Editorial | Suggestion on body-worn cameras

This newspaper does not question the commitment of the leadership of Jamaica’s police force to the widespread use of body-worn cameras (BWCs) by the island’s cops or their explanation of the need for updated technology to support the expansion. We accept their word on this.

Where The Gleaner has a difference with Police Commissioner Kevin Blake and his High Command is in how they prioritise the use of the BWCs they now have.

According to the High Command, 750 BWCs now owned by the constabulary are used primarily in “public order policing, where body-worn cameras have already contributed to a reduction in confrontations and improved accountability in police-citizen interactions”. Which is a good outcome.

However, we, like the Independent Commission of Investigations (INDECOM) and the human-rights group Jamaicans for Justice (JFJ), would like that some of those cameras be deployed in planned police operations, which, according to INDECOM, account for 40 per cent of the fatal shootings by the security forces. INDECOM is the agency that investigates shootings by the security forces as well as citizens’ claims of abuse by the constabulary.

The introduction of body-worn cameras has been on the agenda for over a dozen years since the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) first piloted the scheme. Body-worn cameras were seen as a way to bring greater transparency and accountability to the police in their interactions with the public, and from the perspective of the constabulary, provide evidence in their favour against the perennial accusations that cops engaged in extrajudicial killings.

HALTING AND SLOW

Unfortunately, the rollout of BWCs has been halting and slow. The issue has been thrust sharply back into the spotlight because of a recent surge of police homicides and the not infrequent claims by citizens that some of these killings are unwarranted.

There is also INDECOM’s complaint that none of these shootings are ever recorded by body-worn cameras.

INDECOM’s frustration has been deepened by the fact that 40 per cent of the 189 fatal shootings in 2024 were from planned operations. Last year’s figure was the highest since the 258 of 2013 and represented a 34 per cent increase on the previous year’s. Additionally, the 28 police killings in January was 50 per cent higher than the same month in 2024.

The police say that fatal shootings by cops merely reflect assaults on constables by criminals, who come out worse in firefights. They also say that the statistics are indicative of Jamaica’s crisis of crime, including murders, of which over 1,000 are committed each year. The island’s homicide rate is close to 50 per 100,000.

These facts relating to the problem of crime and gun violence in Jamaica are not in dispute. But there is the question of accountability – holding the police to a higher standard than criminals. Which Dr Blake has indicated is what he expects. That is part of the commissioner’s effort at rebuilding trust in the constabulary as he modernises and professionalises the JCF.

Reasonable people can differ in their interpretation of, and the weight they give to, the statistics. But this newspaper, as do INDECOM and the JFJ, believes that 40 per cent (103) of police fatalities in planned operations in 2024 is a high number, deserving of special attention by the leadership of the constabulary and worthy of scrutiny by an oversight body and independent human-rights group.

Pointing out that the absence of BWCs in planned police operations could raise suspicion about their conduct as well as negatively impact trust in law-enforcement agencies, is not peddling false narratives. Neither is it an undermining of the JCF.

The organisations that raise these issues want the same thing as the people who lead law-enforcement agencies: strong, trusted, transparent institutions that operate on the basis of law – as is expected in a democratic society.

NO RESISTANCE

Commissioner Blake continues to be firm that there is no resistance in the JCF to the introduction of body-worn cameras. Certainly not under his leadership.

He, however, stressed that it cannot be done simply by purchasing cameras and assigning them to officers - not for a large police force with over 8,000 front-line officers. There has to be the technological backbone to support the BWCs, which the JCF is working on. That should be in place by year-end.

But based on the High Command’s separate statement, the existing technology is sufficient to support, and capable of supporting, the 750 cameras the JCF now has.

In that event, even if the technology upon which the existing cameras rest is not of the standard and quality of what will be delivered by the end of 2025, some of these cameras may be ‘loaned’ to the units that go on these planned operations. This ought to be an area of priority.

We are aware of the concern of the national security minister, Horace Chang, that body-worn cameras may fall off the uniforms of the officers during high-intensity operations. But he would be surprised by the wonders that a bit of duct tape can perform.

Perhaps there are other technical challenges that make this suggestion unfeasible. The constabulary should say.