JAMAICA

Fighting Caribbean crime

Located on shipping routes linking the Americas, the Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea, the Caribbean is an archipelago of 7,000 islands which are challenging for law enforcement to monitor.

With the region proving increasingly attractive to organized crime networks seeking a regional hub to engage in a multitude of serious crimes, Caribbean police forces face the serious crime which comes with drug trafficking, such as trafficking in firearms, people and counterfeit goods, in addition to money laundering and bulk cash smuggling.

The international characteristics of these crime areas and their links with organized crime groups around the world make the role of INTERPOL National Central Bureaus (NCBs) in the Caribbean fundamental to maintaining national and regional security.

INTERPOL in Jamaica

Headed by an Assistant Commissioner of Police, the Jamaican NCB is part of the Operations and Crime Division, a unit headed by a Deputy Commissioner of Police who answers directly to the Commissioner of Police.

The NCB is Jamaica’ lead agency for taking national criminal investigations beyond national borders when Jamaican law enforcement needs to work with police forces in other countries.

By providing globally-sourced intelligence about regional crime, the NCB helps police officers across Jamaica to detect and investigate the flow of illicit goods along trafficking routes in and around the country. It plays a central role in preventing the country and surrounding region from serving international organized crime.

Law enforcement in Jamaica

The Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) is part of the Ministry of National Security. It has a reserve force called the Island Special Constabulary Force which is in charge of traffic control, emergency services, and can assist the JCF maintain law and order during riots or public events.