Jamaica’s security forces face significant trauma in carrying out their duties. Naphtali Junior
The silent battle of Jamaica’s front-line heroes
It was a humid Tuesday morning in St James when Constable Michael Reid kissed his wife goodbye, the scent of her coffee lingering as he stepped into the dawn. Hours later, he’d be staring down a gun barrel, his pulse hammering as he shielded schoolchildren from a gang’s sudden fury.
Across the island, in Portland’s misty hills, Corporal Lisa Grant of the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) gripped her rifle, leading a night patrol to intercept a drug boat slicing through the Caribbean’s dark waves. Both survived — barely — but when they returned home, the weight of their days clung like a second skin.
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Reid flinched at a car backfiring, his wife’s gentle touch met with a vacant stare. Grant’s hands shook as she recounted the mission to her teenage son, who saw not a soldier but a mother fraying at the edges. For Jamaica’s police and soldiers, this is the silent cost of valour — a burden that echoes beyond their badges and into the hearts of those who love them.
As Jamaica basks in a hard-earned drop in crime — homicides falling thanks to the iron resolve of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) and Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) — a grim shadow rises: mounting fatalities among our security forces and a psychological toll threatening to break our front-line heroes. These guardians, the twin sentinels of our nation, face relentless trauma — gunfire, floods, grief — yet their mental scars remain unseen, untreated, and too often ignored. But hope flickers amid the storm. It’s time to salute what’s working, learn from the world’s best, and forge a system of care as unbreakable as their courage.
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Credit must shine where it’s earned: the JCF, partnering with Sandals Corporate University (SCU), has ignited a revolution in growth, leadership, and opportunity. In early 2025, 210 JCF officers from Area One — St James, Westmoreland, Hanover, and Trelawny — graduated from a groundbreaking course, mastering emotional intelligence, conflict resolution, and stress management.
This isn’t mere training, it’s a forging of warriors into community linchpins. SCU, the Caribbean’s first corporate university, was born to elevate Sandals’ own team—a vision now uplifting Jamaica’s protectors. Executive Chairman Adam Stewart calls it a lifeline between security and prosperity, nowhere more vital than in tourism-driven Area One, where safety is gold. Congrats to these graduates—your grit lights the way, and Sandals stands tall with you.
The JDF, too, strides forward. Its Resilient Soldier programme, launched in late 2024, trained 150 troops at Up Park Camp in mindfulness and trauma recovery, guided by The University of the West Indies’ Psychology Department. Major General Antonette Wemyss-Gorman, the JDF’s trailblazing first female chief, has woven mental wellness into military DNA, proving resilience is as critical as marksmanship.
The JCF’s Medical Services Branch (MSB), with a 2022 Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) boost, offers smartphone mental health scans—barcode-triggered assessments of stress and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), delivering instant support. Leaders like Commissioner Kevin Blake and Major General Wemyss-Gorman have kept suicide rates among Jamaica’s forces among the world’s lowest. Yet, with daily battles against crime, disaster, and duty’s grind, these steps are a foothold, not the summit.
The Cost of Silence: A Statistical Wake-Up Call
Ignoring this crisis courts disaster. The 2024 DRIVE study of 578 JCF officers revealed 24 per cent with PTSD, 14 per cent with depression, and 9 percent with anxiety — rates dwarfing Jamaica’s civilian averages (6 per cent depression, World Health Organization 2023). The JDF’s 2024 survey of 300 soldiers echoed this: 20 per cent showed PTSD symptoms post-mission, 12 per cent reported burnout.
Globally, the stakes are clear. In the US, the 2021 Ruderman Foundation found police suicides (13.5 per 100,000) outpace line-of-duty deaths (11.1), costing US$1.4 billion annually in lost productivity and care. Jamaica’s data is murkier — four JCF suicides in 2023 sparked hushed reviews — but the trend looms. Left unchecked, mental collapse cripples forces and communities alike.
