Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Security, the Hon. Dr. Horace Chang says that specialised police buildings and infrastructure play a key role in the transformation of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF).
He reiterated this while delivering the main address at the Opening Ceremony for the Hopewell Police Station in Hanover yesterday (March 15).
“Police are professionals and we have to design facilities they can function effectively with sufficient space to serve the communities,” the Security Minister stated.
Since 2019, through Project Rebuild, Overhaul and Construct (ROC), the Ministry of National Security has led the charge to convert all police stations into modern, citizen-friendly workspaces while creating the ambience for citizens to willingly and comfortably engage the police.
In highlighting the strategic role of the newly built Hopewell Police Station, the first smart police facility in the island, Minister Chang pointed to the increase in population and economic activity in the western region.
“The west will essentially see additional investment in policing because the population has grown as well as the economic activity, resulting in a demand for stronger policing,” Minister Chang stated.
He further added that “though Hopewell is not a lawless place; good order is required in every community”.
With the opening of this station, the Minister emphasised that the transformation of the JCF is “part of the commitment held by the government to ensure we have a police force that is capable of dealing with emerging criminal activity and public disorder”.
He added that “public safety and security is a priority of this government and a pillar on which we build this economy”.
The facility was constructed at a cost of $25 million by the Jamaica Constabulary Force and will serve twenty surrounding communities. With the establishment of this police station in Hopewell, the JCF will be able to provide more efficient and responsive services to the community, leading to an overall improvement in public safety and crime prevention efforts.
The station has been operationalised under the standard operating procedures of the JCF and features a digitised customer service kiosk where citizens give feedback on their experience with individual police officers while making reports at the station.
The Jamaica Constabulary Force stands as one of the most digitised in the Western Hemisphere and the government continues to allocate the resources necessary in a bid to ensure better quality policing.
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