Tue | May 14, 2024

Police station in Hanover to be operational in months

Published:Wednesday | June 7, 2023 | 1:54 AMBryan Miller/Gleaner Writer
Major General Antony Anderson (second right), commissioner of police, in conversation with Senior Superintendent Stephanie Lindsay (left), head of the Constabulary’s Communications Unit; Superintendent Sharon Beeput, commanding officer for Hanover; and
Ashley Anguin
Major General Antony Anderson (second right), commissioner of police, in conversation with Senior Superintendent Stephanie Lindsay (left), head of the Constabulary’s Communications Unit; Superintendent Sharon Beeput, commanding officer for Hanover; and Assistant Commissioner Clifford Chambers during a stakeholders meeting held at Round Hill Hotel & Villas on Tuesday.

WESTERN BUREAU:

WORK ON Hopewell Police Station in Hanover, which started in January 2023, is now about 70 per cent complete and scheduled for completion in another few months, this according to Commissioner of Police, Antony Anderson.

The facility was first estimated to be ready for occupation by the end of the financial year, March 2023, but information coming out of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) is that the building, which was leased from the Hanover Municipal Corporation (HMC) at the peppercorn rate of $1,000 per year, had more defects than previously thought.

Although not giving a direct commitment as to the actual number of months before the facility is ready for occupation, Anderson stated at a stakeholders meeting on the grounds of Round Hill Hotel and Villas in Hopewell on Tuesday that he is looking forward to coming back to officially open the police facility.

“I expect that in a few months it (police station) will be finished, and we will be operating out of there. It has space for a number of things, and it’s really important for us to get it up and running,” he stated.

Noting that it was really a no-brainer to establish the facility in Hopewell, Anderson pointed out that the facility will have accommodation for a number of police personnel.

“It will have space for its own detectives, a CIB office will be there, a community safety and security branch office will be there, they will be operating a traffic office out of there, and it will have a certain amount of accommodation for officers so that they can be resident there,” the commissioner stated.

He said that a few adjustments had to be made to the original plans since the work started on the facility. This includes a private interview room, plus other necessities.

70 PER CENT COMPLETE

“So in a few months that facility should be up and running, as it is 70 per cent complete according to the contractors there,” he noted.

He shared that the JCF has an ongoing programme through which it is upgrading its facilities, adding that the resources in Hanover will continue to grow over time.

With respect to human resources, the police commissioner gave a commitment that some members from the next graduating class of recruits will be posted in Hanover.

“Having interfaced and having held discussions with the (JCF) team here in Hanover, it’s actually quite a small team, it (the team) is something that we (Police High Command) intend to grow,” he emphasised.

Further, he expressed that the number of police in the parish is too few.

He argued that with the present growth in the national numbers in the JCF through recruitment, Hanover stands to benefit from additional personnel being assigned to the parish.

“We are not looking at slowing down our recruiting any time soon, and we have persons graduating on Friday, when another batch of 0ver 200 are coming out,” Anderson said.

He added that specific attempts will also be made at increasing the capacity of the quick response motorcycle team in Hanover.