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National Security Ministry Opens New Police Station at Independence Park

By: , January 29, 2004

The Key Point:

The Ministry of National Security officially opened the new National Stadium Police Station on Wednesday (Jan. 28) at Independence Park in Kingston.

The Facts

  • Deputy Commissioner of Police, Tilford Johnson who spoke at the event said the modern and spacious accommodations would enable easier access for members of the community, which the station served.
  • "The police station is a unique one in the sense that it does not only provide the normal service for communities, but it has to provide a police service for the Independence Park complex, with its many sporting events," he explained adding, "it means therefore that the police personnel who are at the station must be current with certain special skills relating to policing these events.

The Full Story

The Ministry of National Security officially opened the new National Stadium Police Station on Wednesday (Jan. 28) at Independence Park in Kingston.

Deputy Commissioner of Police, Tilford Johnson who spoke at the event said the modern and spacious accommodations would enable easier access for members of the community, which the station served.

“The police station is a unique one in the sense that it does not only provide the normal service for communities, but it has to provide a police service for the Independence Park complex, with its many sporting events,” he explained adding, “it means therefore that the police personnel who are at the station must be current with certain special skills relating to policing these events. These skills fall under public order management and include crowd control, security of VIPs, security of match officials, security of players, security of the game and spectators and the general maintenance of law and order in the Independence Park area”.

The Deputy Commissioner charged the personnel of the new station to carry out their duties with the outmost professionalism.

Meanwhile, newly appointed Commanding Officer of the station, Superintendent K.K Knight told JIS News that the $17 million facility would be manned by approximately 17 officers and would have a homicide team in place shortly. He said there was a “new paradigm shift in terms of how we do police work. We are moving away from reactive policing to proactive policing, building partnerships and establishing new neighbourhood watch meetings, among other things. We have to change the way we do policing”.

Superintendent Knight pointed out that this new philosophy was not unique to Jamaica, but was the direction in which law enforcement was moving internationally. Asked how he and his team would gain the trust of the citizens of the surrounding communities, which were in most part considered volatile, the Superintendent responded: “Things take time and the journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step. There is no problem that’s insurmountable to thinking men”.

Also echoing positive sentiments, Audrey Osbourne of the National Stadium Police Consultative Committee and Youth Club stated: “I am sure that it will impact positively on the morale of the persons who work there and for members of the community who will do business with the station. The consultative committee and the police youth club have for a while now enjoyed an excellent relationship with the personnel of the station together we will continue to enhance the community at large”.

Chairman of the Police Federation, Sergeant David White saluted the ministry and the Urban Development Corporation for the construction of the well-needed facility, remarking that because of its uniqueness in comparison to many stations across the island, the station was an indication of what all stations built hereafter should be.

He urged his colleagues to “take good care of it, treat it as your own, each day when you come through these doors, remember your other colleagues who are suffering, when you service your communities from here, do so with the highest professional standards so that Jamaicans can understand that more changes like these will depict the type of police force that the public demands”.

Last Updated: July 4, 2019

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