Ross Sheil, Staff Reporter
THE ORGANISATION that represents black British Scotland Yard officers wants to establish a branch in the island to help the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF).
Speaking with The Gleaner while on a visit to Jamaica, chairman of the Black Police Association (BPA), Detective Inspector George Rhoden, said he had received initial support from Commissioner of Police Lucius Thomas and Minister of National Security, Dr. Peter Phillips. Mr. Rhoden said he was waiting on funding, potentially from the United Kingdom Department for International Development (DFID).
However, he expressed confidence that a branch, staffed initially by one senior BPA officer, could be opened as early as September, which he believed would benefit local policing. He said the BPA wanted to work in tandem both with the JCF and other British agencies such as those senior officers appointed assistant commissioner of police and Deputy Commissioner of Police Mark Shields.
"You'd have one person who has Caribbean blood running through their veins. You'd have cultural awareness and respect from U.K. and Jamaican residents in working in being part of an integrated team and delivering programmes to the community in Jamaica," said Rhoden whose parents are Jamaican.
FIRST INTERNATIONAL YOUTH CONFERENCE
The BPA has been involved in Jamaica since 2004 when it held its first international youth conference, which involved peers from the United Kingdom, United States and South Africa and Jamaica. He said the BPA, working with the same youths who attended the conference, is attempting to replicate its peer mentoring and youth leadership programmes in Jamaica.
Assistant Commissioner of Police Leon Rose who is head of JCF Community Relations Branch who attended the conference, said he welcomed the possibility of a local BPA branch, especially the BPA's experience of building trust with youths.
"There is a perception of mistrust between the police and communities, particularly the young men who are driven to crime by social factors ... I think what George Rhoden brings is an understanding of the social disparities and challenges that face young people," said ACP Rose.
About the BPA
The BPA was established in the 1990s in reaction to what an official enquiry concluded was 'institutionalised racism' within the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS).
The BPA is open to all black members of the MPS but according to its mission statement, "does not relate to skin colour but is used to describe the common experience of African, African Caribbean or Asian origin."
