Up-and-coming artiste wins police talent competition

Waterford resident Andrianna Mills last week emerged winner of a police-sponsored talent competition aimed at driving transformation in the gritty Portmore community.

Mills was among 50 entrants who composed and recorded a song that focused on the theme, 'Youths for Transformation Through the Arts'. The budding entertainer said she carefully crafted her lyrics to ensure that her song promoted a positive message.

"I always wanted to be a police officer, but I never get the chance, but what better way to launch my singing career than through a police force- sponsored competition," an elated Mills told THE STAR.

As part of the prize, Mills got the opportunity to professionally record her winning song, which has since been released.

Detective Inspector Pilmar Powell, the sub-officer in charge of the Waterford Police Station, said that talent competitions are effective ways to reach young people, particularly the unattached.

"Our observation within the Waterford Police District is that the youths are focused on the arts, so the charge was for us to have more interactive initiatives," Powell told THE STAR.

The cop said that the competition is part of a suite of interventions being employed by the police to bring about transformation in Waterford.

"We are living in a society where there is social decay, and we are seeing a lot of our youths getting involved in gangs and this is contributing to dysfunctional families, so Team Waterford looked through our station plan and decided on a youth talent show as one of our interventions," Powell said.

The talent competition, however, was just one aspect of a community policing strategy that is being implemented in the St Catherine area. Powell said that the police in the St Catherine South Police Division have partnered with HEART/NSTA Trust to facilitate skills training for youngsters.

"We have forms for HEART programmes at the stations and the youths are coming to the station to enquire about the HEART programmes, especially since the prime minister announced free tuition," Powell said.