Work in Progress to Improve Service Delivery at Criminal Records Office

Several measures are being undertaken at the Criminal Records Office of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) to enhance service delivery and customer experience.

Speaking at a virtual press conference on July 5, Commissioner of Police, Major General Antony Anderson, said with the changes there should be a qualitative difference in the customer experience by the end of July.

He pointed out that earlier this year, the Automated Palm and Fingerprint Identification System was upgraded to a Multi-Biometric Identification System.

“This upgraded system will increase the storage capacity and reduce the processing time taken to generate police certificates,” the Commissioner said.

In addition to the system upgrade, he noted that the pilot phase for an online application and appointment system has been successful, so far.

He said different arrangements are being pursued for the collection of police certificates.

“This is another aspect of our Force transformation and modernisation process, which will benefit the public with improved service delivery, including faster turn-a-round times and greater convenience. There should be a qualitative difference in the customer experience by the end of July as we continue to build out the new-and-improved system,” he said.

The Commissioner said the production of police certificates directly impacts the economy, national development and a number of sectors that depend on this service for recruitment.

“Over the last few weeks, we have been reviewing our processes at our Criminal Record Offices located at 56 Duke Street and our three sub sites located in May Pen, Clarendon; Pompano Bay, St. Mary, and Summit, St. James. This is part of our ongoing modernisation effort to improve the quality of our service delivery,” he said.

Commissioner Anderson said the JCF is aware of the challenges faced by the public and various entities as it relates to the processing time for police records.

“This has been largely due to the significant increase in the demand for the service over time,” he asserted.

A police record is an essential piece of document that is used to verify whether a person has ever been legally accused of or convicted for a crime. Employers and organisations usually request a police record in order to get background information on applicants and prospective employees.