Holness defends slow rollout of police body cameras after St. James fatal shooting

Prime Minister Dr. Andrew Holness is defending the pace of Jamaica’s police body-camera programme as public pressure mounts following the fatal shooting of Latoya Bulggin in St. James, an incident recorded by a nearby CCTV system rather than by a police-issued camera.

Footage now being widely shared shows a police officer positioned in front of Bulggin’s vehicle before firing through the windscreen and striking her. The video has intensified debate over police use of force, decision-making during confrontations, and why the officer involved did not appear to have a body-worn camera.

Holness said the Government’s policy is to have camera systems fully deployed across the Jamaica Constabulary Force. He said about 1,000 cameras are already in use, another 1,000 are being procured, and work is under way to secure a further 1,000.

The prime minister argued that the delay is tied to the systems needed to support the cameras, not a refusal to implement them. He pointed to broadband capacity, secure data storage, evidence management, and officer training as requirements that must be in place before the technology can be used across the force.

“We simply don’t have the resources to do it all at once,” Holness said, adding that even if all the cameras were purchased immediately, they could not all be deployed immediately because officers must be trained and video must be uploaded, protected, and preserved in a way that can stand up as evidence.

Critics say that while the infrastructure is being built, confidence in police accountability is being damaged, with each unrecorded encounter leaving room for disputes between citizens and law-enforcement officers.

Holness said the intended outcome is for officers assigned to public-facing duties to be issued cameras in the same routine way that firearms are assigned. However, he noted that chest-mounted devices may not suit every policing situation, particularly high-risk tactical operations, and said other options, including helmet-mounted cameras, are being examined.

The Government says universal deployment is expected to take another two to three years.