The fallout scars families. The DRIVE study tied untreated stress to a 30 per cent spike in domestic tension among JCF officers, with 15 per cent citing job-driven separations. The JDF survey found 18 per cent of soldiers reported “severe” family strain, their kids twice as likely to struggle in school. A 2020 Occupational and Environmental Medicine meta-analysis warns police with untreated issues are 2.5 times more prone to domestic aggression — imagine Reid’s flinch turning to anger or Grant’s silence hardening into distance.
For single-parent homes, prevalent among lower ranks, the damage multiplies, leaving children adrift. This isn’t just personal—it’s a national wound.
Global Wisdom: How the World Heals Its Warriors
Other nations light the path. Canada’s Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Road to Mental Readiness (R2MR) has trained 80 per cent of its 19,000 officers since 2014, slashing PTSD symptoms by 25 per cent and boosting help-seeking by 40 per cent.
Australia’s MindArmor embeds psychologists in stations, serving 15,000 officers since 2020 — cutting sick leave by 30 per cent and saving US$50 million yearly.
Sweden mandates annual mental health check-ups for its 20,000 police, with decompression zones; its 2022 suicide rate (8 per 100,000) beats the US average by miles.
The UK’s armed forces have used VR therapy for 10,000 troops since 2019, reducing PTSD severity by 35 per cent (2024 MoD report).
The Israel Defense Forces have deployed “combat stress reaction units” post-mission, curbing long-term PTSD by 20 per cent among 50,000 soldiers.
These nations prove care isn’t weakness — it’s a weapon, sharpening readiness and trust.
The Stakes: Jamaica’s Future Hangs in the Balance
Unhealed heroes falter — and Jamaica pays. The JCF’s 2024 dismantling of 12 gangs and the JDF’s seizure of 3-plus tons of narcotics rest on their mental edge. Burnout risks unravelling these wins.
Tourism, powering 300,000 jobs and 20 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP), leans on their stability — one crack could cost billions, shaking investor faith and public hope. Our forces aren’t just people; they’re the pulse of our nation.
The Gold Standard: A Blueprint for Unbreakable Heroes
Our JCF and JDF deserve care as fierce as their spirit. Here’s the plan:
• Mandatory, ongoing therapy: Station psychologists in every base and precinct — weekly sessions, stigma-free, as routine as drills. Mental strength is power.
• Peer support networks: Train veterans as counsellors — warriors who’ve faced the fire — backed by a 24/7 hotline of ex-forces voices who know the weight.
• Family inclusion programmes: Fund workshops and counselling for spouses and kids — fortify the home front, heal the unit. Resilient families fuel resilient fighters.
•Decompression zones: Build sanctuaries at stations and barracks — soft lights, silence, no crackling radios — plus mandatory post-trauma cooldowns to reset the soul.
• National recognition and rest: Launch Defender’s Day, a holiday saluting JCF and JDF, with guaranteed leave rotations. Rest isn’t luxury — it’s survival. Partner with Sandals, NCB, and Digicel to fund it.
• Tech-driven wellness: Upgrade MSB’s app with artificial intelligence to track sleep, stress, and mood, flagging at-risk heroes. Roll out VR therapy at JDF bases, mirroring the UK’s success.
• Cross-force brotherhood: Host JCF-JDF retreats — rugged trails, raw talks, shared healing — binding police and soldiers as one unbreakable front.
A Salute to the Unseen Brave
To the JCF and JDF, Jamaica owes a debt carved in blood and sweat. You’ve tamed chaos and held our borders, paying with your peace, your lives.
The Sandals partnership, Resilient Soldier, and MSB’s tools are bold steps — but they’re not enough. Let’s forge a fortress of care, stealing the world’s best ideas, ensuring every hero stands tall.
Their minds are our might — when they break, we crumble; when they heal, we soar. They’re our heartbeat. Let’s keep it thunderous.
janielmcewan17@gmail.com
