Sergeant Hassock Tackling Crime Through Youth Engagement

The opportunity to help people who have been victims of crime was what inspired Sergeant Shermaine Hassock to join the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF).

Having lost her father at the hands of gunmen as a child, she imagined that by becoming a police officer she would help rid communities of criminals and prevent others from experiencing the same intense pain and grief of losing their loved ones through violence.

“From I was in primary school and understood what happened, I started having thoughts that if I am able to be a police officer, I would catch the bad people, so that no more little girls would lose their fathers,” Sergeant Hassock shares with JIS News.

It was with that sense of conviction that the Portland native took the first step towards a profession in law enforcement by joining the Buff Bay Police Youth Club as a teenager.

There, she tells JIS News, she began to see policing from a nurturing and guidance perspective.

“I got a greater understanding of what the JCF is about and felt that I would be able to make a greater contribution to guide young people, because I realised that it is a critical stage of their lives when they need guidance. So, I transitioned from wanting to catch the bad people to having a greater need to focus on [guiding] young people,” she says.

With more than 10 years in the JCF, Sergeant Hassock is currently Head of the Special Projects Department at the National Police College of Jamaica (NPCJ).

A PhD candidate researching gun control measures, she firmly believes that while hard policing has its place in crimefighting, connecting with young people at an early age can help shape attitudes and steer them away from crime.

“I recognise that I do have a passion for that,” she tells JIS News, noting that she connects with the youth through community outreach in schools. In fact, she regularly volunteers at her former school, Buff Bay High School.

“I taught at a high school, so from my experience with young people at the police youth club, through teacher’s college, to teaching practice, then joining the JCF, I see them from a different perspective, and I interact with them from a social and educational level,” she notes.

She points out that many young perpetrators of crimes are also victims and “I believe that by being able to interact with them… sharing experiences, providing guidance, I can make a difference”.

Fondly called the “resident narrator” because she regularly chairs graduation ceremonies at the NPCJ, Sergeant Hassock says that despite her achievements academically and in policing, she feels the greatest sense of fulfilment is working with young people and empowering them to tackle some of the things that might lead them in wrong direction”.

“So, from that perspective, I value the opportunity to be able to interact with them at that level and point them in the direction of positivity,” she adds.

With many changes in the JCF since it started accepting female members 75 years ago, Sergeant Hassock says it is a “wonderful organisation and a great career choice”.

Her advice for new recruits is to “ensure that you pay keen attention to your professional development as soon as you settle in the JCF”.

Her mentor and former supervisor, retired Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Norman Heywood, shares with JIS News that Sergeant Hassock is “always looking in the right direction, and you can see the dedication and commitment in her”.

Pastor of the Buff Bay Independent Baptist Church, the Rev. Vernon Allen, notes that Sergeant Hassock showed great interest in personal development from a very young age.

He hails her as a “great role model for both men and women who come from humble beginnings and need inspiration”.