Rasbert Turner, Gleaner Writer

SPANISH TOWN, St Catherine:

Assistant Commissioner of Police Leon Rose has urged the constabulary to rethink its approach to missing person reports, adding that law enforcement personnel should act outside the box.

Rose, who is in charge of the Area 5 police, charged officers to abandon the long-time practice of waiting 24 hours after persons - especially children - have been reported missing, suggesting vital time could be wasted, particularly because of the prevalence of kidnapped persons who were eventually killed.

Middle managers

"There is a paradigm shift and it is for that reason why you are now being trained as middle managers, to assist in bringing the message forward, so that persons under your supervision at your stations will know how to deal with these issues," the senior cop told sergeant graduates of a middle-management course at the Police Academy at Twickenham Park, St Catherine. Jamaica has been rocked by a spike in child disappearances and murders - some of them particularly grisly - over the last two months.

He implored the 36 sergeants to change the negative public perception about the police and lift the force's morale by delivering higher levels of performance.