Second chance, new direction

THE Jamaica Constabulary Force’s (JCF) Cadet Academy was established to give young men structure, discipline, and an opportunity to prepare for their futures. However, for Constable Danrick Bailey and Trainee Constable Devonte Henry, it became a life-changing opportunity — Bailey found a way back into education after three years out of school and Henry got a chance to build on the single Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) subject he had when he left high school. Their routes to the academy were different, but both men said the environment gave them something they had been missing: the structure to take their education seriously and the discipline to begin shaping their lives in a different direction.

For Bailey, who now serves in the Jamaica Constabulary Force’s Specialised Operations Division, the break in his education came in March 2020, when Garvey Maceo High School, like schools across Jamaica, discontinued face-to-face classes amid the COVID-19 pandemic and moved to online learning. While many other students adapted to the new reality of virtual classrooms and online lessons, Bailey’s connection with school was effectively severed. HENRY...the teachers make sure that assignments are done, and they’re done correctly to the standard “So I never had the opportunity to do any subjects and so forth, and I was out of school for three years, and in 2023 I found out about the Cadet Academy and saw it as a golden chance to go back into the classroom,” he told the Jamaica Observer last Tuesday.

Bailey started at the academy in September 2023 after going through an interview, physical assessment, and medical examination. During his time there, he completed six subjects at the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) level, successfully passing five of them. He credited that success to the very different learning environment he encountered at the academy.

“At the academy the teachers and instructors are more focused on you, and they help to build you. So they even have study sessions...so after you go to school throughout the day and then at night, it’s mandatory to do some study sessions on whatever topic or subject you did not fully understand throughout the day,” he noted. For Bailey, the structure went beyond academics.

Drills, defensive tactics, and physical training became part of his daily routine, helping him develop discipline and a…