INDECOM chief calls for overhaul of police body camera deployment

The head of Jamaica's police oversight agency is urging a major shift in how body-worn cameras are deployed across the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF), arguing that the technology is not being used where accountability and transparency are needed most.

Speaking at a policy roundtable hosted by the advocacy group Jamaicans For Justice (JFJ) at The Courtleigh Hotel & Suites in New Kingston last week, Independent Commission of Investigations (INDECOM) Commissioner Hugh Faulkner said the current deployment strategy places most body-worn cameras with officers assigned to the Public Safety and Traffic Enforcement Branch.

According to Faulkner, those officers primarily operate in commercial areas where incidents are often captured by surveillance cameras and witnessed by members of the public.

“Indecom is of the considered view that this deployment pattern is fundamentally incongruent with the operational and legal imperative facing the JCF and, by extension, Jamaica, particularly given the current high and deeply concerning incidents of police-involved fatalities,” he said.

Faulkner argued that body-worn cameras should instead be prioritized for officers involved in planned operations, including tactical teams conducting high-risk arrests, firearms raids, and search warrant executions.

He said such operations frequently involve encounters between armed police officers and suspects and often take place in locations where there are no independent witnesses or surveillance systems.

“It is precisely in these settings that are known to be devoid of CCTV, JamaicaEye, or independent eyewitnesses that body-worn cameras are not merely desirable but imperative,” Faulkner said.

The commissioner acknowledged the dangers faced by police officers, noting that they routinely confront armed gangs, organized criminal networks, contract killings, extortion schemes, and escalating firearm violence.

However, he stressed that the exercise of police powers must remain subject to scrutiny.

“No democratic society can ignore the equally important reality that the State’s coercive powers must always be exercised transparently, lawfully, proportionately, and subject to objective review,” he said.

Faulkner noted that the police high command recently disclosed that approximately 1,500 body-worn cameras are deployed daily across the force, a move he said demonstrates recognition by both the Government and the JCF of the role technology plays in modern policing.

Still, he questioned whether the cameras are being assigned to the operations where they can provide the greatest evidentiary value.

“Our perspective is data-driven, particularly those officers who are part of tactical teams, those issues where search warrants are involved, high-risk apprehensions, and targeted raids for firearms,” he said.

Faulkner contrasted those operations with patrols in commercial districts, where incidents are more likely to be documented through CCTV systems, JamaicaEye cameras, and civilian witnesses.

“In such environments, multiple independent sources of evidence are likely in the event of an incident,” he said. “The same cannot be said of the environment in which the majority of fatal police operations take place.”

The INDECOM chief also raised concerns about the effectiveness of camera usage when devices are issued.

Between January and April this year, he said, five police shooting incidents involved officers who had been assigned body-worn cameras. The incidents included one fatal shooting, two non-fatal shootings, and two firearm discharge incidents. Yet no video footage was captured in any of the cases.

According to Faulkner, officers cited various reasons for the absence of recordings, including not having a clip to secure the camera to their uniform, failing to activate the device, not having enough time to switch it from buffer mode to recording mode, and being instructed by another officer to activate the camera without any footage ultimately being produced.

He further revealed that despite more than 300 civilians reportedly being fatally shot by police in 2025, along with numerous others injured, there is no indication that body-worn cameras were deployed during any of those incidents.

In 2024, Faulkner said, cameras were used in five spontaneous police shooting injury cases and one planned operation that resulted in a fatality. Video footage was available in only one of those incidents.

As debate continues over police accountability and use of force, Faulkner said body-worn cameras can play a critical role in strengthening public confidence and improving investigations.

“Objective evidence matters,” he said. “Context and sequence in events, in the investigation process matter, and video is a part of the solution.”

He added that body-worn cameras do not need to capture every angle perfectly to provide valuable evidence and help establish a clearer account of events during police encounters.