Police commissioner commends security forces, urges quality of service

Police Commissioner Major General Antony Anderson has charged members of the security force to give of their best at all times to ensure a better police force and ultimately a better Jamaica, as he assured them of his support and appreciation of their service.

“The sort of push especially at the last part of the year that we got from our members is outstanding.

“The sort of work that I saw our officers put out made me proud to be in charge of you for the time that I am, and putting out that type of effort vouches well for the future of the force and 2024,” the commissioner said yesterday during the Commissioner’s Annual Devotion in Kingston.

The commissioner’s comments come amid a 7.8 per cent drop in murders when compared to the previous year. Official statistics released by the Jamaica Constabulary Force indicate that 1393 persons were killed, which is 118 less than the 1511 persons who were killed in 2022.

The JCF also reported a reduction in other major crimes such as shootings in all police divisions as well as in robberies and rapes.

The commissioner during his message did not specifically address the nation’s current crime statistics or the state of crime in the nation but indicated that the force would continue its capacity building.

“Our work will continue, we have a good foundation. We are going to continue doing what we do, we going to continue building out our capacity,” he said.

QUALITATIVE DIMENSION

The commissioner said that the new year presents a significant opportunity for the force to keep the momentum going. He said the force’s success was as a result of the individual contribution of each member.

“When everybody is contributing and knows that they are contributing their best, there is absolutely no stopping us. Only if some people decide not to do that then we start getting challenges.

“So my charge in 2014 is that each of us step outside of ourselves and see how we can do our best in our role as police officers and members of the JCF. And if we do that then, we must have a better force and by extension a better Jamaica, a better place to live, work, do business, raise families and retire,” Anderson said.

The commissioner also stressed the need for police officers to not only ensure that their interactions with other members of the force are desirable and satisfactory, but that the public is equally pleased.

“How do we make the people we serve feel? Do they feel safe; do they feel secure; do they feel better for seeing us when they are having that bad day? That’s what we need to aim for and the way we do that is that when we see a problem or somebody in need we step out, and step up,” he said.

Anderson said that the theme ‘Celebrating 156 Years of Advancements in People, Quality and Technology’ recognises first that people are central to everything that the force accomplishes, and quality service was important.

“We are looking at very precise ways of measuring the quality of service that we deliver, very numerically and quantitative but also there is a qualitative dimension. Because quite often it is not exactly what happens that people remember, but they remember how they felt. And quite often their own assessment of us has to do with how did they feel about that interaction, (and) how members feel when they interact with their superiors,” Anderson said.