Top cop has always believed in community policing

When a teenage girl walked into a police guardroom with her bag packed and fear written all over her face, Corporal Shantel Powell did not see a disciplinary issue, she saw a moment that could change the course of a life.

"Ms Powell, I'm going to run away, but before I do it, I'm coming to tell you," the girl said.

That decision to seek help before disappearing is one of the many quiet interventions that have helped Powell earn national recognition. The Area Five officer was named the top cop at yesterday's LASCO JCF Saluting Our Heroes Awards, honouring her work in community engagement and youth empowerment. Powell emerged from a field of more than 158 awardees islandwide, advancing to the top six, the finalists representing each police area and a non-geographic formation. The finalists were selected based on sustained community impact, leadership, and service beyond traditional policing duties.

Powell, who has served in the JCF for four years, is assigned to the St Catherine North Community Safety and Security Unit, where she works as an assistant police youth coordinator and communications liaison officer.

"I have always been involved in my community, even before joining the JCF," Powell said, noting that her approach to policing has consistently prioritised connection over enforcement alone.

While stationed in Lluidas Vale, Powell revived the Lluidas Vale Police Youth Club, re-establishing structured engagement with young people in the area. That initiative led to her transfer to her current unit, where she now operates in an oversight capacity, influencing community-based policing strategies across the division.

Much of her engagement, she explained, happens informally, long before any report is written.

"In Shady Grove, I would talk with students while they waited on public transportation," she said. "I called it my empowerment hit strip. I would walk and talk with them, just to understand who they are."

Community policing models, which prioritise sustained presence and relationship-building, have increasingly been promoted by the JCF as a crime-prevention tool, particularly in high-risk communities where mistrust of law enforcement remains high. It was that sustained presence, Powell believes, that created the trust in that young girl.

"Because of my involvement in her life and the community, she came to me first," Powell said. "That allowed us to intervene immediately, involve her parents, and ensure she did not run away or become a statistic."

For Powell, the incident reinforced her belief that policing must be rooted in purpose.

"We are not just police officers for the sake of being police officers," she said. "We do this because we have a higher mission. It's not only about enforcing the law, it's also about empowering people to keep the law."

She described the award as humbling, but said its greatest value lies in what it represents to others watching.

"To see our efforts being recognised like this is an inspiration of hope," she said. "If one person's life is changed by your actions, you have already done a lot for humanity."

Assistant Commissioner of Police Christopher Phillips, who oversees Area Five, said Powell's recognition reflects a broader cultural shift within the division.

"When I became involved in the process in 2023, I realised we needed to change how officers viewed the competition," Phillips said. "The goal was to develop the mindset of a top cop, not just to win, but to serve better." He said a year-long training programme was introduced for officers interested in participating, focusing on leadership, communication, and sustained community engagement.

"Most of the officers representing Area Five are deeply embedded in their communities, running programmes and projects that respond to real needs," Phillips told THE STAR. "The police are drawn from the same society they are called to police. We understand those needs."

During the awards ceremony, Police Commissioner Dr Kevin Blake highlighted the complex environment in which Jamaican officers operate, noting that policing extends beyond crime-fighting into social stability, education, and community development, particularly in the wake of disasters such as Hurricane Melissa.

"Our work touches every aspect of national life," he said. "In a country with a complex social history, policing requires wisdom, empathy, and an unrelenting belief in people's capacity to do better."