Forty-eight members of Jamaica's Island Special Constabulary Force (ISCF) in the eastern parish of St. Thomas on Friday took an important step in the transition from that auxiliary body to become members of the main police force - the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF).
They took the oath of office to become members of the JCF at a ceremony held at the St. Thomas divisional headquarters at the Morant Bay police station where they were sworn in by a Justice of the Peace. They also signed the relevant document, written by the Commissioner of Police, authorizing the tranfer from one force to the other.
Four additional ISCF members who were absent are scheduled to be sworn in at a later date.
The 48 ISCF members chose to ignore a call from the Chairman of the Special Constabulary Force Association (SCFA) not to sign any document which confirms any new assignment.
Superintendent Merrick Watson, Divisional Commander for St. Thomas described the morning's proceedings as one stage of the process.
"The process is going on very, very smoothly. At the outset the members had some questions; we were able to answer the questions and the relationship continues to be one that we as the management team of the St. Thomas division continue to be proud of," he told RJR News.
As a result of Friday morning's development, the ISCF Headquarters in St Thomas has been closed permanently, and as of next week, all former ISCF members in St. Thomas will be deployed to various police stations in the parish.
Surprise
Superintendent Watson expressed surprise at the stance taken by SCFA Chairman, Special Corporal Joel Betty who had earlier told RJR News that any plan to close the headquarters would be illegal.
Superintendent Watson stressed that the merger has been the subject of discussion for some time now and all police associations had had time to put forward their views.
All feeds
