Police car budget cut in half

The Government will next fiscal year spend half the money it is spending this year for the purchase of vehicles for the police.

Patrick Allen, Jamaica's governor-general, used the Throne Speech in Parliament yesterday to indicate it would be increasing the fleet of police vehicles by 100 vehicles.

Some $200 million has been set aside in the new budget for the purchase of these vehicles, an indication that $2 million would be spent on each unit.

Parliament last May approved the spending of $400 million to purchase pre-owned vehicles for the police force. It is unclear how many vehicles were actually purchased.

Allen said that the Government significantly improve fleet management of the vehicles by introducing more cost-effective approaches, such as the introduction of liquefied petroleum gas-powered vehicles.

The governor-general said to move to modernise the force will involve supporting the transformation of the Jamaica Constabulary Force into an intelligence-led police service that ensures citizen security with stronger systems of administration, management and accountability, especially through procurement of technical expertise in cyber defence.