INDECOM: 1,323 killed by security forces between 2015 and 2024
Published:Wednesday | April 2, 2025 | 12:07 AM
The Independent Commission of Investigations (INDECOM) has described as “concerning” a 22 per cent rise in fatal shootings by the security forces in 2024 compared to 2023.
In its quarterly report for the October to December period, INDECOM reported that 189 people were killed by the security forces in 2024, up from 155 in 2023. This continued upward trend in fatalities marks a five-year increase since 2019, when fatal shootings reached their lowest point in two decades at 86.
The first quarter of 2025 saw a staggering 131 per cent increase in fatalities, with 81 people killed by the security forces compared to just 35 in the same period in 2024. INDECOM noted that the 2024 increase, which added 34 more fatalities, follows a consistent annual rise in fatal shootings since 2019. In total, 180 people were directly shot and killed by police in 2024, a 27 per cent increase from 2023.
Despite the increase in fatalities, injuries from police shootings decreased by 21 per cent in 2024, with 78 people injured compared to 99 in 2023. The number of women affected by security force shootings also remains small but concerning, with four women shot in 2024, two fatally and two injured.
Looking at the period from 2015 to 2024, INDECOM reported that 1,323 people were killed by the security forces. The data showed fluctuations in fatal shootings until 2019, after which the number of fatal shootings has consistently risen each year. Since 2019, there has been a notable trend where fatal shootings consistently outnumber non-fatal injuries.
RATIO
INDECOM observed that, on average, two-thirds of those involved in security force shootings are killed, with one-third injured. This ratio has remained relatively stable but has raised concerns about excessive use of deadly force.
“Where the number of persons killed are greater than those shot and injured, it can be a determinative factor in assessing whether there may be an excessive level of deadly force being deployed. The ratios of those killed to injured has increased over the past three years,” the oversight body said.
INDECOM’s report also highlighted that 15 of the 78 non-fatal injuries were due to accidental discharges, involving 13 police officers and one Jamaica Defence Force member. These incidents accounted for 19 per cent of non-fatal shootings and sometimes resulted in serious injuries.
In its quarterly, the oversight body also indicated that the majority of security force shooting accounts report that either a firearm, or other deadly weapon, was present or suspected to be present at the time of the incident, and that the use of deadly force was necessary to protect that officer, or another, from death or serious harm. It said such accounts can explain and justify the use of deadly force.
However, INDECOM noted that the testimony from numerous injured persons, some witnesses, and forensic and CCTV recovery, often indicate a different account, and one which demonstrates that a weapon was not present.
“The absence of a recovered firearm in fatal shooting incidents, or other weapon type, continues as a recurring feature and pattern of Jamaica’s security force shooting incidents. This issue is reported upon annually, however little change is discerned and the data remains largely unchanged,” INDECOM stated.
The number of firearms reportedly recovered from persons fatally wounded in security force encounters increased from 104 guns in 2023, to 147 firearms in 2024, a 41 per cent increase in firearm recovery.
In the 48-month period spanning 2021 to 2024, one hundred and one people, experiencing or suffering from mental health issues, were shot (killed/injured) by the security forces. Broken down, INDECOM said 47 people were shot and killed and 54 people were shot and injured.
In February, human rights group Jamaicans for Justice voiced deep concerns over the sharp rise in police-related fatalities since the start of the year. It called for urgent reforms, including the widespread use of body cameras by the police.
Commissioner of Police Dr Kevin Blake acknowledged concerns over the number of fatal shootings but argued that the blame should be placed on individuals who decide to engage police in violent confrontations.