Senior judge urges integrity, mental health focus at police graduation

“Culture flows from leadership,” senior Supreme Court judge Simone Wolfe-Reece told a group of graduating police officers on Friday, as she urged integrity and respect for public trust and attention to mental health.

“Let your leadership be anchored in integrity over image, service over status, courage over convenience, and excellence over mediocrity and for God's sake, balance the burnout,” said Wolfe-Reece, who is the Acting Senior Puisne Judge, one of the highest offices in the judiciary.

She was delivering the keynote address at the ceremony for 150 members of the force who successfully completed the Officer and Inspector Development Programme at the National Police College of Jamaica in Twickenham Park, St Catherine.

The graduation marked the formal transition of the officers into expanded leadership responsibilities within the Force.

Addressing the graduates, Justice Wolfe-Reece charged them to “lead the people, develop professionalism and morale, and protect public trust,” emphasising that leadership values must guide conduct at every level of policing.

Senior police officials, family members and colleagues attended the ceremony, which the JCF said represented the culmination of weeks of rigorous training and a renewed commitment to ethical, people-centred policing.

In a statement following the event, the force said the programme was designed to move participants beyond “rank and routine,” challenging them to demonstrate discipline, resilience, critical thinking and sustained commitment to service.

Several courses were undertaken during the six-week programme, combining classroom instruction with divisional training to provide what the JCF described as “rounded and hands-on experiences” intended to prepare officers for the demands of higher command.

According to the police, the graduation exercise also underscored the Force’s transformational mandate and its effort to ensure that members’ dedication and sacrifice are recognised as part of broader reform efforts.

“These men and women officially transitioned into higher leadership roles; ready to serve, to lead, and to shape the future of policing in Jamaica,” the JCF said.

The NPCJ, the statement said, maintains accredited and certified training standards through the University Council of Jamaica, the International Association of Directors of Law Enforcement Standards and Training, HEART NSTA Trust, the National Council on Technical and Vocational Education and Training, and ISO 9001 certification.

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