ST JAMES, Jamaica — Commissioner of Police Major General Antony Anderson is imploring police personnel to observe the established rules and regulations of the force when executing their duties.

Anderson said that indiscipline on the part of the police undermines the core values of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF), noting that at all times, citizens should be treated with respect and their rights observed.

“We have to be a force for good. We have to have respect for everyone. There’s no reason to disrespect people whether it’s a member of the public, whether it is your subordinates or it’s each other. There’s no part of the job that requires disrespect.

“When we respect our subordinates and when we respect the least of our citizens, we respect everyone else and then we change the dynamics; we change the perception [of the force],” Commissioner Anderson said.

He was addressing senior officers at the Annual General Meeting of the Police Officers’ Association (POA) held at the Iberostar Rose Hall Hotel in St James on Friday (July 12).

Anderson cautioned the police officers that they must respect the rule of law at all times.

“Whatever the circumstance that we find ourselves in when policing… we are going to deal with it within the rule of law, and when the laws don’t give us enough power to do what we need, we put in recommendations to get laws changed,” he said.

He noted that a police force that operates under the rule of law is one of the cornerstones of thriving societies.