Gareth Manning, Sunday Gleaner Reporter

Failure to make good on a multimillion-dollar pact to upgrade the Jamaica Constabulary Force's (JCF) training facilities at Twickenham Park, St. Catherine, is hampering its capacity to meet the manpower needs of the force.

Two years ago, some $800 million was pledged to upgrade the facility, which is falling apart, but the promise was not kept, forcing the academy's management to scale down recruitment in recent years. The facility does not have the resources to train the desired numbers, according to Robert Rainford, human resource director at the JCF.

"We have actually scaled down training now because the facilities are not up to standard. In 2005, there was a commitment to spend $800 million to upgrade the facilities. Nothing has happened since, and we are still asking," Rainford tells The Sunday Gleaner.

Merely replacing cops

He says currently, the JCF is merely replacing those cops who leave the force yearly for various reasons, adding to the manpower shortage.

The Planning Institute of Jamaica's annual Economic and Social Survey shows that the JCF was depleted by 303 cops last year. Most resigned, retired or died.

"We have 143 (JCF and ISCF combined) training now and we are sure we could go up to 200 and more each batch. So we have had about a 50 per cent cut in what we are doing now in terms of training," Rainford adds.

"We are slowing up on training and with attrition, where we would be at zero, we are seeing a minus quantity," he explains. "It's something that we are discussing with the Government. If we are really going to move with the numbers that we need, then we have to get the training facility up," he explains.

Using up reserves

With about 8,400 cops, the JCF is currently using up reserve personnel to conduct ordinary policing duties. The Mobile Reserve, for example, is being used to complement forces on the ground when it should be called upon only for quelling abnormal circumstances, Rainford points out.

The JCF is, however, currently working towards pushing its complement up to about 12,000 cops by next year as part of its three-year modernisation project. That should help move the cop-to-citizen ratio to the more widely acceptable standard of 1:223. But without an upgrade of training facilities, that plan appears unattainable.

Rainford admits the Police Academy is in poor physical condition. The place has fallen into disrepair, particularly its dormitories, due to a lack of financial resources. Some parts of the facility which were also damaged by Hurricane Dean are still awaiting repair.

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of National Security, Gilbert Scott, acknowledges that much of the facility is indeed in bad shape, and says plans are afoot to improve the facility in the short to medium term.

"The immediate plan is to fix the leaking roof, the windows, and upgrade the plumbing so that they can continue to train the current number that they do," Scott tells The Sunday Gleaner.

A complete overhaul of the facilities, he says, will follow in the medium term, to move the training capacity up to 1,000 yearly.

"We'll be adding more classrooms, dormitories and other ancillary facilities. We have proposals for that and we are simply awaiting the commitment of the financing for that," he states.