JCF Forensics Chief Emphasises Training as Key to Modern Investigations

Head of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) Forensic Services Branch, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Christopher Brown, has emphasised the critical importance of training to equip investigators with the knowledge and skills necessary to apply forensic science principles and technology in criminal investigations.

“For the detectives, there’s a school of excellence that provides a variety of training opportunities to build the kind of competencies required for investigators or forensic officers, as the case may be,” he said.

“We have also found ourselves in meaningful partnerships with some of our local and international partners. Some of our strategic alliance partners, such as the Institute of Forensic Science and Legal Medicine, also are part of the training and the building out of our capacities here in the JCF,” the senior officer added.

He was speaking recently during the Force4Good Podcast, a JCF initiative highlighting issues affecting Jamaicans.

SSP Brown emphasised that, “staying ahead requires us to see what’s happening in the external environment and to ensure that the Force, on the internal side of it, adapts to those changes”.

“Training has been one of the biggest investments [helping] us to be where we are today. We’re seeing the benefit in terms of the numbers that you look at, even within crime and security in terms of clear-up rates for certain crimes,” he added.

SSP Brown also noted that credible evidence indicates the investment in training and technological infrastructure supporting investigations has redounded to the JCF’s benefit.

“You’re seeing some of these in our clear-up of cases, serious cases and you’re seeing these also in our responses to the needs of our public,” he stated.

Meanwhile, SSP Brown noted that training has played a vital role in strengthening the capacity to respond to traumatic incidents.

“Our officers recognise that the persons who we are interfacing with [during] this difficult situation, the importance of emotional intelligence, and they employ it in their daily activities. Certainly, some of the officers are impacted. So, as part of the holistic response to ensuring that everyone benefits from the quality service within the crime and security portfolio and within the JCF, there is support within our Forensic Services Branch,” he stated.

“We operate what is called a traumatic incident debrief, which seeks to address the needs of our forensic investigators, especially as they go through difficult times, processing scenes, from a forensics psychological standpoint, addressing the need of investigators who, from a secondary victim perspective, are experiencing what the victim went through. So we look at providing the support for them on a whole,” SSP Brown added.

The Forensic Services Branch is a newly established and strategically vital unit within the JCF, consolidating key forensic divisions to strengthen evidence analysis and advance the delivery of accurate, timely justice.