A passion for Service - Jones Town experience fuels superintendent’s devotion to law and order

For most of her childhood, Superintendent of Police Sherika Service witnessed the crippling effects of gang warfare in Jones Town, St Andrew. Although her parents tried their best to shield her, she could not escape the echoes of gunfire in the tough inner-city community.

"Growing up in that environment, you hear the gunshots, the infighting, and sometimes when I was coming home from school, I had to call before, because I couldn't just enter the community like that because you don't know when war is happening," Service said.

Concerned about the safety of people in communities, and driven by the desire to see the back of criminals and criminality, Service, at an early age, vowed to stand up for justice, brotherhood and peace.

Her career as a police officer started October 26, 2009 -- a Sunday afternoon that is etched in her memory. Then, she and scores of police hopefuls stood under a gazebo at Harman Barracks in Kingston, waiting for their training to begin.

"You know it was going to be a roller-coaster ride, a new experience because this is going to change your life. Being a police officer is just not something you run into, it's a career move," the Merl Grove High graduate shared.

After successfully completing her training, she was attached to the now defunct Island Special Constabulary Force (ISCF) and was deployed at the Supreme Court for a year. Three years after, she was promoted to the rank as assistant superintendent of police, upon the successful completion of a special promotion programme in the force. Her latest promotion was in 2019 when she was promoted to superintendent.

Service is one of the commanders of the recently formed Joint Anti-Gang Task Force, which is aimed at dismantling gangs and ridding the country of illegal guns. Standing at 5" 3', her physical stature belies the awesome responsibilities that rests on the shoulders of the 35-year-old. She is the adjutant to Assistant Commissioner of Police Warren Clarke, and is the officer in charge of logistics and administration at the Specialised Operations Branch of the JCF. She undertakes her tasks daily with confidence, strategy and grit, with her main goal being to make Jamaica a safer place.

"I just get the job done. It's a lot, and based on the mission of the Jamaica Constabulary Force, and what is happening now with gangs and gang fighting driving up the crime rate, there is a lot of burden on us to get the job done, and to get those gangs, but we have a good team," Service told THE STAR.

The superintendent holds Bachelor's of Arts degree in history and international relations, as well as a Master of Science degree in national security and strategic studies from the University of the West Indies. She is currently completing her legal studies at Norman Manley Law School to attain a legal education certificate.

The 35-year-old mother of two -- ages two and six-months-old -- said ensuring that helping the JCF to deliver on its mission and maintenance of law and order, and the preservation of peace is the best part of the job.

"I will relate it to my childhood in Jones Town -- that peace and calm that people are able to walk about their business and enjoy their tranquility, having their kids raised in that environment," Service said.

"Even the other day, a civilian came on the compound and he said 'You see the police presence weh unnu have in August Town, keep it there, you hear, Miss. Me don't want unnu leave, unnu stay up there.' And I'm like that is what the public wants, and once I am able to do that as a police officer, I feel very good," Service said, a broad grin plastered on her face.