As a gesture to encourage his juniors to stop corruption in the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF), six officers were personally commended by their high-ranking commander yesterday at the commissioner's office.

The six officers, including a woman constable, were praised for their work by Acting Commissioner of Police Owen Ellington.

joint operation

The six were part of a joint military operation that led to the discovery of 300lb of ganja in Clarendon last Sunday. The weed was found in a motor car driven by a member of the JCF.

The acting commissioner told the officers he would continue to meet with those who demonstrated the courage and the strength of character, not only to prosecute criminals from the civilian population, but also to prosecute those who wore the badge of the force and abused it.

"My word to you is to get back out there. Don't feel guilty about doing it, because you did the right thing. You need not apologise for doing the right thing," the acting commissioner said.

use criticism

He continued to tell the group that if they faced criticisms from anyone, whether internally or externally, they should use it to strengthen themselves.

"As long as I have anything to do with it, I can assure you that your efforts are going to be recognised and justly rewarded," said Ellington.

One of the officers told The Gleaner doing the right thing was not easy.

"Well, at first I felt bad, but they say we have to do our job and, as the commissioner said, we haven't done anything wrong. Our superiors in Clarendon also assured us that we haven't done anything wrong, so we must continue to do our jobs in a professional manner," the officer said.