no more blue seem

[Wahalla]

after a recommendation in 1991 they are finally going to merge the Specials into the JCF... just heard on the 12 0clock news

[Tuff Gong]

Good. Next no more Army.
First truly progressive thing happened in Jamaica on the labour and crime fronts for decades.

[Tropicana]

Blue seam?

[Tropicana]

seam

noun\ˈsēm\
: a line where two pieces of cloth or other material are sewn together

seem

intransitive verb\ˈsēm\: to appear to be something or to do something : to have a quality, appearance, etc., that shows or suggests a particular characteristic, feeling, etc.
—used with it to make a statement about what appears to be true based on what is known

[Tropicana]

ONE POLICE FORCE FOR JAMAICA - Red seam andblue seam to merge

Minister of National Security Peter Bunting says that Cabinet has approved a merger of the Jamaica Constabulary force (JCF) and the Island Special Constabulary Force (ISCF) through the incorporation of the members of the ISCF into the JCF.The incorporation of the ISCF into the JCF means Jamaica will have a single police force which will, among other things; result in an increase in the number of police personnel engaged in frontline crime prevention and control activities, the Security Ministry said in statement Tuesday.
The merger will be effected during the 2014/2015 financial year, the Ministry said.
Bunting noted that the merging of the two forces has been recommended by the Wolfe Report of 1991 as well as five separate reports and studies since.
In commenting on the benefits of the merging of the two entities, Police Commissioner Owen Ellington said that the two entities have been operating together as a virtual single force in recent times, but the realisation of all benefits required policy and legislative support.
He noted that the existence of two separate legal entities, operating within the same space and performing similar, and in some cases identical, functions presented a number of operational challenges.
Commissioner Ellington argued that the merging of the entities will result in significant efficiency gains. These include:
a) The implementation of a single command and communication structure;
b) Elimination of duplication in administrative services
c) Expansion in the skill sets of police personnel through the unification of training programmes
d) Rationalization of various overheads such as rental of property, and
e) Creation of the means by which the transmission and inculcation of a core set of common values can be effected.
The decision to seek Cabinet approval for the incorporation of the ISCF into the JCF followed months of consultation with several stakeholders within both the ISCF and the JCF, as well as with other parties.
Bunting Tuesday morning met with representatives of the police associations, the JCF and ISCF senior management, and senior policy managers of the MNS.
At that meeting, it was agreed to establish an Implementation Task Force comprising representatives of these groups to finalise the draft implementation plan, which will include comprehensive communication with members of the JCF and ISCF as well as the public to ensure a smooth transition.

http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/ONE-POLICE-FORCE-FOR-JAMAICA---Red-seam-and-blue-seam-to-merge

[Tuff Gong]

Truthly I wish could keep the Blue Uniforms. Some Divisions could wear Blue and some Red.

[Wahalla]

Truthly I wish could keep the Blue Uniforms. Some Divisions could wear Blue and some Red.

By areas ????


specials i thought were originally a volunteer part time body to supliment the constabulary.....

[RichD]

Is a DC part of the JCF or the ISCF?

[Wahalla]

is a dc part of the jcf or the iscf?

iscf

[RichD]

i wonder when they going to stop calling it a "force"

[Tuff Gong]

By areas ????


specials i thought were originally a volunteer part time body to supliment the constabulary.....

No like operational divisions. Say Mobile Reserve Dress Uniform. The Mobile Reserve generally wear Combat Blue Denims but they could now wear Blue Seam Dress Uniform for Parade and Beat Duty.

Blue Seam was a utility force to supplement the Red Seam, they had a shorter training and worked mainly market, jail and parochial duties.

[Tuff Gong]

iscf

Actually JCF. They were the volunteer force. They weren't paid but they got traveling and did mostly Jail Guard and Serve Summons like Bailiffs.

[Tuff Gong]

i wonder when they going to stop calling it a "force"

I regards you as an intelligent person. You have fallen under the spell of the idiot Comrade intellectuals who use this argument to absolve the JCF of human right violations all throughout the 18 year reign of terror of the last Comrade Government of Jamaica.

Do you honestly believe it is word Force in the name of JCF that makes it a murderous, inefficient, bumbling entity, unable to prevent crime and when committed investigate the same?
Do you honestly believe that changing the word Force to Service will bring about a transformation of the woeful, bloody, killing-machine that is the JCF?

[Tropicana]

'To serve, protect and reassure'?

Affectionately known as either "red seam" or "blue seam" because of the coloured stripes that run down the trousers of their uniforms, members of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) and its auxiliary the Island Special Constabulary Force have a true love-hate relationship with the Jamaican public.

