Last week, decent society was incensed when the minister of national security,
Dr. Horace Chang declared that police officers will not wear body cameras during high-risk operations. The security minister did not mince words as he fatuously pronounced that cops wearing cameras is a ‘crazy idea’ that must not be countenanced.
Chang’s absurdity not only riled up large segments of the population, but it also compelled the Independent Investigations Commission (INDECOM) to hammer out a scathing response.
INDECOM, the voice of integrity and authority on this matter, made it clear to Chang that his dismissal of the call for body-worn cameras during planned police operations is asinine.
The Commission pulled no punches as it asserted that lawmen on duty are unlikely to go rogue if they knew that their actions were being recorded. The presence of working cameras will ensure the preservation of life, build public confidence, and provide independent authorities with time-stamped evidence to properly determine the circumstances in which lethal force is used by representatives of the state.
The Commission pointed out that cops on duty in numerous jurisdictions, including the United Kingdom, United States, Canada, Australia and Brazil, wear body cameras and that the devices are routinely used by officers engaged in firearm, tactical, and other high-risk operations.
Chang’s folly was labelled as unreasonable, impractical and inconsistent with established international policing practices. In fact, the minister’s utterance only served to heighten suspicion of police covert action and question the role of politicians behind it.
The trust factor is woefully low for both the police and the politicians. Jamaicans have seen too much injustice, suffered too much abuse and endured too much corruption among those who swore to protect and reassure and those who have offered themselves to serve.
These police operations have been laced with controversy since the get-go. Hundreds of young men, in the prime of their lives, have been gunned down by security forces in what they describe as ‘confrontations’.
In a few of these cases, home devices have captured clips of the ‘confrontation’, and the viral postings have raised serious doubt about the police’s account and infuriated well-thinking minds.
Jamaicans have always listed crime and violence as their number one concern. Everyone knows that defeating the crime monster has been the dream of every political administration over many years. Different governments have tried various strategies to win this battle with little success.
Today, Jamaica is experiencing a significant decline in the number of killings by criminals, and as expected, the government in office has taken full credit for the welcomed drop in the murder rate. It is the win they desperately wanted. But not much is being said about the loss of young lives by state guns.
Young men in Jamaica have remained disproportionately affected by violent crime, whether at the hands of gunmen or the state. In the 2024–2026 demographic projections, the number of men aged 18 to 25 in Jamaica is estimated to be approximately 180,000. Last year alone, some 311 young men were killed by cops. Already, over 105 have been killed this year. While those killed in police operations may represent a fraction of the full cohort of young men within the Jamaican society, for any affected family, their son’s demise is a devastating blow that will impact generations to come.
The security forces must defend themselves if they come under gunfire during operations, but their conduct in these circumstances must stand up to scrutiny.
It is difficult for any reasonable mind to believe that every young man who has been killed had drawn a gun at a fully armed police party. Beyond that, if a fatal response is the only choice available to trained and experienced men of the law, then their preparation for these confrontations must be urgently revisited.
Without body-worn cameras, the people are being asked to set aside their lived experiences of police brutality and swallow the state’s version of these ‘confrontations’ hook, line and sinker, regardless of how implausible they appear to be.
Every Jamaican, criminal or law-abiding, is guaranteed unassailable rights under the Jamaican Constitution. The right to due process is enshrined primarily under the Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms (Chapter III). This guarantees specific protections for all persons accused of criminal offences, including murder [27, 31]. This ensures humane treatment from the point of arrest through to sentencing.
Jamaica is bound by a constitution that is deeply pegged to Christian principles, where life is divinely created, remains sacred and is of great value.
It is not by accident that Jamaica has arrived at the place where police are killing young men on a whim. This crisis has been designed and honed over decades and is worsening by the day. It has buttress roots embedded in the nation’s rebellion against righteousness.
It started with the breakdown of the family, the shattering of the Christian foundation in the homes and schools, the booting of moral standards from communities, and the security arrangements and governance.
The collapse of the nation’s righteous underpinnings is showing up in government, in the ranks of the security forces and among the youth, especially our young men who are being slaughtered.
Without body-worn cameras during security operations, INDECOM and the wider society may never have access to vital evidence of police misconduct and details surrounding the killing of the men, but nothing is hidden from God. And the shedding of human blood, whether by the police, criminals or politicians, has divine consequences. This nation will pay dearly for what it condones.