‘Taking us for fools!’

Former Police Commissioner Rear Admiral Hardley Lewin has accused the Government of crippling investigations into fatal police shootings by repeatedly delaying the full deployment of body-worn cameras during high-risk operations.

Lewin charged that the Independent Commission of Investigations (INDECOM) is routinely being left with little or no evidence to challenge police accounts after controversial fatal shootings.

“The witness have been removed, the man is dead, and yet we are expecting INDECOM to do the impossible. It cannot happen,” Lewin said. “What is happening now is that INDECOM is hamstrung.”

Lewin was speaking on Wednesday at a Jamaicans for Justice (JFJ) policy roundtable on body-worn cameras at The Courtleigh Hotel in New Kingston, where the advocacy group unveiled a proposed legislative framework, titled ‘From Policy to Statute’, aimed at making body cameras mandatory in targeted police operations.

The former commissioner argued that despite years of appeals from INDECOM and civil rights groups, successive administrations have failed to act decisively.

“They are tone-deaf. The calls have been ignored by virtue of a host of creative and interesting excuses. Every time a new reason comes up, it’s debunked, and they move to another one," he said, ridiculing earlier objections raised about cameras having blinking red lights.

“You get all of these things, them moving the goal post. But to what end? They take us for fools!” he said.

According to Lewin, the absence of body-camera footage has left investigators heavily dependent on police statements, particularly in operations where officers allegedly remove witnesses before what they describe as deadly confrontations unfold.

“All officers then provide corroborating statements, but there are no external witnesses and no body-camera footage to oppose their version of events,” he argued.

“What is it that we are asking INDECOM to do? They are setting up INDECOM.”

Lewin also dismissed claims that body cameras are already widely deployed by the Jamaica Constabulary Force, noting that while the police report using roughly 1,500 cameras daily, they are often absent during the most controversial operations.

“When the police goes for a man, cameras must be employed – not for the man walking Market Street,” he said.

Lewin argued that wider use of body cameras would not only improve accountability, but also protect police officers from false allegations and broad public criticism surrounding fatal shootings.

“The use-of-force policy is perfect; all we have to do is operate in accordance with the policy,” he said.

Attorney Latoya Harris, president of the Advocates Association of Jamaica, said mixed signals from the Government were also fuelling uncertainty surrounding implementation.

“We hear the prime minister saying ‘A’, and then the security minister saying ‘B’, and it doesn’t seem as if the Government itself is on the same road,” Harris argued.

Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness has publicly expressed support for body cameras, while Security Minister Dr Horace Chang has repeatedly suggested that mandatory deployment during dangerous operations may be impractical and could expose officers to greater risk.

“If the Government is not on the same road, then the entire country may have some difficulty,” Harris said.

“The body cameras assist the police because allegations are made all the time against them. With the cameras, they can prove exactly what happened.”

She argued that broader implementation would also strengthen public trust and demonstrate Jamaica’s commitment to human rights.

Data-protection expert and attorney Chukwuemeka Cameron, however, cautioned that the country must guard against creating what he described as a “surveillance state”.

“Whilst we are pushing for body-worn cameras, I want to hear more about the robust mechanism that receives the data,” Cameron said.

“That is where the individual citizen gets recourse. Is there a retrievable system that is persistent, governed and transparent?”

Opposition Spokesman on National Security Fitz Jackson and JFJ Executive Director Mickel Jackson both argued that crime-fighting efforts must not come at the expense of transparency and accountability.

“In 2010, we had 307 fatal shootings by members of the security forces, and when you fast-forward 15 years later, in 2025, it ended at 311,” Jackson said.

“Now we have gotten pushback about the numbers, but we are not looking at the numbers in isolation. We are looking at situations where there are conflicting accounts between law enforcement and citizens.

“When we raise concerns, it’s not from a place where we don’t believe the police,” Jackson added. “But when you have so many conflicting accounts, we must take pause.”

corey.robinson@gleanerjm.com

Key JFJ recommendations

1. Immediate amendment to the JCF policy to, among other things,  introduce clearer mandatory activation of body-worn cameras.

2. Long-term legislative reform to either insert BWC-specific provisions; or enact a comprehensive Surveillance Regulation Act. 

3. Automatic and timely disclosure to INDECOM in fatal or serious incidents and access to such footage, as well as expedient access to next of kin and complainants. 

4. Legally prescribed minimum retention periods for footage (for example, 90 days).

5. Independent oversight, including mandatory annual audits, compliance reviews, and reporting to Parliament. 

6. Evidentiary Integrity, to include codified storage, transfer, and handling standards. 

7. Sanctions for officers who deliberately fail to comply with body-camera orders.