[Thursday, June 17, 2010]: Representatives of the Ministry of National Security, the Police Force and other Government agencies have reaffirmed their resolve to continue respectful dialogue with the citizens of western Kingston in order to understand their concerns, build understanding and to involve residents in plans for the way forward.
In the first of a series of community meetings planned for west Kingston, at the Tivoli Gardens Community Centre on Sunday, June 12th, some 200 residents mobilized by the Tivoli Gardens Community Development Committee engaged in meaningful and productive discussions on police citizen relations; the distribution of benefits earmarked for the community; the children of the community; loss of loved ones; trust, and restoration of property.
Hours before citizens sat with Government officials for discussions, the police handed back control of the meeting venue, the Tivoli Gardens Community Centre, to the citizens.
Superintendent Terrence Bent of the Jamaica Constabulary Force said he intended to positively transform police community relations in Tivoli. To this end, he reported, police personnel especially those assigned to Tivoli Gardens would be trained with a view to improving police and citizen relations. “Policing should earn respect,” he agreed.
Superintendent Bent said the Jamaica Constabulary Force accepted that some things had gone badly during the joint operations, and affirmed that illegal acts were not condoned by the Force. As a result, he said, questionable actions on the part of police officers would be investigated. He also promised that police manning the police post would be present at the next meeting with a view to improving their interface with residents.
He appealed to residents of Tivoli to make use of the facilities offered by the Public Defender’s Office, to make the community safe so that the police could carry out their work effectively, and to seize the opportunity to showcase to the world the good things about the community. Supt Bent also gave residents his cell phone number to call anytime.
Continuing on the note of responsive dialogue with residents, Courtney Brown, Director of Crime Prevention and Community Safety at the Ministry of National Security reported that the Ministry of Labour was undertaking assessments of the loss of property, following which compensation would be decided. On the issue of Post Mortems, Mr. Brown said this would begin on June 15, while further information on claiming of bodies would be provided at a later date.
Other Government agencies reporting on immediate and medium term interventions were the Citizen Security and Justice Programme (CSJP) of the Ministry of National Security which has supported a number of social interventions to western Kingston. CSJP Community Action Coordinator, Orville Simmonds informed the meeting that Tivoli Gardens has been named one of 27 communities now served by the CSJP. He affirmed that CSJP would continue to consult with residents of Tivoli in determining the most appropriate type of services to suit their needs. Meanwhile, he said, CSJP would continue a series of planned therapeutic outings for residents of western Kingston most impacted by the events in recent weeks.
Planning sessions for the meeting were facilitated by the Dispute Resolution Foundation which also chaired the community meeting.
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