Crime fighting and Forward Thinking: Jamaica’s New Order in the age of technology

Every now and again, the Jamaica Constabulary Force reminds us that dem nuh just have baton and boots. Sometimes, they show up with brains and bandwidth too.

Enter the JCF Transformation Expo where buzzwords like “modernization” and “biometrics” were flying faster than election promises in a by-election. The standout? The Fingerprint Bureau.

Yes, you heard right. In 2024, Jamaica, it’s not just badman fi have prints on record, but even your helper might soon need a clean biometric résumé before yuh hand her the keys to your fridge.

Now picture this. A five-year-old still mastering crayons and phonics uses technology to help solve his mother’s murder. The man not even old enough to tie a tie, but already helping the police tie up a case.

That’s the kind of plot twist you expect in a Netflix docuseries, not real life. But here we are. If that doesn’t convince you that digital tools are becoming as vital as DNA, mi nuh know what will.

Deputy Superintendent Germain Anglin, straight-faced and full of purpose, made a strong point. If you’re hiring a basic school teacher or a helper, you want to make sure they don’t have any likkle funny business inna dem file. And the fingerprint database is now doing the kind of background check that Granny used to do by asking, “A who yuh people?”

What’s refreshing, though, is the promise that innocent people won’t be left caught in the system like chicken bone in throat. Under the current rules, if your name clean, the JCF haffi dash weh your fingerprints within six months. That, right there, is progress. Transparency. Accountability. Two things that, let’s be honest, usually get treated like missing files in government offices, promised but never seen again.

But here’s the deeper point. While we may laugh at the idea of fingerprinting your dog-walker, the truth is this: Jamaica is in desperate need of systems that work, tools that can tell the difference between ‘innocent until proven guilty’ and ‘wrong place, wrong time.’

Technology, when used right, becomes a bridge, not just to catching criminals but also to restoring trust between citizen and badge. Because we’ve been burned before. Too many cases collapsed. Too many innocent people held in lock-up with no evidence stronger than hearsay from “Miss Patsy next door.” If fingerprinting and smart tech can help clean that up, then press on.

But let’s also temper the excitement. Modern crime needs modern solutions, yes. But no amount of high-tech gadgets will help if poor policing, corruption, and poor follow-through continue to mash up credibility. A fancy expo doesn’t fix a broken system. What it does, though, is signal intent. And intent, in this country, is where real change usually begins.

So yes, big up to the JCF for dusting off the cobwebs and bringing some much-needed innovation. But remember, no matter how shiny the tools get, it’s the hands using them that matter most.

Because technology may never lie.
But people? Well… ask di average Jamaican.

We’ve been fingerprinted by false hope too many times.