Ground was broken on Tuesday for the Gregory Park Community Resource Centre, the first of 25 to be established in targeted communities across the island, under phase two of the Community Empowerment and Transformation Project (COMET II).

The initiative is being undertaken by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in partnership with the Government.

Communities in Kingston, St Andrew, Clarendon and St. James will benefit from similar facilities, which will also provide training in conflict resolution, parenting, life skills, and strengthen the capacity of community-based groups.

In welcoming the initiative, Minister of National Security, Peter Bunting said he was pleased the resource centres will provide space for a police post.

This, he said, means the police "will not be set apart from the community but will, instead, be part of the community and engaged with not just policing activities, but all the social activities that I expect will revolve around the resource centre".

He pointed out that COMET II works very closely with the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) and, in particular, the Community Safety and Security Branch (CSSB), to support police youth clubs and the national neighbourhood watch movement.

The programme also works with CSSB to update the community-based policing-training manual, and to reduce corruption by supporting the Major Organised Crime and Anti-Corruption Agency in its outreach efforts.

In his remarks, state minister for foreign affairs and foreign trade, and member of parliament for East Central St Catherine, Arnaldo Brown, said the resource centre will be strategically located to serve all areas in Gregory Park.

USAID senior deputy assistant administrator for Latin America and Caribbean, Sarah-Ann Lynch, said the groundbreaking signals the building of "new, stronger and more positive relationships within the community and with your neighbours, the Social Development Commission (SDC), and the JCF".

The Gregory Park centre is expected to be completed by the end of June.

COMET II seeks to build safer communities through strengthening community and civil society organisations, increasing citizen co-operation and accountability, strengthening juvenile justice and at-risk youth programmes, and improving community-policing practices.