KINGSTON, Jamaica – With the support of the government of Canada, Jamaica has gained a new cohort of polygraph examiners.
Last week, seven Polygraph examiners successfully graduated from the MOCA Polygraph Examiners’ Course, a Canada-supported advanced training course to improve the capacity of law enforcement officers to conduct screening and general vetting services.
” This course has been a wonderful example of a positive and successful international training initiative between the Canadian Police College, the law enforcement agencies, and Canada and Jamaica in building the capacity of polygraph examiners in Jamaica and the Caribbean,” said Michel Drayton, Inspector of Advanced and Specialized Police Training at the Canadian Police College (CPC) who delivered the keynote address at the graduation ceremony.
Other high-level speakers included Colonel Desmond Edwards, Director General of the Major Organised Crime and Anti-Corruption Agency, Courtney Williams, permanent secretary in the ministry of national security, among others.
The 10-week course, implemented in partnership with the Canadian Police College (CPC) and the Major Organised Crime & Anti-Corruption Agency (MOCA), provided training and certification in polygraph examination, and successful participants received accreditation from the Canadian Association of Police Polygraphists (CAPP) and the American Polygraph Association (APA).
Canada and Jamaica share a long-standing, close bilateral security relationship. This partnership is reinforced by a mutual interest and commitment to deliver capacity-building programs such as this polygraph examination training.
Since 2007, Canada has provided basic and advanced polygraph training to dozens of Jamaican law enforcement agents. However, this is the first time the training is being delivered in Jamaica. Instructors from the Canadian Police College delivered the training course with the assistance of senior polygraph examiners from Jamaica.
Last week, seven polygraph examiners including an officer from the Barbados Police Service, graduated from the program. With this increased capacity, MOCA is expected to deliver polygraph training locally to increase the number of qualified examiners.
Polygraph is an essential security screening tool used to help assess the suitability of employees applying for law enforcement, corrections, and military. It is a valuable step in a multi-step process used to hire people into high-risk areas of employment to combat security threats from organized crime and internal corruption.
The Canadian Police College is a significantly credible institution in Canada and abroad. It is the only institution in Canada where law enforcement, military, and intelligence agencies can train to become certified polygraph examiners.
