Ministry recruiting cops to work as immigration investigators
THE Ministry of National Security has started the recruitment of police personnel as immigration investigators, to work alongside civilian immigration officers, as the island prepares for the increase in visitors during next March Cricket World Cup.
In addition, 110 civilians will also be trained as immigration officers to further strengthen the Immigration Department.
Assistant Commissioner of Police Glenmore Hinds said the police being recruited as immigration investigators will assist with investigation for the World Cup to look at terrorism and other immigration and passport related offences.
Hinds gave the assurance that Jamaica’s Immigration Department would be ready to deal with the increased visitor flow. “There is absolutely no reason why we shouldn’t be ready because we have been building the capacity both with the civilian immigration officers, and also within the investigative unit,” he explained.
“They are, however, not only for World Cup. It is opportune that they are trained and we have the numbers to work during the period and beyond,” Hinds told the Observer.
Hinds, in the meanwhile, said that contrary to suggestions that the police were being brought back as immigration officers, said there had always been a special unit in operation since the service was civilianised.
He added: “They are recruited and trained as immigration investigators to augment those that remain from the existing police immigration officers”.
According to Hinds, five years ago when Cabinet took the decision to civilianise the passport and immigration service, trained police immigration officers were also seconded to that body.
He said the investigative roles were handed over to the police who were trained as immigration officers.
“A number of those officers would have resigned or returned to ordinary police duties and hence the need to beef up the immigration investigative unit,” said Hinds.
Meanwhile, Carol Charlton of the Passport and Immigration Division said contrary to the belief that immigration officers were only used at port of entries, there were a number of other functions that they carry out.
“We have a number of functions not only at the ports which require trained immigration officers and we were very stretched with the numbers we had before,” she said.
She said some persons have already been trained and deployed with another 80 persons to be deployed by the end of this year.
Recently Minister of Security Peter Phillips pointed out that the region had implemented combined strategies to ensure security during Cricket World Cup next March.
One lasting benefit from Jamaica’s security arrangements for World Cup cricket, he said, would be the architecture for regional security which will remain intact even after the event.
He explained that the region has worked out joint planning exercises and regional command centres, while conducting exercises from time to time.
Phillips said while there was ongoing dialogue on intelligence among police commissioners and immigration heads across the region, more needed to be done in terms of forensic and joint operation.