Technology boost for JCF’s station records and case management

Training for and expansion of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) Station Records and Case Management Systems will be enhanced technologically following the handover of computers valued at US$700,000. The equipment was procured under the National Security Ministry’s Security Strengthening Project (SSP) which is funded by an Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) loan. These were handed over during a ceremony at the National Police College of Jamaica (NPCJ) in St Catherine on Wednesday (19 July).

According to a news release, investment will facilitate expanded training for recruits and current employees within the Force by incorporating the latest technology and methodologies. Features of the enhanced systems include electronic logging of reports from citizens and providing a receipt via email. Investigators will also be able to link previous case files to current ones.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Security Hon. Dr Horace Chang welcomed the investment while presenting the keynote address. He said digitisation allows police officers to “access information, communicate, collaborate and respond to the challenges of today’s complex crime landscape more effectively. “I wish to reiterate that our digital transformation and modernisation efforts must be interconnected in order for them to make practical sense, be sustainable, and benefit the public”, Chang indicated.

He said that it was against this backdrop that the Ministry launched Project Rebuild, Overhaul and Construct (ROC) in 2020. Under the initiative, police stations are being rehabilitated and constructed into appropriate modern professional workspaces. “To date, we have impacted over 150 of the police facilities across the island”, stated Chang.

For his part, Police Commissioner Major General Antony Anderson disclosed that one of the JCF’s strategic objectives, under its ISO 9001:2015 certification regime, is to support up to 70 per cent of its activities with technology. “We’re just going through an audit period now and we’re at 72 per cent. So, we’re actually over where we would hope to be at this time, in terms of technology,” he informed.

General Anderson advised stakeholders that the pace of rolling out relevant technologies will be increased as the Force examines “new ways of linking our sites”. “Technology advancements have opened new opportunities for connectivity across the country, and so we’ll be leveraging that [to] help create a connected [policing] ecosystem,” the Commissioner stated.

Meanwhile, the IDB’s Senior Modernisation of the State Specialist Benjamin Roseth said the Bank remains “happy to support the project… the overall institutional strengthening and technological organisation of the JCF”.

“The handover of this equipment is [for] what you (police officers) will do as you progress in your career and the good work you will do for the women and men of Jamaica,” he stated.

The main objectives of the Security Strengthening Project are to boost the law-enforcement investigative capacity to deal with serious crimes and train police officers in the use of technology in crime and public order management.