Blake says misconduct still a challege for JCF

Police Commissioner Dr Kevin Blake has acknowledged that despite significant progress in strengthening its systems and improving professional standards, the Jamaica Constabulary Force continues to face challenges relating to misconduct, non-compliance, and indiscipline within the organisation.

Writing in his Commissioner’s Corner column recently, Blake explained that recognising and addressing those shortcomings is an essential part of building a modern, accountable police service.

“The truth is that despite our achievements, we continue to encounter instances of non-conformity, non-compliance, indiscipline, and at times, conduct that falls below the professional standards expected of members of this organisation. “We must be mature enough to acknowledge that reality,” he said.

According to Blake, maintaining high professional standards requires more than setting organisational goals. It also requires effective systems capable of identifying shortcomings, enforcing accountability, and driving continuous improvement across the organisation. The commissioner said no organisation of the JCF’s size and complexity could realistically expect to eliminate every internal challenge but stressed that excellence is achieved by responding quickly and effectively when problems arise.

“The objective is not to pretend that problems do not exist. The objective is to identify them quickly, address them decisively, learn from them, and continuously improve,” he said.

Blake said findings of non-conformity during external audits are an opportunity to improve.

“A process review is an opportunity to become stronger, and a lesson learned is another step toward organisational maturity,” he said. He also warned against complacency, saying recent achievements should not lead members to believe that the organisation’s work is complete. Blake said sustained progress depends on maintaining discipline, strengthening accountability, and continually refining the systems that support policing across the JCF.

Addressing members directly, he said the modern JCF is built on professionalism, accountability, and continuous improvement, and urged officers to embrace those standards.

“We are building an organisation grounded in professionalism, systems, accountability, and continuous improvement. Every member has a choice: to contribute to that vision or to become increasingly out of step with it,” he said.