By Glenroy Sinclair, Staff ReporterPOLICE COMMISSIONER Francis Forbes says the Jamaican Police Force is willing to assist in the training of Haitian police officers at the Police Academy, once conditions are back to normal in that country.
"We would gladly open our doors to assist in the training of senior police officers," said Forbes, speaking in his capacity as president of the Association of Caribbean Commissioners of Police (ACCP).
At least eight of the Haiti refugees who recently arrived in Manchioneal are police officers, some of whom were still clad in uniforms and carried service weapons. Indicating that the Haitian Police Force was fairly inexperienced, the ACCP president said the entire Force there was disbanded a year ago, and a new one constructed. He told The Gleaner that he had made the offer to help some five years ago.
The 52-year-old Police Commissioner said the ACCP had raised concerns about the Haitian Police Force long before the crisis began in Haiti.
During the uprisings there, which became more bloody in February, rebel forces targeted the police and police stations, forcing many lawmen to abandon their duties. One of the lead rebels, Guy Phillipe, was once a senior police chief in Haiti.
Among the major concerns now for Jamaica is that Haitian criminals will use their fleeing countrymen and women as cover to move guns, ammunition and drugs to other regional borders. The local police are also wary of the potential threat from terrorists landing on the shores of Caribbean islands.
Pointing to the over 100 Haitians who have already landed in Jamaica, Commissioner Forbes said while a system is in place to vet those arriving here, the Haitians would have to be processed carefully.
With advanced planning for the 2007 Cricket World Cup under way in the region, the ACCP has been in discussion about tighter security at the borders to ensure that any possible terrorist threat is thwarted.
Mr. Forbes said further that there has been ongoing investigations into reports of a drug/gun smuggling ring between Haiti and Jamaica. Preliminary investigations so far have revealed that boats have been moving between the two countries.
According to police information, the Jamaicans swap drugs for high-powered weapons.