Formed in 1865 following a rebellion on the island, the colonial authorities saw a greater need to keep law and order and to quell insurrection and looked to Ireland and its policing methods for a solution.
The JCF was based on the Royal Irish Constabulary right down to the uniform - it too had a matching red seam on the trouser legs.
The RIC was a paramilitary police force, and some critics say the JCF still is.
"They still act like a paramilitary force and they've never been forced to leave it behind frankly," says Carolyn Gomes, from the human rights group Jamaicans for Justice.
"I think there's a great deal of ambivalence not only in the force but also with the society and the leadership which has responsibility for accountability, so we get all sorts of mixed signals being sent to the police."
The motto of Jamaica Constabulary Force is "Serve, Protect and Reassure".
On the run
A new report by the human rights group Amnesty International has been looking into efforts by the Jamaican government to tackle crime and reform the police force.
According to the group, there were a reported 1,611 murders in the country in 2008. Officers are reported to have been responsible for 224 fatal shootings.
In the last decade over 1,700 people were reportedly shot dead by officers, Amnesty says. Yet there were only four convictions.

Gun crime is one of the force's main challenges

There are a still a number of ex-officers on the run in connection with some of the deaths.
Despite requests, no-one was available from the police or government for comment on these figures.
Kerrie Howard, deputy director for the Americas region at the group, says that the outlook for Jamaica is "still grim, with alarming rates of killings and almost no convictions of state agents accused of serious human rights violations".
"What is different now is that we finally see initiatives that might lead to real change," she adds.
The ruling Jamaica Labour Party made fighting crime one of their key election pledges in the 2007 general election.
Since coming to power they have put in place a number of plans to try and reduce the problem, including the modernisation of the police force and tackling corruption in the ranks.
They have also looked at improving the justice system and how they deal with some of the social issues that lead to crime.
In 2008, a strategic review of the JCF saw the government take onboard 124 recommendations including improving the forces' professionalism, responsiveness and accountability.
'Collateral damage'
The Peace Management Initiative (PMI) is a community organization in Kingston and St Andrew that works in the troubled inner city where a lot of the gang violence is centred.
They work as mediators brokering peace treaties that have stopped the violence in known crime hotspots in the capital.

The force was originally created to maintain law and order

Neutral zones like churches and community halls are used for meetings to resolve issues - everything from how to help young people to start businesses to stopping reprisals over murders.
"In terms of tackling the killings of citizens by policemen, things aren't moving fast enough," says Horace Levy, who works for the PMI.
"The commissioner has tried but the reduction is relatively small. However, the reform of the police force aside from those killings seems to be gathering momentum. The number of police being indicted and removed shows some movement. Its picking up and that's reassuring."
The overall murder rate in Kingston and St Andrew has dropped by 19%, however it has risen by 2% in more rural parts of the country.
Prime Minister Bruce Golding earlier this year sacked a minister of national security for underperforming.
His replacement, Dwight Nelson, soon found himself in political hot water when he said that Jamaica's security forces were involved in a war - and that in any war there would be "collateral damage".
Mr Nelson later apologized to the Jamaican people.
Targeted
The police themselves feel under threat not only by the criticism but also because of being targeted by killers.
So far this year, six officers have been murdered, the police say.
But, in Ocho Rios, a busy resort town on the north coast the police are out in force, fighting crime of a different sort.
Taxi drivers illegally using a supermarket car park as an unofficial taxi rank are clogging the main route in and out of the busy town.
When I ask people what they think of the Amnesty report, I get a mixed reaction.
"The police are less corrupt because there are mechanisms there to catch them it makes me more trusting in them," one woman chips in.
"But some of them are still feisty, they take the law into their own hands."
So far this year police shootings have resulted in a reported 133 deaths, the police say. It is a problem the group wants to see action on, even if it acknowledges things are improving in other ways.
"The government has embarked on a process of reform that, if correctly and fully implemented, could remove many of the factors contributing to the public security crisis and drastically improve respect for human rights in Jamaica," says Ms Howard.

[Wahalla]

Actually JCF. They were the volunteer force. They weren't paid but they got traveling and did mostly Jail Guard and Serve Summons like Bailiffs.

I stand corrected...

but my ignorance makes the point that Jamaicans like me dont know how the justice system is set up and or the parlimentary process......course it could just be me!

Mobile Reserve does beat duty ???? That suprises me... thought they were a "special" force ie they were there to bring resources when the local police station / division needed extra operational support....I also like the idea that the blue seem should be used as a parade uniform....