Forbes
Glenroy Sinclair, Staff Reporter
CONSTRUCTION OF the new model police station in the Grants Pen community of St. Andrew will begin in another four weeks. This, according to Executive of Director of the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham), Becky Stockhausen. The organisation is overseeing the project.
"We are going to build this facility, which will house a post office and a health centre. It is going cost $50 million, but we are getting so much material and services donated, that it is not going cost us that much. It is going to cost about $30 million."
She said the site for the model police station will be at 35 Grants Pen Road, where the Edna Manley Health Centre is currently located. It was selected over nine other re-commended sites, because of its neutral location.
"The property is already owned by the Government and political factions have easy access to the pre-mises," said Miss Stockhausen, who stressed that AmCham was in a fund-raising mood to get the money needed to complete the project.
She further said that the United States Government has passed legislation through congress to facilitate the type of funding for community policing in the world and the model station in Grants Pen was a pilot project.
On completion of the station in April next year, the facility will be furnished by the USAID.
MODEL POLICE STATION
"We are building something that the citizens want. Every-thing we are building on the site was requested by them," said Miss Stockhausen.
Speaking at a AmCham press conference last year, Police Commissioner Francis Forbes said the residents of Grants Pen would have a major input into the construction of the model police station.
The Commissioner had proposed that the model police station would have a state-of-the-art homework centre, where the older children will be encouraged to help their juniors.
Contacted yesterday, Inspector Sonia James of the Constabulary Communications Network (CCN) said 43 police personnel were specially trained earlier this year to be placed at the model station.
