A DIFFERENT ROUTE TO SERVICE: TWO POLICE OFFICERS HARNESS MATHEMATICS TO REACH YOUTH
For students in St Catherine North and Westmoreland Policing Divisions, two police officers are redefining what it means to serve and protect by making it their duty to inspire, encourage and create opportunities for young people.
Sergeant Howard Dyer of the St Catherine North Community Safety and Security Branch (CSSB) and Constable Jordane Black of the Westmoreland Police Division are using education and mentorship to support students academically while building stronger relationships between young people and the police.
Speaking on the recent Force4Good Podcast, Sergeant Dyer reflected on a commitment to education that began before he joined the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF).
A former Police Youth Club (PYC) member, Dyer said his passion for mathematics led him to pursue higher qualifications. After completing his studies, he wanted to share his knowledge with young people and found an avenue to do so through the PYC.
He began encouraging parents to enrol their children in the club, assuring them that he would teach mathematics free of cost. The response quickly exceeded his expectations.
“Parents began telling other parents, and students began telling other students. Word spread, and that’s how the programme grew,” Sergeant Dyer said.
For Constable Black, who also spoke on the podcast, supporting students in Westmoreland was a natural extension of his 10 years as a teacher. He said that while on patrol in the division, he encountered young people who were struggling academically and facing difficult circumstances. These encounters showed him that his teaching skills could be used to make a difference beyond the classroom.
His own experience as a student also shaped his approach. Black recalled that while preparing for the CSEC Mathematics examination, an individual told him that he would not pass. Rather than allowing the comment to discourage him, he used it as motivation.
“I decided to prove to myself and to prove that individual wrong,” he recalled. “I want to help youths who may have been in the same or similar situations as myself.”
Motivated by his own experience and what he encountered on patrol, Black started an after-school programme to provide students with the academic support they needed.
The results, he said, have been encouraging, with the programme recording a pass rate of more than 90 per cent.
“We are not just there to enforce the law, but to help these community members,” Black said.
The work of Sergeant Dyer and Constable Black highlights a broader role for policing, extending beyond enforcement to mentorship, education and community engagement.
