The Jamaica Community Empowerment and Transformation Project (COMET), funded by USAID, began in 2006. Through COMET, MSI is working to strengthen the capacity of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) to do community policing throughout the country. COMET has carried out pilot projects in three communities with troubled histories, one in Kingston, the capital, and two elsewhere in the island. It also assisted the JCF to develop a manual for community policing, the first of its kind to be developed by a USAID project.

Using these as a basis, COMET is now engaged in supporting JCF efforts to roll out community policing to all of its coverage areas. As part of this effort, COMET is working with communities to play a significant role in supporting community policing. This puts into practice a key premise of community policing—community members and police need to work together to identify and address violence and crime in their communities.

The project seeks to contribute to the sustainability of community policing and security through a number of mechanisms. A few of the project achievements include:

• An educational mentoring program for at-risk students called GoGSAT which services 39 of the community based policing areas. The program provides online tutoring and practice testing for students taking the Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT), the local exam to secondary school. A total of 78 school and 3900 students will benefit from the program.
• On-going strategic planning workshops on safety and security for 13 of the island parishes. Topics include community policing and community development planning and incorporates the help of a social service directory, which provides participants with critical information on the role, function and coordinates of the community safety and security partners. The workshops have resulted in the development of a community safety and security plan.
• The establishment of the anti-corruption watchdog group, the National Integrity Action Forum. Funded by USAID/COMET and designed and hosted by the University of the West Indies, Mona, the organization provides a platform for information exchange and closer collaboration amongst national integrity stakeholders in the combating of corruption.

The model COMET is developing in cooperation with the JCF can serve as basis for efforts at community policing in similar settings in the region such as Haiti. MSI’s work on the project will continue through 2010.

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