JCF gets technology boost

Training for and expansion of the Jamaica Constabulary Force's (JCF) Station Records and Case Management Systems will be enhanced technologically following the handover of computers valued at US$700,000 (approximately $1.2 billion).

The equipment was procured under the National Security Ministry's Security Strengthening Project which is funded by an Inter-American Development Bank loan. The equipment was handed over during a ceremony at the National Police College of Jamaica in St Catherine on Wednesday. The investment will facilitate expanded training for recruits and current employees within the JCF by incorporating the latest technology and methodologies. Features of the enhanced systems include electronic logging of reports from citizens and providing a receipt via email. Investigators will also be able to link previous case files to current ones.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Security, Dr Horace Chang, welcomed the investment and said digitisation allows police officers to "access information, communicate, collaborate and respond to the challenges of today's complex crime landscape more effectively".

"I wish to reiterate that our digital transformation and modernisation efforts must be interconnected in order for them to make practical sense, be sustainable, and benefit the public," Chang added. He said it is against this backdrop that the ministry launched Project Rebuild, Overhaul and Construct in 2020.

Under the initiative, police stations are being rehabilitated and constructed into appropriate modern professional workspaces.

"To date, we have impacted over 150 of the police facilities across the island," Chang informed.