CSJP: Tuesday, September 21, 2010: More than 1800 residents from 27 volatile and vulnerable communities across the nation will receive scholarships this week in the largest ever scholarship awards by the Ministry of National Security’s crime prevention initiative, Citizen Security and Justice Programme (CSJP).

Successful applicants in this year’s programme are expected to receive their scholarships for tertiary and high school tuition at awards ceremonies scheduled for Kingston and Montego Bay. The first awards ceremony takes place on Thursday September 23 at the Jamaica Conference Centre where 1400 persons from 16 communities in the Kingston Metropolitan Area will receive their scholarships. Minister of National Security, Senator the Honourable Dwight Nelson will deliver the keynote address.

The second awards ceremony takes place on Friday in Montego Bay at the Wexford Court Hotel where some 461 persons from 11 communities in St James and Westmoreland are scheduled to collect their awards. Acting Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Ms. Dianne McIntosh will deliver the keynote address.

A landmark number of applications were received this year in the three-year-old scholarship programme, which provides tuition support in an effort to address joblessness and lack of employability in volatile inner city communities – one of several planks in a holistic crime prevention strategy.

CSJP Programme Manager, Simeon Robinson confirmed that due to the overwhelming number of applications, the initial allocations to scholarships were increased to approximately $100 million, based on financial need, areas of study and potential impact of studies on community and national development.

Mr. Robinson noted that education provides a means to boost the employability prospects of residents from volatile communities and equips them to contribute more effectively and meaningfully to community development. He noted that as a crime prevention programme, CSJP is always seeking to be on the cutting edge of strategies proven to break the nexus between crime and unemployment. Education is one such powerful tool he noted, and providing the means to secure an education is a critical plank in CSJP’s work as a crime prevention unit.

The awards ceremonies culminate months of community mobilization and application processing by CSJP’s Kingston and western-based community action teams.

Successful applicants demonstrated that they lived in a community served by the CSJP, were in need of financial assistance and were actively involved in community organizations or voluntary programmes.

CSJP is a multi-faceted crime and violence prevention initiative which focuses on building community safety and security. The programme provides crime prevention services and strengthens crime management capabilities of the Ministry of National Security. The CSJP’s crime prevention services include life management skills and vocational skills training, cultural development, parenting education and community development to 27 volatile and vulnerable communities in the Kingston Metropolitan Area, St James and Westmoreland.

The communities served by the CSJP are: Ambrook Lane/Cassia Park; August Town, Denham Town; Drewsland, Fletchers Land; Grants Pen, Greater Allman Town, Hannah Town, Kencot, Mountain View, Parade Gardens (Southside/Tel-A-Viv), Rockfort, Tivoli Gardens, Tower Hill, Trench Town, Waterhouse, in Kingston and St. Andrew; Mt. Salem, Farm Heights, Rose Heights, Canterbury, North Gully, Salt Spring, Norwood, Glendevon, Flanker and Granville in St James, and Russia in Westmoreland

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