Chief Justice Sykes addresses JCF detective and supervisory graduates at National Police College

The Faculty of Criminal Investigation Training has capped blended detective and supervisory programmes at the National Police College of Jamaica (NPCJ), with Chief Justice Brian Sykes delivering the keynote and Commissioner of Police Dr Kevin Blake telling assembled commanders and families the training is meant to lift standards across the crime and security portfolio.

Senior officers on the platform included Deputy Commissioner Richard Stewart, who leads the crime and security portfolio, Assistant Commissioner Merrick Watson in his training branch and NPCJ role, and Assistant Commissioner Wayne Josephs, who leads the Criminal Investigations Branch. Assistant Commissioner Watson welcomed Chief Justice Sykes alongside gender affairs principal director Sharon Woolburn Robinson and Kimberly Seymour Brown of the Pan American Development Fund, while Detective Corporal Dwight Morgan led opening prayer.

In his address, Commissioner Blake framed the Advanced Diploma in Professional Detective Practice and the Diploma in Supervisory Management for Criminal Investigation as deliberate upgrades to supervision, accountability, forensic and intelligence work, case-building and use of new systems, urging graduates to run inquiries with tight discipline and attention to detail, including a reference to recent force orders from Deputy Commissioner Canute Powell.

Deputy Superintendent Radcliffe Gordon, deputy director of the faculty, outlined coursework. The advanced diploma began Monday 7 April 2025 with 34 members drawn from divisional criminal investigation branches and major-inquiry units such as the Major Investigations Division, the Centre for Investigation of Sexual Offences and Child Abuse, and the Narcotics Division, mixing online study, residential classes and two-week rotations through specialised branches with mentor reports. Assessments spanned assignments, exams, courtroom practicals, case files, tool kits, a reflective journal and capstone presentation, and Gordon reported every participant completed the programme, with several finishing in first-class honours. He noted plans for University Council of Jamaica accreditation up to level four on the HEART National Council on Technical and Vocational Education and Training framework.

For the supervisory management diploma he said the first cohort of 30 started in November 2025 for five weeks of management study, tactical training with the Department of Weapons and Tactical Training, and focused deterrence-linked topics, with all 30 passing, while a second cohort opened 9 February 2026 and ended 13 March 2026 with comparable assessments and strong completion rates.

Graduate reflections came from Corporal Alicia Hedley and Constable Giovanni Lecky for the advanced diploma, from Detective Corporals Shepherd Smith and Maisha Brown for the February 2026 supervisory cohort, and from Sergeants Alexandra Stevens and Crystal Fletcher for the October to November 2025 certificate-level supervisory cohort, which they said was disrupted but carried on through Hurricane Melissa.

Chief Justice Sykes described today’s constabulary as markedly different from the organisation he first encountered as a prosecutor in 1986, praised the depth of the new courses, and stressed that fair justice rests on careful first steps in the field long before a file reaches a prosecutor or judge. He cited Professor Carol Dweck’s growth mindset idea and summarised execution habits from The Four Disciplines of Execution, urging lead measures such as timely witness statements, sound forensic submissions and court-ready files, plus short weekly accountability huddles. He also pressed senior commanders to sit in parish court sessions to see how investigators perform under scrutiny.

During certificate presentations led by faculty director Senior Superintendent Maldria Jones-Williams, Deputy Commissioner Stewart handed out advanced diplomas and Acting Assistant Commissioner Fitzroy Brown handled certificate scrolls. Commissioner Blake announced faculty merit, distinction and Reginald Grant academic excellence awards for the advanced diploma, naming Constable Ralston Welsh in third place, Constable Alex Smith in second and Corporal Alicia Hedley as top achiever, and said those three had been promoted. Parallel top-student awards for the supervisory diploma went to Detective Sergeant Nicola Ranger, Detective Sergeant Melissa Pink and Corporal Michelle Williams, while certificate honours went to Corporal Mishika Reid East, Detective Sergeant Monique McCoy and Sergeant Alexandra Stevens. Assistant Commissioner Josephs then formally appointed the advanced diploma graduands as detectives and pinned sample shields, closing a day Watson formally marked as the end of the listed intakes.