JCF Names new Diaspora Liaison Officer

Superintendent Anthony James Forbes, of the Community Safety and Security Branch of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF), has been named as the Force’s Diaspora Liaison Officer.
Jamaica’s Acting Commissioner of Police, Owen Ellington, made the announcement at a Community Town Hall meeting on Tuesday (March. 8), at the Lauderhill City Commission in Florida.
Supt. Forbes will also oversee Community Safety and Security issues such as: missing persons; safe schools programme; police youth clubs; tourism security; Neighborhood Watch; agriculture security; public/private sector partnership; and security for returning residents.
His contact numbers are 876-920-8903 (office), 876-383-2522 (cell) and email address renajdad@yahoo.com
Mr. Ellington urged persons in the Diaspora to stay in touch with the JCF, through the Liaison contact, as through that association the JCF, with the assistance of the U.S. policing authorities, could develop better information gathering and sharing techniques and enrich intelligence by detecting and confronting areas of criminal activities at home and in the Diaspora.
The Acting Commissioner said that the JCF is expanding its partnership, to include public/private sector collaboration in the fight against crime and violence, and the Jamaican Diaspora would be one of those links.
According to him, some private companies have already partnered to help outfit the JCF Command and Control Centre. For example, equipment would be provided for crime detection and security measures.
He disclosed that 80 per cent of the guns in Jamaica were from the USA, and it is alleged that Jamaicans in Florida were instigating crime at home.
“Too many Jamaicans are involved in buying and sending home these weapons,” he stated.
The Acting Commissioner said that “partnership arrangements” would provide information on what the JCF’s partners are experiencing and what they want.
Mr. Ellington explained that the JCF Diaspora Liaison Office would work assiduously with nationals in the overseas communities, and that the JCF was appreciative of the interest and response to the problem of crime and violence.
He assured Jamaican nationals that matters pertaining to the needs of the Diaspora would be dealt with by this Office. He said that the JCF could respond to inquiries about personal property, as well as the screening of business interests.
Supt. Forbes is a graduate of the University of the West Indies (UWI) and the College of Defence Studies, National Defence University in China. He accompanied Mr. Ellington on his three-day visit to South Florida, last week, where they were engaged in discussions with policing authorities of South Florida communities.
The visit presented opportunities for exchange of information and practical collaborative efforts, that could enhance the delivery of law enforcement in Jamaica.