JCF defends police ID card system

Monique Grange Assistant News Editor
The Gleaner/Power 106 News Centre

The Police are defending the integrity of the process to issue identification cards to members of the Jamaica Constabulary Force following claims that murdered youth advocate Omar Bailey had a police ID card.

Bailey's body was found in Portmore on Sunday.

The National Youth Council claims that Bailey, was a member of the police force and a School Resource Officer.

President of the Council, Ryan Small, says he has always known Bailey to be a policeman.

He says Bailey had an ID which declared him to be a member of the police force.

However, Director of Communications in the JCF, Karl Angell says the deceased was not a member of the constabulary.

In fact, Angell told The Gleaner/Power 106 News Centre that Bailey was charged twice for impersonating a policeman and convicted for other offences.

He explained that as far as he knows, in order to be a School Resource Officer, one has to be a member of the police force.

Meanwhile, the Youth Council President is raising questions as to how Bailey was able to get a police ID.

He emphasized that background checks on the youth advocate found him to be a person not involved in any form of wrongdoing.

In response, the JCF Communications Director noted that there will always be unscrupulous persons who will try to imitate the police ID cards.

But he has sought to assure that there are checks and balances in place for issuing police IDs.

He said there are also special features to distinguish the police ID cards.