John Azar | Is there plausible explanation for delay with bodycams for JCF?

Like many well-thinking Jamaicans, I watched in horror recent CCTV video footage of individuals dressed in police uniforms who appear to order a male to kneel down after which a single gunshot is heard. While we do not know if the video in question has been tampered with, it certainly appears on the surface to have been an extrajudicial killing in which the persons in question declared themselves to be judge, jury and executioner – literally – as the man in the video was subsequently confirmed to have been shot and killed under controversial circumstances.

The specific video aside, it cannot be disputed that, with far too many of our police shootings, the version given by the police and others who claim to have witnessed their actions often appear to be as different as night and day. This is certainly not to suggest that the police version is the one more often than not incorrect but simply to stress that it is rare to have more than vague similarities between the two accounts.

The obvious “solution” to what appears to be a never-ending controversy, in which only the names and locations of those involved seem to change, is the use of body-worn cameras by members of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF), which will eliminate (or at least greatly minimise) the literal “he said, she said” debate which happens far too frequently after incidents such as this.

As people may well be aware, the standard body-worn cameras will capture exactly what the officer wearing the camera saw and heard, as well as any verbal instructions the officer gave, along with the GPS location and time stamp of the incident in question. These devices are light enough to not restrict the movements of the officers wearing them, and have built-in security protocols to prevent critical information relevant to any future review or investigation from being deleted, tampered with or altered in any way. As a result of these protocols, footage from these devices often play a critical role as evidence in court proceedings.

In addition to protecting the rights of citizens interacting with the police, the use of these cameras will have other major benefits, which include protecting the officers wearing these cameras from false accusations of wrongdoing made by members of the public, as well as aiding INDECOM, the Police High Command or other such bodies in their investigations of incidents involving police personnel. These devices will also be very useful insofar as debriefing and training are concerned after critical incidents have taken place. Ultimately, the use of equipment such as this will ensure that the trust between members of the public and our security forces is greatly improved, as well as increasing the accountability of those entrusted to protect and serve.

As has been widely reported, the Jamaican Government has been speaking about issuing body-worn cameras to members of the JCF from as far back as 2014 with the initial announcement made by the then Minister of National Security, Peter Bunting, and reiterated subsequently by various police commissioners and the current Minister of National Security, Dr Horace Chang.

STILL NOT EQUIPPED

The fact that, despite these pronouncements, members of the JCF are still not equipped with these devices when going out on special operations should be a major concern to us as Jamaicans, with this concern further exacerbated when one realises that numerous other police forces in the region have these body cameras as standard issue for all of their personnel.

We are left to wonder what exactly is the cause of the delay: Is it that the powers that be do not see the importance of this equipment despite their words to the contrary, or are they really afraid of disquiet from a small minority of the JCF who are accustomed to operating with impunity and wish for the status quo in that regard to remain? Could it be that despite the importance placed on human rights as per the spoken word, there remains an underlying tacit approval of certain types of policing? While I have heard some say it is the cost of implementation, I refuse to believe this to be the case, having intimate knowledge of the costs involved – having introduced body cameras for our armed response teams at KingAlarm from as far back as 2014 – and seeing that the Government appears to always find funds for projects that they feel to be a priority. Could it then be that protecting both the police personnel in carrying out their duties, and the rights of those with whom they interact, is simply and inexplicably not a “priority”?

Regardless of the reasons, the current situation simply cannot continue and I cannot see or accept any reason given for the delay as being a plausible or acceptable one. The Jamaican public deserve better in knowing that their rights are protected in their interaction with our security forces and the honest hardworking men and women of the JCF – who make up the vast majority of officers – likewise deserve protection in knowing that they can carry out their duties within the law without fear of malicious and damaging false allegations being made against them thereafter.

If the logistical challenge of providing body cameras to every single member of the JCF is too great to be done in the short term, I call on the Government as well as the newly appointed Police Commissioner, Dr Kevin Blake, to insist that, at the very least, all special operations teams going on assignments be equipped with body cameras immediately as it is these teams who often, acting on intelligence in search of wanted men, are more likely to be involved in any perceived controversial “shootouts”.

UNQUESTIONABLE FOCUS

If one were to analyse the unquestionable focus on law enforcement globally, it centres around transparency with this being especially true since the tragic George Floyd incident in the United States in 2020. Body-worn cameras are no longer a discussion or a “pilot project” but rather a standard equipment issue to police officers across the globe. As such, these devices have now simultaneously become the foundation of police internal investigations into allegations of wrongdoing by the police and the saviour for police officers who have been falsely accused of such wrongdoing.

Time is not on our side as we fight the high incidents of crime and violence and, simply put, we cannot continue to fight crime in the 21st century with 20th century methodologies. We must expand our toolbox, utilising more and more tried and proven technologies in the process, and the use of body-worn cameras by our law enforcement personnel is but one critical tool in effective crime-fighting which ought not to be ignored any longer.

While this topic of the implementation of body cameras for members of the JCF has been over-discussed for over a decade, it has certainly been under-implemented. In an effort to reinforce both trust and transparency, it is certainly time for the JCF to step out of a past era and end what many see as their draconian policies of censorship with regard to how certain special operations are ultimately executed, and to embrace transparency in policing which has been proven to be the most effective long-term form.

Were this to be done, the men and women of the JCF, for whom I have the utmost respect, would stop operating under a cloud of suspicion in practically every operation they conduct and move speedily towards gaining the trust of the people they serve and protect. It would also quickly replace the “us against them” form of policing with a renewed emphasis on community policing where the police and the public unite in the fight against crime. This method is leading the way forward for law enforcement worldwide and we, in Jamaica, would be foolhardy to be left behind in this regard.

Over to you, Dr Blake.

John P. Azar is founder and managing director of the KingAlarm Group of Companies. Send feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com