A SENIOR police officer says until there is a clear plan for a civilian police force, Jamaicans will be sceptical about establishing such a unit.

"We have to get a full picture of what this force will be required to do. Will it be something like the Home Guards? What function will it have?"

Superintendent Michael James said in an interview with The Gleaner yesterday.

On Sunday, during his first national address as national security minister, Dwight Nelson pointed to a police reserve force as a possible solution to runaway crime in Jamaica.

Not an easy task

Nelson gave no details of how this force would be recruited or trained.

James, who is chairman of the Police Officers' Association, said bringing civilians into law enforcement was not as easy as people thought.

"Where's the money going to come from to train these people? Who's going to train them?" he asked. "Then, there's developing a level of understanding with the police. We have to take these things into consideration."

Nelson is the latest politician to suggest a volunteer police force.

Last June, Peter Phillips, who was the People's National Party's (PNP) spokesman on national security, lobbied for a corps of community safety officers.

Party thugs

Critics said Phillips' proposal was similar to the controversial Home Guard established by Prime Minister Michael Manley's PNP government of the 1970s.

Manley's opponents described the Home Guard as a bunch of party thugs transplanted into politically divided communities.

The Gleaner sought a response to Nelson's speech from Peter Bunting, the current PNP spokesman on security issues, but calls to his cellphone were not answered.

Robert Finzi-Smith, a security consultant, has long called for a civilian reserve unit. Yesterday, he reinforced that stance, saying, "It would be a step in the right direction."

Finzi-Smith believes prospective firearm holders should be interviewed for police reserve duty when they apply for guns.

"They (police) should be able to determine if this person can qualify as a reserve. I know a lot of licensed firearm holders out there who are willing to serve," Finzi-Smith said.

Police reserves play active roles in law enforcement in developed countries, especially the United States, where there are units in every major city. Some were formed in the early 20th century.

howard.campbell@gleanerjm.com