EDITORIAL - Bunting's cameras a good idea but ...

The plan by some units of the police to wear body cameras during operations is a good one. But Peter Bunting, the national security minister, must avoid the wont of Jamaican officials to conflate declarations of intent with the actual implementation of programmes. Both are not the same.

So we look forward to the actual acquisition of the body cameras and their assignment to the specified units, which are still to be identified. Indeed, Mr Bunting should consider expanding the use of cameras by the constabulary and might find it useful to review such efforts in other high-crime societies.

Brazil, with which Jamaica has good political relations and has signed economic and other agreements, is one such country.

For instance, the police in some parts of Rio have been using an Android smartphone application, developed by Google and a Brazilian think tank, Igarape Institute, that uploads encrypted images from small cameras on their person to a cloud server. They also can stream live footage to a police control centre - an application that could be particularly useful in emergencies.

Biometric system

Brazilian police have also been testing a biometric system that allows a small camera worn by security officials to deliver hundreds of facial images per second that can be matched to millions of facial images in a central database. Such a system can be useful in situations where criminals hide in crowds but might be adapted to Jamaica's circumstances. We can find creative ways to make these systems affordable.

We are reminded, though, that this latest initiative of Mr Bunting's for the police to use cameras to record operations to ensure accountability of officers is not entirely new to Jamaica. At the opening of the east-west leg of Highway 2000, for instance, a handful of highway patrol cars were donated to the constabulary by the Development Bank of Jamaica (DBJ). These vehicles were equipped with computerised tracking devices and cameras.

We don't know whether these systems were ever used, or if they worked. They were more likely not used.

What is certain is that the police never made much of their existence. The public was told nothing. We suppose that those vehicles are now in the scrapyard, on their way to becoming recycled metal.

Nor do we know whether cameras installed in many intersections in the capital, and which are being expanded to other places, are operational and have had any impact on the police's management of crime.

Lack of public trust

Accountability all round, therefore, is an issue, especially in a situation where the police have little public trust.

In that regard, providing the cameras Government plans to get is not the end if the aim is to ensure operational accountability. There must be specified protocols for their use, including sanctions when these are breached. And there must be follow-ups and regular audits of these systems.

For as Mr Bunting would know, as is the case with many organs of the Jamaican State, the police officers are governed by myriad rules and regulations which, despite sporadic spurts to ensure compliance, merely receive basic attention.

Mr Bunting's call for the police to complete and enforce a hardened protocol covering their relationship with the Independent Commission of Investigations - the body with responsibility for investigating all police shootings and other complaints of abuse of power - is welcome.

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