Mocho police, residents want urgent station upgrade

Whenever a resident in Mocho, Clarendon, visits their police station to make a report, they have to wait outside the containers that house the precinct for an available officer.

This arrangement is less than ideal, Mocho resident Sheldon Allison told The Gleaner last week. He explained that this lack of privacy caused residents to be hesitant in reporting matters.

“If mi have something serious to report, mi cya go report it, mi haffi go go a May Pen cause if yuh aguh report it, yuh haffi go stay outside, cause yuh cya go inside the container, (they) have to sit outside on two chairs provided,” he said.

The cramped container space that police officers have been operating out of for the last six years is “terrible”, a police officer who requested anonymity said. The two containers are used to house male and female police personnel, function as an administrative office and facilitate all the amenities such as bathroom and barracks.

But the police officer said there is no running water in the container, and the air-conditioning unit has been disconnected.

A fan, borrowed from a resident in the community, provided little relief to the police from the afternoon heat. A derelict building that previously housed the police station stands across the street.

Years of promises

For years, the police said the promise of a new building had been dangled over their heads, so it was very surprising days prior when three more containers were delivered on-site.

“Mi think dem aguh use block and cement and build wah nice station gi wi, mi neva know seh a container dem a drop, dem nuh deal wid Mocho good at all,” the police stated.

Member of parliament for North Central Clarendon, Robert Morgan, announced plans for a modern police station for the community during his contribution to the State of the Constituency in November last year.

He told The Gleaner plans to accomplish this are “well advanced”.

“Land has been acquired, approvals are being had through the procurement process. We expect the building to start next year,” he said.

Temporary measures

He noted that the additional trailers are temporary measures to provide some upgrade to the current site and to “make it more comfortable for the police”.

But Mocho resident Devon Wallace is not convinced that the additional containers will be a short-term measure.

“How can container become building … container a wah trailer man hook up pon him truck and move from one place to another as nomad,” he said.

Sergeant Arleen McBean, chairman of the Jamaica Police Federation, told The Gleaner that the union has been advocating for better working conditions for their members stationed in Mocho for years, and is frustrated at the pace at which a modern facility is being acquired.

“We’re still not satisfied where they are in terms of getting a comfortable environment to work and its comfort also for the citizens in that space, so we want alacrity as it relates to a good working environment for our policemen and women and also a good environment for the citizens that engage them on a daily basis,” he said.

Though sharing his concerns about the delay, councillor for the Mocho division, Romaine Morris, is optimistic about the progress of negotiations for a new building.

“We need a new building because there is a lot more services from the JCF (Jamaica Constabulary Force) that we would like for it to be provided for the residents in Mocho,” he said.

Five years ago, Minister of National Security Horace Chang announced the Government’s plan to Rebuild, Overhaul and Construct (ROC) more than 200 police facilities at a cost of $5 billion.

In March, he disclosed that 14 police stations are now up to the required standard through construction and rehabilitation work done under project ROC. Chang further noted that five additional stations are currently under construction.

sashana.small@gleanerjm.com