Fix it!

With more than 30 districts and some 10,000 residents to serve, police personnel at the Glengoffe Police Station in St Catherine have been suffering with unsanitary conditions and structural deficiencies.

The building, which was built in the early 1900s, has fallen into disrepair and is infested with termites, roaches and rats.

“The situation is very bad, as it was yesterday that the sergeant called saying a water problem exists. So I send a truckload, but that is not enough,’’ Roogae Kirlew, councillor for the division, said.

He noted that the police require better care to ably serve the people.

“You can’t have them (the police) motivated to serve the people when there are unsanitary conditions existing, such as little or no water, inadequate sanitary convenience they work under,” Kirlew said. “With no water here, you are waiting for a disaster.”

Personnel at the station declined to comment on the issue. However, residents vented their frustration.

Senior citizen Fitzroy Hunter said the station is a landmark and those who are attached must be treated with dignity.

“I am 77 years old and it is the worst that I have seen the situation. The police personnel are very important to the safety of many, so we must treat them right,” said Hunter.

Chairman of the Jamaica Police Federation, Corporal Rohan James, expressed concerns about the conditions in which his colleagues operate.

“I am aware of the situation and calling on the Government to make funding available to fix the situation. We were under the impression that work would have already started,” he said.

The old building which housed the station looks good from a distance. However, closer checks revealed a run-down interior in need of structural repairs.

“The situation is so grave that I am going to ask the health department to revisit for closure if repairs are not done,” said Norman Scott, chairman of the St Catherine Municipal Corporation.

rasbert.turner@gleanerjm.com