INDECOM wants body cameras for soldiers too
Published:Saturday | February 11, 2023 | 12:36 AM
With the planned procurement of 600 body cameras for the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) over the next two months, the Independent Commission of Investigations (INDECOM) says it is looking forward to the availability of video footage to assist in proving incidents involving the police or exonerating them.
At the same time, the leadership of the oversight body and its Jamaica Defence Force counterparts are to hold talks in a matter of days, at which time INDECOM will ask the army, among other things, to also acquire body-worn cameras for soldiers operating alongside the police.
INDECOM Commissioner Hugh Faulkner said that from initial talks with the leadership of the JCF, the commission is satisfied that it will receive the full cooperation of the police.
However, he indicated that the speed at which the footage is made available to INDECOM will determine how quickly it completes its probe.
“We will also be emphasising to all the security force bodies that Section 11 of the INDECOM Act requires INDECOM to be ‘notified forthwith’ for any incident where there is death or injury and within 24 hours for any other matter,” he said.
“Forthwith means without delay. Our investigative steps are compromised if we are not notified of an incident in a timely manner,” he added.
The INDECOM boss said that last year, the commission was made aware of a video footage from a police body-worn camera involving an assault incident. He said to date, this year, body-worn camera footage was featured in one non-fatal incident.
“It goes without saying that we are desirous for these numbers regarding the use of body-worn cameras to be increased. In fact, in a matter of months, our quarterly reports will give data on the number of incidents in which body-worn cameras have been used and data regarding the number of incidents where it was not engaged,” he said.
Faulkner added that during recent talks with the Police High Command, his office had requested the standard operating procedure of the JCF as it relates to the use of body-worn cameras.
He said that technology would drive some of the operations of the cameras, noting that they need not be activated by human touch.
The INDECOM commissioner told journalists that several matters are now being ironed out between his agency and the JCF in relation to the use of the devices, even as he stressed that police body-worn cameras have been enhancing transparency and accountability worldwide.
Faulkner reasoned that footage could absolve officers where false or erroneous complaints are made against them.
He suggested that the cameras should, in the first phase, be deployed to specialised operations to apprehend wanted men as well as to cops who are deployed to areas with high volumes of traffic.
The Public Safety and Traffic Enforcement Branch of the JCF is among the units to receive body-worn cameras.