Top Station In Area 4 To Be Named On Nov. 25

The public will find out on Thursday, November 25 who will win the Top Station Award for the Transforming Our Police Service (TOPS) Competition.

The TOPS competition is an initiative of the Police Civilian Oversight Authority (PCOA).

Thirty-one police stations in Area 4 will be vying for the coveted award at a ceremony that will be live-streamed at 10:00 a.m. on the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) social media pages.

Area 4 comprises stations in the parishes of Kingston and St. Andrew, specifically Kingston Western, Kingston Eastern, Kingston Central, St. Andrew South and St. Andrew Central.

The event, which is being staged by the PCOA during Police Week (November 22 to 28), seeks to recognise the achievement of JCF stations and divisions in the Area 4 TOPS Inspection competition, held between September 27 and October 19 this year.

“We will be celebrating the dedicated service of the JCF personnel in Area 4, who have faced not only challenges regarding COVID-19 but also the concerning issues of high crime and violence,” Chief Executive Officer of the PCOA, Otarah Byfield-Nugent, told JIS News.

For this year’s competition, Area 4 was selected to participate in the competition. Stations from within five divisions were assessed based on their compliance with specific JCF standard operating procedures. The areas examined included records management, station administration, station facility, prisoners in custody (PIC) and customer service.

Winners will be announced for the following categories – Top Station, Top PIC Station, Top Division and Top Customer Service Division within Area 4, in addition to Top Stations in each division within Area 4.

“This year, we will also unveil a special award in honour of the contribution by a former PCOA Member, who was integral in bringing this competition into fruition,” Mrs. Byfield-Nugent disclosed.

Now in its third year, TOPS is aimed at fostering greater conformance with prescribed JCF policies as well as raising the morale among police personnel.

The competition also facilitates a broader objective of the PCOA to enhance the culture of policing in the community, through professionalism and police partnerships built on openness, trust and accountability.

There are four stages of the TOPS programme – the Inspection competition, whereby all stations within one of the five JCF Area Commands are selected for participation; and the awards ceremony, at which four main and sectional awards are presented.

There are also a performance review meeting, which involves the engagement of the Police Commissioner, JCF High Command and Area/Divisional Commanders of the Area to discuss performance results emanating from the competition inspections and an agreement on targets and timeline for improvement, and a reinspection of the Area to determine whether commitments have been honoured.

The TOPS programme was first initiated in Area 2 (St. Ann, St. Mary and Portland divisions) and the Bamboo Station in St. Ann emerged winner of the Top Station Award. Last year, Area 5 was selected to participate in the programme, and Above Rocks in the St. Catherine North Division emerged winner of the Top Station.