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Squealing in surprise upon the announcement of the Top Station Award, Sergeant Natoya Mighty was at a momentary loss for words. 

As station commander for the winning Brown’s Hall Police Station in the St. Catherine North Division, a visibly excited Mighty leapt to her feet in the fourth row in the seated audience at the Transforming Our Police Service (TOPS) Awards.

The eagerly anticipated ceremony to honour outstanding cops in the Jamaica Constabulary Force’s  Area 5—spanning St Thomas, St Andrew North, St Catherine North and St Catherine divisions—was mounted by the Police Civilian Oversight Authority (PCOA) on Thursday, December 18 in the undercroft of the National Police College at Twickenham Park, St Catherine.

“I was speechless at first when I heard Brown’s Hall and taken aback,” Mighty recounted in a post-event interview.  “While I was very elated, at the same time I was  shocked too because my mind was telling me that I was going to get an award but I did not know I would get the Top Station Award within Area 5.”

For the law enforcement leader who oversees a 15-cop squad in their protection and service duties in the rural St Catherine community, claiming the Top Station trophy, which came with a $200,000 cash incentive for a project of the station’s choosing, was on the strength of a solid team.

“I have an exceptional team at the Brown’s Hall Station, and we work together to carry out the mandates of the JCF,” she opined. “So with the team efforts and me being the person ensuring that I lead from the front and have every staff member on board, we come together and we get it done.”

She credited the winning formula of success to open dialogue. 

“We can actually sit and communicate,” Mighty explained of the eight men and seven women under her watch. “We know that we have a mission, so everybody is willing to ensure that our tasks are done.” 

In addition to the cash prize winnings, the Brown’s Hall station team received 8 passes for Worthy Park Rum Tour, a box of chicken from Jamaica Broilers,  and a file cabinet from  Neveast Supplies.

Come next April, 41-year-old Sergeant Mighty, who joined the JCF when she was 20, will have served two years in her commander position at Brown’s Hall, having spent the previous four years in charge of the Ewarton Police Station.

In addition to the Top Station award, the PCOA  handed out 11 other TOPS trophies complemented with cash awards, sponsored prizes, and more.  Among the awardees were Top Prisoners in Custody Station (Spanish Town), Top Customer Service Station (Golden Grove), Top Marine Outpost (Bowden), The PCOA Legacy Award (Guanaboa Vale), The Dr The Honourable Marshall Hall Award (Portland) and The People’s Choice  Award (Guanaboa Vale).

Snagging the Top Division Award,  Randy Sweeney, Superintendent of Police in charge of the St. Andrew North Division, was naturally in jubilant spirits.

“I am feeling elated to say the least, I know the challenges that are at hand, resources and otherwise, yet the members were able to deliver,”  he remarked after being presented the winning  $150,000 cheque onstage by Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of National Security Alison Stone-Roofe alongside his Deputy Superintendents of Police colleagues, Ewan Campbell and Berhane Barnes. The St. Andrew North Division also won gift vouchers valued at $50,000 from JPS.

“Whilst there is room for improvement, certainly this can help us by boosting morale, and motivating members to do even better and serve the people with pride,” Sweeney added. 

He attributed the Division’s TOPS’ prized recognition to having adopted a holistic approach to crime fighting through partnerships.

“We partner with various stakeholders to include Members of Parliament, non-governmental organisations and the business community. We have a lot of interactions with them, and the feedback has been good. We speak a lot about total quality management in our division and always look at areas that need to be improved. When you look at our response time, and even weekly customer surveys, consistently, it is very high.” 

Statistical data for homicide rates in the Division, under Sweeney’s purview, have trended down.

“We are seeing a 300 per cent reduction in murders in the Grants Pen area. Last year, we had 9 murders in the Grants Pen community, year-to-date we are only seeing 2. This is significant, and I strongly believe this boils down to the interaction of community-based policing and that trust factor that has developed in the police,” he shared.

It’s positive news to PCOA Chief Executive Officer Otarah Byfield-Nugent.

She told the awards ceremony gathering that while she contemplated scrapping this year’s event, in sensitivity to Hurricane Melissa’s devastating human impact,  the decision to proceed came after visiting western-affected parishes.

“Based on the stories and experiences of officers on that side of the island who had lost homes and personal belongings but still showed up for work to serve, protect and reassure the rest of Jamaica, I think it was important for the PCOA to continue to recognise officers in general,” the national security agency head honcho rationalised. “There is that spirit of adaptability in circumstances that we are unfamiliar with. I think the PCOA has demonstrated that we are able to pivot in times of challenges and uncertainties.”

Speaking further, Byfield-Nugent said after the PCOA’s assessment and “reading the room, we felt it was still important to recognise officers who worked so hard throughout the year and went through the process of inspections”.

“It’s a much more scaled-down version of the event this year, but this does not reflect the value of the awards,  the value of the event or value of the appreciation that we want to give to our officers,” Byfield-Nugent said.

Minister of State in the Ministry of National Security and Peace Juliet Cuthbert-Flynn, was thrilled that the event was not shelved this year.

“Even in the face of challenges and Hurricane Melissa, we all need something to be happy about and this is one such event,” praised the State Minister of the PCOA’s decision to stay on track with its annual honours ceremony.

While saluting the scores of law enforcement personnel nominated for awards for their exceptional service, she noted that against the background of the JCF’s ongoing evolution,  “transformation is not the work of one, but the mission of many.” 

“It calls upon every citizen, every leader, and every partner to play a role in shaping a police service that is grounded in trust, transparency and excellence,” Cuthbert-Flynn pointed out. The TOPS Awards was launched in 2019 and each year, focuses on honouring policewomen and men in one of the five Areas of the JCF across the island.