Police pair - Roland & Sherine committed to the JCF, committed to their relationship

WESTERN BUREAU:

Balancing church ministry, family life and work commitments is something that Roland and Sherine Smith have done for some 23 years.

But it is a bit easier for this couple than many others as they share the same workspace.

Roland is a district constable while his wife Sherine is a detective sergeant, and they both serve in the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) in St Elizabeth.

They have given 33 years combined service to the JCF, with Roland now working from the Black River police station and Sherine based at the Lacovia police station.

Roland, who is also a lay pastor, evangelist and family counsellor at the Mountainside Assemble of God Church, has 15 years of service under his belt as a district constable, having joined his wife 13 years after she enlisted in 1990.

He told The Sunday Gleaner that he uses the authority of his job, along with his ministerial responsibility, to provide mentorship and counselling to adults and children on varying issues.

"I do mentoring with boys in the community and in the schools also. I am very active in the community counselling children who their parents have grown weary of," said Roland.

"Most time children who tend to misbehave are referred to me by their parents who are not able to handle the difficulties they face. I just love what I do as a district constable in the police force. My time is taken up giving advice and just being that father figure in the community who the residents look up to for advice and guidance almost every day," added Roland.

For Sherine, policing is a tough and challenging job. "But over the years I have grown to accept the challenges that come with it," she told The Sunday Gleaner.

According to Sherine, despite her daily task of ensuring that people get justice, she finds time to make sure her husband and children are properly cared for.

"Outside of serving as a detective sergeant, I have been balancing family life along with work of the church, where I serve as the secretary along with offering counselling services to members of the church and the wider community of Mountainside," said the cop who has her eyes set on further promotions in the JCF.

"I am where I am today after serving 27 years as a member of the Island Special Constabulary Force before I became a member of the JCF, by way of the merger of the ISCF and the JCF in 2014," added Sherine.

 

'PREPARED TO SERVE'

 

She said her early work at the Black River Criminal Investigation Branch made it easy for her to transition to the role of a detective and she is ready to do even more.

"I am prepared to serve anywhere within the 19 police divisions of the force, but there has to be an understanding with my family in order to ensure that our bond remains intact wherever I may go," said Sherine.

A commitment to policing allows Roland to share her position, as he declared that he would have no problem with his wife being based far from home. Even though he hopes that moment never comes.

The Smiths tied the proverbial knot in 1995, and they say their faith in God and their determination to love each other until death keeps them together.

According to Roland, the job of finding himself a virtuous woman and wife was not challenging as he had his eyes squarely fixed on Sherine from her youthful days.

"I knew her from she was going to high school and I was working at a tailor shop. I always admired her passing back and forth as I observed the grace with which she walked," said Roland.

"Our relationship started when I met up with her at her workplace after going there to purchase clothing material. I initially engaged her in a conversation about family, and the rest is now 23 years of unconditional love for a lifetime."

Sherine added her version of the start of their relationship. "I noticed that he would look out and wave at me when I passed to and from school, but he never said anything to me all those years until when he came to my former workplace."

After that start it was smooth sailing for the couple.

"I was the person who made the approach and it took no time for us to decide that we would be together, get married and have children because we knew each other before. I knew the type of person she was, having watched her grew into a woman lady who is now my lifetime partner," declared Roland.

"My wife and I have come a far way in helping people while balancing our lives as police officers, church work and raising our three children," added Roland.