Welfare Of Police Personnel A Priority – Minister
By: , May 17, 2022
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The Government is committed to strengthening the welfare and benefits of police officers across the island, says Minister of National Security, Hon. Dr. Horace Chang.
Speaking at the recent opening ceremony of the 10th Annual General Meeting for the Caribbean Federation of Police Welfare Associations (CFPWA), at the Ocean Coral Spring Hotel in Trelawny, Dr. Chang emphasised that the welfare of police personnel is essential to national security in Jamaica and across the Caribbean.
“The welfare of police personnel in Jamaica and throughout the Caribbean is crucial for the quality of service we extend to Caribbean people and that quality of service is critical to the development of all societies,” he said.
“The correct philosophy is to have your law-enforcement agency in a position to guarantee public safety and good order, because in the modern world, without that foundation there will be a lack of development that is required to give your citizens the kind of community they [need] to acquire… a decent quality of life,” he said.
For his part, Commissioner of Police, Major General Antony Anderson, said the welfare needs of police officers are being addressed more proactively since the 2018 establishment of a Welfare Department within the organisation.
He informed that the unit has made a major dent in the number of backlog welfare cases.
Commissioner Anderson added that more than 5,450 interventions “for our officers” have been made by the Welfare Department in the last 18 months.
“Up to this point, we have about 455 medical interventions at a cost of $250 million as we take care of our members. We had a situation where things like death benefits that go to families of officers… we saw 75 files that were outstanding for some time and within the first year we cleared 58 of those,” he added.
The two-day conference, which ended on May 12, was held under the theme ‘Leading the change through innovation, creativity and re-engagement for the betterment of police officers across the region’.