Cops get training in mediation, counselling

Angelo Laurence, Gleaner Writer

MANDEVILLE, Manchester:

THREE HUNDRED and twenty members of the Jamaica Constabulary Force and the Island Special Constabulary Force in Manchester, Clarendon and St Elizabeth recently received training in mediation and counselling.

The training was conducted by the Northern Caribbean University under the leadership of Dr Grace Kelly.

The police personnel were trained in methods of handling domestic disputes, with emphasis on spousal abuse as well as how to mediate and guide those involved in land and other non-criminal disputes.

Speaking during the graduation exercise last Sunday, divisional commander for Area Three, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Derrick Cochrane, said domestic disputes accounted for 80 per cent of the calls received from residents, pointing out that 50 per cent of those calls are associated with spousal abuse.

The remainder of calls, he said, were divided among persons involved in land disputes, uncontrollable children and criminal activities.

He told the graduates that if they fail to put into practice what they have learnt, then the training would have been in vain.

ACP Cochrane noted that if calls from residents for assistance are not handled appropriately, this could lead to an undesirable outcome, such as those the parish experienced in recent months.

In April, four persons lost their lives in the parish as a result of long-running domestic disputes.