Andrew Spencer continues to raise the bar for the JCF
MANDEVILLE, Manchester: THEY SAY ambition is the path to success, but persistence is the vehicle in which you arrive.
Everybody wants to be somebody, but how many persons are willing to work towards attaining the big dreams they have, even in the smallest possible way?
From the humble beginnings of a single-parent home, Andrew Spencer knew that in order to become an outstanding member of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF), he had to do more than the average person, and that he did.
Spencer, who holds the highest credential of a security professional from the American Society of Industrial Security (ASIS) told Family and Religion that he has always been motivated by his mother’s ability to care for five children without any assistance from a man, saying that if she could work so hard to make things happen, then he, too, could do the same.
MAXIMUM USE OF RESOURCES
“I learnt from a very early age to make maximum use of available resources. My first job was at a small newspaper company called Mandeville Weekly. Then I worked at KLAS for about two years. I have always worked to send myself to school, even up to this day.”
Spencer, who attended DeCarteret College, left with eight CXC subjects and later started his journey in the JCF.
“I enlisted in March 1998. I had a passion for investigation. I served the then Area 3 Flying
Squad for eight years and have been a part of the Criminal Investigating Branch for over 14 years.”
Always yearning for knowledge, Spencer enrolled at the Northern Caribbean University to pursue a bachelor’s degree in management studies. He is currently on the verge of completing a master’s degree, at the same institution, in business administration, with an emphasis on general management.
The detective corporal is of the belief that “despite one’s background, socioeconomic lifestyle; despite how poor one may be; despite all obstacles, if you seek a good education and have a fixity of purpose, especially towards nation building, you can be successful.” The very reason he started the course to receive one of the highest accreditations he could attain as a member of the JCF.
“The CPP (Certified Protection Professional) is the highest credential afforded to a security professional from the ASIS and is accredited by the American Council of Education and recognised internationally. The CPP is equivalent to that of a master’s degree. To date, I am the only member of the JCF who has attained this certification.”
According to Spencer, the CPP affords him demonstrable proof of knowledge and management skills in the following key domains: security principles and practices, information security, business principles and practices, investigations, personnel security, physical security, and crisis management.
This accomplished member of the security force hopes to be able to make decisions at the strategic level to effect policy change and to have a greater impact on the lives of youth; not only in Jamaica, but in the region.