Jeanette Grant-Woodham (centre), senior project officer for the Tertiary Level Institutions Unit at the University of the West Indies, Mona Campus, glances over the shoulders of Professor Rex Nettleford (left) and Police Commissioner Francis Forbes, as they prepare to sign a Memorandum of Understanding yesterday at the Jamaica Constabulary Staff College, Twickenham Park, south central St. Catherine. The signing formalised the college as a tertiary institution accredited by the University Council of Jamaica. - Junior Dowie/Staff Photographer MEMBERS OF the Jamaica Constabulary who want to pursue a tertiary-level degree can now do so at its Staff College at Twickenham Park, near Spanish Town, south central St. Catherine.
The college is now recognised by the University Council of Jamaica as a tertiary institution.
This was formalised yesterday by the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between Police Commissioner Francis Forbes and representatives of the University of the West Indies (UWI) and the Ministry of National Security.
Assistant Commissioner Delworth Heath said that 32 students who began a certificate course at the staff college in Public Administration in September would graduate soon.
"Today's event is yet another milestone in the short but proud history of the Staff College, as we acknowledge its achievement in receiving tertiary-level accreditation from the University Council," Commissioner Forbes remarked.
Noting that the college was now accepting members of the civilian community to its programmes, he said the offering of a certificate in Public Administration signalled another step in its objective of becoming a full-fledged degree-granting institution.
"Preliminary discussions have already begun with the University of the West Indies, Mona Campus, to sanction the college's offering of a Bachelor's degree in Police Science, in the near future. This is the direction that the JCF is going," the Commissioner said.
Professor Rex Nettleford, Vice Chancellor of the UWI, said his dream was for the staff college to grow into a full-fledged tertiary institution that will go beyond the associate degree which it plans to introduce, and the certificate in Public Administration which it has embarked on. He had visions, he said, of the staff college becoming a College of Criminal Justice.
