Police Must Take Reports from Citizens

Citizens are being reminded that they ought not to be turned away from any police station they attend to report incidents, no matter where they occur.
“Police personnel are required by law to accept reports of incidents within and outside the station’s operational boundaries,” Head of the Constabulary Communications Network (CCN), Karl Angell, told JIS News in an interview.
The reminder follows complaints that the police at some stations have been refusing to take statements or respond to matters being reported, on the ground that the incidents being reported occurred outside the station’s operational boundaries.
Mr. Angell pointed out that this practice is not only unlawful, but it could retard speedy police action and frustrate individuals seeking police intervention.
“With respect to motor vehicle accidents, the Road Traffic Act provides that the parties may report the accident to any policeman or woman anywhere in the island within 24 hours of the accident,” he said.
He advises that no citizen must be redirected from the station to which he is making the report, to another police station, whether the report is about a crime or an offence that has been committed, or assistance that is being sought.
“The citizen’s report or request must be taken and recorded. Where it is necessary to record a statement at the time the report is made, this must be done at the station at which the report was first made,” he explained.
This latest reminder forms part of the public education and awareness programme of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF).