Fitz Jackson challenges Government on JCF body-camera rollout

Opposition spokesman on national security Fitz Jackson says he is still not convinced that the Government is moving with enough resolve to place body-worn cameras across the Jamaica Constabulary Force, even after Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness said the Administration intends to expand integrated camera technology throughout the police service.

Jackson, speaking Wednesday at a Jamaicans For Justice policy roundtable on body-worn cameras, dismissed the explanations given by the Government and senior JCF officials for the limited use of the devices, calling them a “cop out” and “hogwash”. He argued that ministers have a responsibility to make police use of the equipment mandatory.

Jackson said government policy guides how public bodies function and can also set rules for private entities and citizens through legislation. His comments came days after Holness addressed the 91st Staff and Junior Command Course graduation exercise at the National Police College of Jamaica, where he said body cameras, patrol-car cameras and national surveillance infrastructure would form part of efforts to improve accountability and operational performance in the force.

Holness said the Government’s position is to put camera systems fully in place for the police. He rejected suggestions that the Administration does not want every officer who deals with the public to be equipped with a body camera.

The prime minister said about 1,000 body-worn cameras are already in use in the JCF, another 1,000 are being procured, and more purchases are expected under a phased national programme. He said the process is being rolled out in stages so training, broadband access, secure storage of footage and systems for handling evidence can be properly established.

According to Holness, the aim is to record all suitable police interactions with citizens through appropriate technology, while ensuring that officers are not put at risk and police operations are not undermined. He said the intention is not to equip some units while excluding others, but to provide officers with an accountability tool wherever it can be used without endangering them or compromising a mission.

Jackson, however, said those assurances have not settled his concerns. He told the roundtable that the issue has caused unease for some time and that the debate is not only important to families of people killed by agents of the State, but also to Jamaicans who obey the law.

Pointing to more than 300 people killed by police last year and nearly 140 deaths in the first five months of this year, Jackson said the country cannot treat the matter as normal policing. He said lower murder and shooting figures are welcome, but crime-fighting targets must not be used as a reason to act without proper limits.

He told the forum that such conduct reflected desperation arising from failed policing alternatives and sanctioned by the Government. Jackson said when police set out to find people said to be wanted, they must always be able to justify any use of their firearms.

Jackson said an independent and objective record is now widely accepted as the best protection for everyone involved. He said the Opposition supports compulsory body-worn camera use in all planned JCF operations.

He added that police forces internationally use body cameras to strengthen openness and accountability by recording encounters between officers and members of the public. Jackson said the devices also support evidence gathering, officer protection, de-escalation, training and evaluation, and that those purposes should guide how Jamaicans are protected.