Detective Constable Michael Grant is ‘Top Cop’

Detective Constable Michael Grant of the Police Criminal Investigation Branch (CIB) in Kingston, is the 2004 LASCO Top Cop. Detective Grant, who is the sub officer in charge of the Fingerprint Bureau, topped a field of 27 nominees and 11 finalists from across the island. Inspector Errol Thompson from the police training branch in Twickenham Park was the runner-up.
At the announcement and award ceremony held yesterday (Jan. 25) at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel, Detective Grant and Inspector Thompson received cash awards of $100,000 and $50,000, respectively, along with other prizes from LASCO.
‘Rookie of the Year’ award went to Constable Odale Mullings from the Clarendon division, who received a trophy.
The ‘Top Cop’ recipient has been a member of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) for over 20 years and was selected based on his exemplary service and exceptional performances while carrying out his duties.
“I am extremely elated, grateful and humbled this evening. This award certainly personifies the old adage, ‘it takes a village to raise a child’,” Detective Grant told the gathering in his acceptance speech.
Keynote speaker at the function, Olympian Donald Quarrie, congratulated the finalists and highlighted the importance of the police in community development. “Police involvement in the community is of utmost importance as it not only preserves the community but paves the way for future officers,” he stated.
Mr. Quarrie, whose father was a policeman, urged the officers to continue to teach the youth how to deal with their conflicts without violence and called on the police to respect each other.
“Although we hear the negatives, we never hear the good side. We must continue to teach our young people how to solve their problems without violence and the police must have respect for each other”, he said.
Derrick Kellier, Minister of State in the Ministry of National Security, highlighted the work being done to improve efficiency in the force. “To meet the new challenges of policing the 21st Century, the force has been doing more than its fair share of self-examination and re-engineering. Personnel is continuously being retrained and skills upgraded, recruitment programmes are on in earnest and infrastructure is being improved,” he pointed out.
He also congratulated the finalists, noting that, “your hard work, dedication and resourcefulness have been instrumental in improving and modernising our police force.”
Lascelles Chin, founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the LASCO group, also commended the finalists and expressed the importance of the award to his company and Jamaica.
“The Police Officer of the Year award is a programme that I care about deeply as it highlights the achievements and rewards those who protect the citizens of our nation. The Police Officer of the year award focuses on what is great about being Jamaican,” he stated.
Established in 2000, the competition seeks to reward police officers whose professional conduct and civic involvement have distinguished him or her as an officer of note. The winner of last year’s competition was Sergeant Polly-Anna Brown-Mullings.