KINGSTON, Jamaica — Police Commissioner, Major General Antony Anderson, has ordered an immediate probe into a video circulating on social media, in which a young woman along with her mother claim that members of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) attached to the Four Paths Police Station in Clarendon forcibly trimmed her locks.

According to the JCF, a team of investigators from Inspectorate and Professional Standards Oversight Bureau has been immediately dispatched to Clarendon to investigate the claims made by the women and to objectively determine the facts surrounding the matter.

It said the High Command of the JCF has already engaged both the divisional and area leadership in a bid to establish exactly what transpired, when it transpired, and by whom.

In the video making its rounds on social media, a young woman — who says she is a lifelong Rastafarian — claims she was unfairly detained by the police following an incident in a public passenger vehicle.

The police noted that the matter of which she speaks was duly tried by a judge in a court of law, where she was convicted and sentenced. 

In a statement responding to the claims today, the police said: “The claims of human rights abuses made by the young woman and her mother are viewed by the High Command as very serious in nature and are, therefore, being treated as such. While investigations into the matter are ongoing, it must be stated categorically that the cutting of people’s hair — particularly that of Rastafarians — has NO place in the modern JCF.”

“Any such behaviour on the part of a JCF member would be inconsistent with the JCF’s Diversity Policy and our values of respect for all persons and their human rights. Any police officer, who in 2021 would violate any person’s rights in this way, would not be suitable to continue as a policeman/woman.

“We assure both the public and our members that a transparent and fair investigation will be conducted,” the police said.