Over $600 Million to Upgrade Police Communication Systems

The Government is to spend over $600 million to retool the telecommunications system of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF).

Minister of National Security, Hon. Dr. Horace Chang, made the announcement during his contribution to the 2019/20 Sectoral Debate in the House of Representatives on April 16.

“We will cover the island to ensure that our police officers have good-quality communications, both mobile and fixed,” he said.

Dr. Chang noted that at one point, the JCF had the best telecommunications system in the country.

“Sadly, it has been allowed to deteriorate and become totally degraded to the point where divisions are hardly able to communicate with each other,” he stated.

In the meantime, Dr. Chang said the entire JCF is committed to enhancing efficiency, accountability and optimal performance, through the institutionalisation of a technology governance structure.

He stated that this year, there will be significant updates to the enterprise resource management system. This will see improvements in several internal business processes to include records management, fleet management, facilities management and case management.

Dr. Chang said the implementation of the Electronic Records Management system will replace the ‘Big Book’ Station Diary.