Police Federation warns it will force closure of police stations in unacceptable condition

The Jamaica Police Federation is contemplating forcing the closure of some police stations due to their dilapidated state.

Sergeant Patrae Rowe, Chairman of the Federation, has asserted that this might be required to protect police personnel from hazardous working conditions.

The issue is not a new one, with closure notices being issued by Public Health Departments whenever conditions become extreme. Such notices have been issued in the past on the Mount Salem and Barnett Street Police Stations in St James.

According to Sergeant Rowe, the Federation is extremely concerned about the potential harm that may come to some of its members due to poor conditions at police stations.

Speaking Tuesday on RJR’s Beyond the Headlines, he declared that he was prepared to intervene where the conditions are so bad that they “could easily meet the requirement for a closure notice from the Ministry of Health.”

Accordingly, he said, he would be working in concert with the health ministry, “and where we recognise that the conditions are such that our members cannot continue to work in them, the Police Federation will go there physically and remove our members, and call in the Ministry of Health.”

"Due process"

He noted however that it was important to observe "due process" before pursuing the closure of the problem stations.

"Once we've identified those facilities we'll write to the Commissioner of Police, and based on what we have written, and based on the response, we will take it from there," he said.