Concept of Community Police Must be Embraced by All – Senator Williams

Minister of State in the Ministry of National Security, Senator Arthur Williams has emphasised that all persons engaged in police services would have to embrace the concept of community policing.
“This may be the last time that any training of any member of either force is going to take place without community policing being part of that training,” the State Minister told a graduation ceremony for new members of the Island Special Constabulary Force (ISCF) last week at the Carl Rattray Training College in Runaway Bay in St. Ann.
“Everyone in the police services in Jamaica is going to have to buy into the concept of community policing, as that is the direction in which we are going for the future,” Mr. Williams said.
The State Minister explained that community policing is a philosophy and an organizational strategy that promotes a new partnership between people and the police.
“It is based on the premise that both the police and the community must work together to identify, prioritize and solve contemporary problems, such as crime, drugs, fear of crime, social and physical disorder and overall neighbourhood decay, with the goal of improving the overall quality of life in the area,” Senator Williams said.
He stressed that community policing would require a force-wide commitment, hence the constabulary should seek to create and develop a new breed of police officers who would act as a direct link between the police and the people in the community.
“But, community policing, because it is a partnership between the police and the community, is going to require a commitment also from members of the community. They have to work with the police to address crime and public safety issues in the community of which they are a part,” he said, while urging the graduates to buy into this new concept of policing in the country, as they seek to carry out their duties in a professional manner.