Shields

Police personnel will not be able to pursue jobs outside the Jamaica Constabulary Force, effective November 1, Deputy Commissioner of Police Mark Shields said Wednesday.

"Starting November 1, police officers cannot be employed outside the force. People will be expected to declare their business interests," he said.

This, Shields said, is a strategy being undertaken by the commissioner of police, Rear Admiral Hardley Lewin, to help fight corruption.

Illegal taxis

"We acknowledge there is a problem," Shields said.

Shields, who was speaking at a press conference, held at the NCB Towers in New Kingston Wednesday, made the announcement after journalists raised the issue of police personnel owning illegal taxis.

However, he did not confirm whether this would affect policemen who currently own or operate businesses.

Shields said last week that unlicensed cabbies were responsible for some of the major crimes against women, including murder.

Kidnapped and raped

"It cannot help if some of these vehicles are owned by police," he noted.

Recently, the Centre for the Investigation of Sexual Offences and Child Abuse reported that a number of females commuting from Half-Way Tree, St Andrew, have been kidnapped and raped.

Shields warned commuters, especially women and children, not to travel in illegal taxis.