Editorial | Powerful case for non-lethal weapons

CORPORAL ROHAN James’ call for the police to have non-lethal weapons for dealing with confrontations with mentally ill people is a clearly sensible request. It, however, does not adequately address two large but separate issues which he has put back on the national agenda.

The obvious one, per Corporal James’ observation, is about how Jamaica cares for or engages its citizens with mental illness, which has been an on-and-off question for decades. It has recently been on again in the wake of one night’s murderous hacking, a fortnight ago, of four homeless men, and the injuring of two others.

The other issue, though not specifically addressed by the Police Federation’s chairman, is about the constabulary’s use-of-force policy, and whether police personnel are trained and appropriately equipped to apply the force commensurate with the circumstance. The answer, obviously, is a resounding no.

Corporal James’ appeal for less lethal weapons for when the police come into contact with mentally ill persons followed last week’s report by the Independent Commission of Investigations (INDECOM) – the agency that probes use of force and similar complaints against the security forces – which showed a 20 per cent increase in fatal shootings, to 102, in 2020. That followed a 36 per cent decline in 2019, when there were 85 police homicides. Additionally, non-fatal shooting incidents by the security forces (the bulk by the police) increased by 11 per cent, to 92.

According to Hamish Campbell, INDECOM’s deputy commissioner, “over a third” of the people (851) shot by Jamaica’s security forces during the past four years “were not found with any firearms”. In some of those incidents (35), the victims had other weapons, including knives and machetes. “In the majority of those cases, officers were summoned to assist in the disturbances, but action resulted in fatal or non-fatal wounding,” Mr Campbell said.

This is the backdrop against which Corporal James appealed for non-lethal weapons. Police personnel, he suggested, did not have the luxury of other citizens of turning a blind eye to potentially dangerous situations when called on to intervene. These situations, at times, involve people going through episodes of mental illness that make them violent.

In circumstances such as these, the police, who, as Corporal James noted, have no specific training in dealing with mentally ill people, ought not to be the sole, or primary, responders. They should accompany mental health professionals, versed in the skills of calming patients, to provide support. The intent must be to make the employment of potentially deadly force a very rarely employed technique.

Mental health support system

Indeed, how the police interface with people with mental illness, especially during episodes of violence, is a question that, in recent times, has been the subject of debate in several countries, particularly the United States of America, where many of these interactions, especially involving black patients, often leads to death. In Jamaica, where at least 20 per cent, but probably more, of the citizens are estimated to suffer from some form of mental disorder, the police should have an ongoing and formal system of support from mental health professionals. It should be a regular part of the public health system.

None of this obviates Corporal James’ request for non-lethal weapons, including taser guns; but not only because of the need to engage people with mental illness. They should be part of the arsenal of the constabulary in dealing with all citizens, as has been promised by Jamaican governments over several years. Indeed, Prime Minister Andrew Holness has, on multiple occasions, made it a commitment of his administration.

Moreover, as Deputy Commissioner Campbell reminded last week, Jamaica’s security forces have killed more than 1,500 people over the past decade, some in controversial circumstances, or in situations where the outcomes might have been different if they had other tools to employ.

Hopefully, the police chief, Major General Antony Anderson, the national security minister, Dr Horace Chang, and Prime Minister Holness heard Corporal James and are acting with dispatch on it. They do not need the message, as the Police Federation chairman requested, to be transmitted via INDECOM.