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Concerns with Strategic Review of JCF
The Independent Jamaican Council for Human Rights (IJCHR) and Jamaicans For Justice (JFJ) welcome the news that there is to be a strategic review of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF).We believe, as Minister Phillips says, that “Clearly, there is an urgent need to transform the environment of policing.” Our organizations have been saying so jointly and severally over the course of forty years. We agree with the particular focus of the review on “areas where it is believed the JCF is suspect.” And we agree entirely that there must be significant attention paid to problems of corruption, human rights abuses and indiscipline within the JCF. These problems have proved stubbornly resistant to previous half-hearted attempts at reform guided by various reviews of the JCF and recommendations for change included in the Hirst Report and the Wolfe Report, among others.
Our organizations are, however, concerned about some aspects of the review panel’s composition and modus operandi as reported in the media. We note with concern the absence from the panel of any civilian Jamaican experts on criminology, human rights and policing. We note with deep concern that the plans for the review and the outlined plans for collaboration do not specifically mention consultation with the broad public who feel the effects of poor policing and have valuable input to make into any strategic review of the JCF. Nor is there mention of plans to consult with human rights groups who have large quantities of data detailing human rights abuses, corruption and indiscipline by members of the JCF, data which they have reported on both locally and internationally, and which could help any review panel to understand the nature and extent of the problems more clearly.
It is essential that this review take into consideration the huge discrepancy between policy and practice, between regulations for policing and people’s lived experiences of how policing is actually carried out. This lived experience of the people is of critical importance to any strategic review if it is to have any hope for ensuring the fundamental changes which are needed to guarantee that the people of Jamaica get the police service they need and deserve.
IJCHR and JFJ call on the chairman and members of the review panel to take the necessary steps to include, as a priority for the panel, consultation with the people and human rights groups such as ourselves, members of the women’s and children’s advocacy groups and all other organizations which document problems with policing. Failure to do so will devalue the work of the team and place its report in danger of being another document for the shelf, lacking completeness and credibility with the people. IJCHR and JFJ stand ready to assist if called upon to do so.
The Independent Jamaican Council for Human Rights (IJCHR) and Jamaicans For Justice (JFJ) welcome the news that there is to be a strategic review of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF).We believe, as Minister Phillips says, that “Clearly, there is an urgent need to transform the environment of policing.” Our organizations have been saying so jointly and severally over the course of forty years. We agree with the particular focus of the review on “areas where it is believed the JCF is suspect.” And we agree entirely that there must be significant attention paid to problems of corruption, human rights abuses and indiscipline within the JCF. These problems have proved stubbornly resistant to previous half-hearted attempts at reform guided by various reviews of the JCF and recommendations for change included in the Hirst Report and the Wolfe Report, among others.
Our organizations are, however, concerned about some aspects of the review panel’s composition and modus operandi as reported in the media. We note with concern the absence from the panel of any civilian Jamaican experts on criminology, human rights and policing. We note with deep concern that the plans for the review and the outlined plans for collaboration do not specifically mention consultation with the broad public who feel the effects of poor policing and have valuable input to make into any strategic review of the JCF. Nor is there mention of plans to consult with human rights groups who have large quantities of data detailing human rights abuses, corruption and indiscipline by members of the JCF, data which they have reported on both locally and internationally, and which could help any review panel to understand the nature and extent of the problems more clearly.
It is essential that this review take into consideration the huge discrepancy between policy and practice, between regulations for policing and people’s lived experiences of how policing is actually carried out. This lived experience of the people is of critical importance to any strategic review if it is to have any hope for ensuring the fundamental changes which are needed to guarantee that the people of Jamaica get the police service they need and deserve.
IJCHR and JFJ call on the chairman and members of the review panel to take the necessary steps to include, as a priority for the panel, consultation with the people and human rights groups such as ourselves, members of the women’s and children’s advocacy groups and all other organizations which document problems with policing. Failure to do so will devalue the work of the team and place its report in danger of being another document for the shelf, lacking completeness and credibility with the people. IJCHR and JFJ stand ready to assist if called upon to do so.
