JCF establishes Specialized Investigation Branch to investigate complex, high-stakes and sensitive matters

The Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) has established a Specialized Investigation Branch (SIB) under the Crime and Security Portfolio.

Its mandate is to investigate complex, high-stakes and sensitive matters, utilising advanced investigative techniques and the specialised support of intelligence and evidence-gathering capabilities.

The JCF says the establishment of the SIB is part of the organisation’s ongoing modernisation and transformation agenda.

According to the JCF, the creation of the Specialized Investigation Branch represents a deliberate strategic move by the High Command to strengthen investigative capacity, address structural weaknesses, close operational gaps and reinforce institutional integrity within the Force; particularly in relation to complex, high-risk, and sensitive criminal investigations.

The SIB replaces and reorganises several elite investigative formations that previously operated within the Crime and Security Portfolio.

By consolidating these units under a single command structure, the JCF aims to enhance coordination, improve operational efficiency, strengthen oversight and deliver a more synchronised and intelligence-led response to organised and transnational crime.

Under this new structure, the Specialized Investigation Branch brings together the Fraud Squad and Financial Crimes Investigation Division; the National Strategic Anti-Gang Division, including the Stolen Motor Vehicle Unit; the Transnational Crime Investigation Division – encompassing Trafficking in Persons, Intellectual Property Crime, the Kidnapping Unit, the Special Investigation Unit, the Jamaica Fugitive Apprehension Team; and the Legal and Quality Management Unit.

The JCF says the establishment of the SIB is intended to create stronger operational synergies across these specialised areas, while also enhancing accountability, quality assurance and prosecutorial readiness.

The Branch will work closely with the Forensic Services Branch to ensure that investigations are supported by scientifically rigorous and evidence-based methodologies.

The Branch will play a central role in the JCF’s strategic effort to disrupt, dismantle and neutralise organised criminal networks operating locally and transnationally.

Beyond direct investigative functions, the SIB will also coordinate the efforts and resources of key partner agencies, ensuring sustained collaboration throughout the investigative and prosecutorial processes.