TREASURE BEACH, St Elizabeth - It's confirmed.
The Tranquility Bay facility at Treasure Beach which was previously used as an offshore reform school for rebellious children, mostly from the United States, will now be used to train police recruits for at least the next two years.

At a meeting Tuesday with Treasure Beach residents and in subsequent response to journalists' questions, Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of administration, Jevene Bent said training "operations" would begin "somewhere in the middle of the month".

The complex sited on two and a half acres of beach front land, referred to by locals as Old Whard, was controversially used for 12 years by the United States group, World Wide Association of Speciality Programmes and Schools (WWASP) as a 'boot camp' for teenagers. It was closed in January.

The Jamaica Constabulary Force's two-year lease on the privately-owned facility begun on June 1.

"We are putting all our preparations in place to bring in our people," said Bent, who travelled to Treasure Beach to explain the JCF's plans
to residents.

She said the facility would provide training for 180-200 recruits "at any one time" and was part of the drive to accelerate police numbers from the current just over 8,000 to the proposed establishment figure of 12,000. Training for new JCF recruits lasts about
six months.

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