Though many Jamaican officers are opting to leave the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) for 'greener' pastures, and many are dissatisfied with their current wages, the JCF's recruitment office says this has not affected the number of applications they have received.

A source from the recruitment office told THE STAR that many people are still interested in joining the force and stressed that this included "people from all walks of life". He said there was no decrease in the number of applications received at the downtown office, and said the average number of daily applications was still 15. He also mentioned that the JCF was seeing an increase in the number of applications sent in by women.

job security

According to the officer, "Over the past year or so, we've seen an increase because people need jobs. They are seeing the force as a viable place now because of the job security, the benefits and the scope for movement." He admitted that there were serious risks involved with the job but said "everything has risks."

Young boys that have recently graduated from high school have also been steadily sending in applications, but the officer said it was disturbing that older applicants were more successful in the entrance exams. He said, "the young boys have barely been getting more than half of the required scores."

The active recruitment of officers by the Bermudans, he says, may actually encourage more people to join the force as once they are members of the JCF, they could take advantage of such options.

He says this may be one of the factors influencing persons with degrees to apply to the JCF and added that the graduate-entry programme has been successful.