Police Commissioner Dr Kevin Blake has announced that the Police High Command is mulling the idea of establishing a Welfare and Wellness Branch within the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF).
The prospective move is aimed at ensuring that the police force takes care of its members’ welfare.
“The least we can do is ensure that we take care of the well-being of these members when we put them out there,” said Blake while speaking at the Jamaica Police Federation’s 81st Joint Central Conference at Hilton Rose Hall Hotel in Montego Bay, St James last week.
The commissioner emphasised that the proposed branch will not compete with the federation’s existing efforts, but rather, build upon them and institutionalise them.
“We have to get it right,” he stressed, acknowledging that the Police High Command cannot shun its responsibility to its members.
Blake also pointed to the JCF “operating” in an environment with “limited resources” being available.
“That means it makes no sense we throw resources from various angles at the same problem. We need to optimise,” he declared.
While the structure and details are still being finalised relative to the proposed new branch, Blake assured that the goal is to incorporate everything possible to support the welfare and wellness of police personnel.
“… The reason why I’m not saying much more in that light is that we have not yet determined the structure where we can plug into (the police) federation, and with our Welfare and Wellness Division that will become a branch,” Blake explained.
“So, we have not yet fully fleshed out what the… Welfare and Wellness Branch will look like. And it’s welfare and wellness… (because) we want to incorporate everything,” the commissioner stated.
