From militia to police force: Birth of the JCF

The Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) is the only recognised police force in the island, with jurisdiction in every parish. This was not always the case, and if one visited 17th or 18th-century Jamaica, they would find a country almost entirely void of any significant or organised islandwide law enforcement.

Soon after the British took control of the island in 1655, the colonial government began appointing local men to serve as parish constables to maintain order in their districts. This system was modelled on the parish constable system in England, where local magistrates (Justices of the Peace), local judicial officers who handled minor legal matters at the community level, recommended one or more local men to serve their districts. By the 1660s to 1670s, each parish was required to have one or more constables serving in each district.

At first, they mainly dealt with theft, drunkenness, and petty disputes, but as the slave trade expanded, they also became responsible for capturing runaway slaves and enforcing colonial laws. Because selection was based on status, reputation, and loyalty to colonial authority, parish constables were often aligned with the planter class and local elites. This meant their policing was biased in favour of maintaining the colonial social order rather than fair justice. Additionally, parish constables were part-time, poorly compensated (sometimes voluntarily), and untrained workers, which meant their effectiveness depended heavily on their initiative and motivation.

ORGANISED LAW ENFORCEMENT

Organised law enforcement in Jamaica began in 1716, when the Jamaica House of Assembly approved the appointment of a voluntary militia. They were to serve as guardsmen for the cities of Port Royal and Kingston, as well as most of the parishes of Saint Catherine and Saint Andrew. This was the birth of a new Jamaica Militia, which should have been an organised group of somewhat trained officers. Still, they struggled with determining jurisdiction borders, establishing laws that would govern the island and a method to train and regulate the force’s activities. The Assembly made several attempts to expand the Jamaica Militia, possibly by absorbing the parish constables and establishing a formal island-wide security force. The disagreements within the Assembly led to their efforts failing each time due to poor planning and implementation, as well as gross misconduct among the appointed officers.

Sparked by widespread poverty, injustice, and racial discrimination, the Morant Bay Rebellion of 1865 was a pivotal uprising in Jamaica. The confrontation began at the courthouse, where militiamen opened fire, killing several. Enraged, the crowd attacked, setting the courthouse on fire, killing several militiamen and officials. Governor Edward Eyre’s brutal retaliation left over 400 dead, hundreds flogged, and many imprisoned. This response triggered further revolts across the island, sending the country into chaos. The rebellion highlighted the urgent need for an organised island-wide security force to maintain order, a task the House of Assembly could not complete.

After voting to self-abolish in 1665, the Assembly handed responsibility for maintaining peace and order in Jamaica back to the British Government. Worried about the spread of violent insurrections, they launched an intensive recruitment and training operation to establish a permanent security force. In 1867, the British government established the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF), modelled after the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC). With Ireland’s highly militarised RIC police force as its base, the JCF had strict discipline, a rigid hierarchy, and rigorous drill routines similar to the army. With 900 members, under the direction of the new Inspector General, Major J. H. Prenderville, the fledgling police force assumed the duties of the parish constables and militia groups. The force was structured around white former British soldiers serving as high-ranking senior officers and local black Jamaicans as low-ranking constables. This was both practical and intentional, as the colonial government often used black policemen under white leadership to enforce control over the population.

Rather than aiding with community services and crime prevention, the force’s primary role was to serve as an arm of the colonial government, maintaining public order and protecting colonial interests. Officers lived under strict regulations where constables could be punished with public beatings, dismissal or jail time for even the most minor infractions. However, supervision was limited and salaries were low, resulting in significant problems with corruption and abuse of authority. These factors fostered a tense relationship with the public that resulted in frequent hostile clashes with civilians. These violent interactions and heavy persecution of blacks made the public weary and distrusting of the JCF, seeing them as an arm of the colonial government instead of a protective force serving justice. It wasn’t until the mid-1900s that the JCF began to shift its focus towards broader crime prevention and national service, with an emphasis on professionalism.

Today, JCF is a modern, dynamic organisation. Investments in training, education, and professional development have produced a more skilled, disciplined, and community-focused force. Through initiatives like community policing, Police Youth Clubs, and the JamaicaEye surveillance network, the JCF actively partners with citizens to create safer neighbourhoods.

Submitted by Romaine A Thomas, assistant curator at the National Museum Jamaica, Institute of Jamaica.