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By Nick Davis
BBC News, Kingston
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.
By Nick Davis
BBC News, Kingston
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.