Gov’t to Undertake 5-Year Programme to Rehabilitate Police Stations

The Government of Jamaica will be undertaking a five-year programme for the rehabilitation of police stations across the island.
“We intend to launch a massive refurbishing programme to bring to a decent level, police stations that have been run down over the years for one reason or another. We expect a lot from our police and as such, we are committed to providing them with what they need to perform well,” Minister of National Security, Derrick Smith said.
He was speaking on (Jan. 16) at the groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of a new police station in Bath, St. Thomas, for which a $69 million contract was signed last November.
The Minister informed that so far, $140 million has been allocated for the rehabilitation and construction of facilities, with $30 million set aside for training.The new police station at Bath will be constructed on the site of the existing facility, which was severely damaged during Hurricane Gilbert in 1988.
The project, which is expected to be completed within one year, will be of a modern architectural design, and will serve as the model for the construction of other such facilities in the future.
Member of Parliament for Eastern St. Thomas, Dr. Fenton Ferguson, who was also at the ground breaking ceremony, commended the Government for taking forward the project, for which the previous administration had laid the ground work.
“This is the kind and type of governance that I like to see where projects have started, there is a change of government and the project continues, so I congratulate you Minister for continuing this project,” he said.
Dr. Ferguson called on the contractor to ensure that the project is of the highest standard and is completed on time and within budget.
He also called on Minister Smith to look into the possibility of facilitating automatic banking machine (ABM) and money transfer services as part of the project, so that residents would not have to travel all the way to Morant Bay to access these facilities.
Acting Commissioner of Police, Carl Williams who has oversight for the area, said that the building of the new station is a serious demonstration on the part of the Government, that security is indeed a priority.