Jean Lowrie-Chin

That Savanna-la-Mar earthquake in the late 1950s was a frightening one for me as a small child. I was in the house behind the shop run by our widowed mother. As I felt the place shaking, I ran out into the dark street. A light flashed on red-seamed trousers. Because the police always cast a protective eye on our shop, I knew I would be safe if I grabbed on to that red-seamed trousers leg. The police officer picked me up, took a look, and recognised me as “Mrs Singh’s little girl”. He walked swiftly to the shop and handed me to my mother.

Many years later, on assignment at Caymanas Park in the 80s, I would have long conversations with officers Williams and Whitney. They would always arrive impeccably dressed and were thoroughly professional. Some mornings they would share that they had been in operations the night before, dodging bullets.

In the 90s I collaborated with Lasco to create the Police Officer of the Year Award and met some of the most inspiring officers. Some of the organisers were Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Neville Wheatle, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) LK Simpson, and a young constable who is now Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Natalie Palmer-Mair. Interestingly, the first Police Officer of the Year was retired Assistant Commissioner of Police Steve McGregor, who is now a politician.

After the 2002 General Election, which had been monitored by representatives of the Carter Centre, they reported that the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF), led by then Commissioner Francis Forbes, had been exemplary in its work, as were the Electoral Office of Jamaica (EOJ) personnel. They declared that there would be no reason for them to monitor any further elections in Jamaica.

In other projects, I have seen the courage of SSP Ionie Ramsey Nelson, the brilliance of retired DCP Novelette Grant, SSP Stephanie Lindsay, and the compassion of Sergeant Jerr Johnson-Heron who has assisted with distributing care packages for the elderly on behalf of our seniors advocacy organisation. Indeed, the police youth club is the largest youth club in Jamaica and the Law Enforcement Torch Run has earned millions of dollars over several decades for Jamaica’s Special Olympians.

It is, therefore, deeply concerning that our outstanding JCF appears to be under unrelenting attack by the organisation Jamaicans for Justice (JFJ). I am confounded that the current head of the JFJ seems to be unaware of the dangers our police face in their crime-fighting efforts.

^{Source: Jamaica Observer}