly.Insignia of rank displayed on epaulette in italics and brackets...
in the JCF. They are (in order of highest to lowest):
- Commissioner (one laurel wreath
A laurel wreath is a circular wreath made of interlocking branches and leaves of the bay laurel , an aromatic broadleaf evergreen. In Greek mythology, Apollo is represented wearing a laurel wreath on his head...
and one crownA crown is the traditional symbolic form of headgear worn by a monarch or by a deity, for whom the crown traditionally represents power, legitimacy, immortality, righteousness, victory, triumph, resurrection, honour and glory of life after death. In art, the crown may be shown being offered to...
on each shoulder strap) (Owen L. Ellington as of April 5, 2010)
- 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 badge assigned)
Badges
Gazetted ranks
| Rank |
CommissionerCommissioner is in principle the title given to a member of a commission or to an individual who has been given a commission ....
|
Deputy Commissioner |
Assistant Commissioner |
Senior Superintendent |
| Insignia |
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|
|
|
| Rank |
SuperintendentSuperintendent , often shortened to "super", is a rank in British police services and in most English-speaking Commonwealth nations. In many Commonwealth countries the full version is superintendent of police...
|
Deputy Superintendent |
Assistant Superintendent |
| Insignia |
|
|
|
Non-gazetted ranks
| Rank |
InspectorInspector is both a police rank and an administrative position, both used in a number of contexts. However, it is not an equivalent rank in each police force.- Australia :...
|
Sergeant |
Corporal |
Constable |
| Insignia |
|
|
>
 No 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.
Training
Members of the Jamaica Constabulary Force are trained at the
Jamaica Police AcademyThe Jamaica Police Academy is a training school located in Spanish Town where force applicants undergo physical activities to ensure that they are fit for the specific jobs that they will be doing after their 5–6 months at the training school....
in Twickenham Park, Spanish Town, St. Catherine. Recruits undergo a minimum of four months' basic training. Students are required to sit three written examinations and twelve practical tests. They are exposed to on-the-job training through visits to selected police stations and R.M. courts. Upon completion of basic training, they are transferred to various divisions (where they are placed under supervision of the Divisional Training Duty 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.
Equipment
- Glock
Glock Ges.m.b.H. is a weapons manufacturer headquartered in Deutsch-Wagram, Austria, named after its founder, Gaston Glock...
- Heckler & Koch MP5
The Heckler & Koch MP5 is a 9mm submachine gun of German design, developed in the 1960s by a team of engineers from the German small arms manufacturer Heckler & Koch GmbH of Oberndorf am Neckar....
- M16 rifle
The M16 is the United States military designation for the AR-15 rifle adapted for both semi-automatic and full-automatic fire. Colt purchased the rights to the AR-15 from ArmaLite, and currently uses that designation only for semi-automatic versions of the rifle. The M16 fires the 5.56×45mm NATO...
- Helmet
A helmet is a form of protective gear worn on the head to protect it from injuries.Ceremonial or symbolic helmets without protective function are sometimes used. The oldest known use of helmets was by Assyrian soldiers in 900BC, who wore thick leather or bronze helmets to protect the head from...
- Baton
A truncheon or baton is essentially a club of less than arm's length made of wood, plastic, or metal...
- Handcuffs
Handcuffs are restraint devices designed to secure an individual's wrists close together. They comprise two parts, linked together by a chain, a hinge, or rigid bar. Each half has a rotating arm which engages with a ratchet that prevents it from being opened once closed around a person's wrist...
- Body armour
- Browning Hi-Power
The Browning Hi-Power is a single-action, 9 mm semi-automatic handgun. It is based on a design by American firearms inventor John Browning, and completed by Dieudonné Saive at Fabrique Nationale of Herstal, Belgium. Browning died in 1926, several years before the design was finalized...
Use of deadly force
The Jamaican police have a history of extra-judicial killings. 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 HarryDirty Harry is a 1971 American crime thriller produced and directed by Don Siegel, the first in the Dirty Harry series. Clint Eastwood plays the title role, in his first outing as San Francisco Police Department Inspector "Dirty" Harry Callahan....
". Adams was acquitted of shooting four people in an alleged extrajudicial execution. 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 and Cornwall "Bigga" Ford, who was on the scene at the alleged killing of seven 15–20-year-old youths in Braeton in 2001) become folk heroes. The police team was searching for suspects who had earlier 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—five times the death rate in 1990s South Africa. Current rates may be as many as 300 per year. This makes Jamaica’s police force "among the deadliest in the world". On July 31, 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 July 30, 2010. Initial police reports were at variance with the actions shown in the amateur-video footage later released.
See also
- Island Special Constabulary Force
The Island Special Constabulary Force is the first reserve to the Jamaica Constabulary Force. Approximately fifty eight percent of the personnel are deployed in Kingston and St. Andrew. Establishment of the ISCF is 2,091 members, but the current strength is 1,446. The current commandant is Mr...
- Jamaica Rural Police Force (District Constable)
The Jamaica Rural Police Force is most popularly known as The District Constable. D.C is one of the Auxiliary to the Jamaica Constabulary Force. District Constables are appointed by the Commissioner of Police and attached to a particular Police Station. Their powers and authority, like the regular...
- Jamaica Police Federation
The Jamaica Police Federation is a union representing police officers in Jamaica from the ranks of Constable through to Inspector....
External links