A painful procedure
published: Tuesday | June 27, 2006

THE EDITOR, Sir:

IN ORDER to secure a police certificate (a document which bears one's photograph and a statement of whether his/her name is on the police's criminal records), I went to 34 Duke Street, Kingston, in early June 2006. I had the two passport size photographs, my passport and the $2,000 required for the express service that I sought. I was shocked when told that the fee had to be paid at 2 Oxford Road and the fingerprints taken at 34 Duke Street.

On my return from 2 Oxford Road, the pain and suffering at 34 Duke Street was evident. I stood in a line for 48 minutes before being allowed inside the area where the fingerprinting was being done. Inside the area, I moved from seat to seat for 52 minutes before getting to the only person doing the fingerprints. On completion of the fingerprinting, I was sent to sit again, this time in front of another room where information from the passport was transferred to the document bearing my fingerprints and a date given for me to come back and collect the certificate. The entire process took almost two hours.

The police high command needs to put in place, a system that will allow people who need a police certificate, to pay the required fee, at specified locations, anywhere in Jamaica. Fingerprinting itself should be regionalised or decentralised and linked by a central computer system that takes into account the safety, sensitivity and security of the prints. This system should allow people to present their proof of payment at a regional office, have their prints taken at, and their certificates collected from the regional office.

I am, etc.,

LEMMAR MONCRIEFFE

rammels2000@yahoo.com

Gayle P.O.

St. Mary

Via Go-Jamaica