Gleaner file photo
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Prime Minister Andrew Holness and Chief of Defence Staff Lieutenant General Rocky Meade
Prime Minister Andrew Holness says members of the security forces have not yet been fully equipped with body cameras because of budgetary constraints.
The Independent Commission of Investigations (INDECOM) has been pushing for the use of body cameras by the police and military to guard against unprofessional conduct and extrajudicial killings.
Responding to questions about body cameras during a media briefing on Sunday, Mr. Holness said the government remains committed to providing the equipment.
"[W]e have to bear in mind that we have very serious budgetary constraints but the commitment is there and we continue to increase the numbers on a yearly basis," he said.
The issue of body cameras again came to the fore in the wake of last week's killing of Susan Bogle at her house in August Town, St. Andrew.
Miss Bogle was killed during an alleged shootout involving members of the security forces and gunmen.
Chief of Defence Staff Lieutenant General Rocky Meade has revealed that testing is being conducted on samples of body cameras for use by the Jamaica Defence Force.
He said body cameras received last year were not deployed to the soldiers because they did not meet the required standards.
"They were not sufficiently rugged to stand up to the normal activities of the troops and we got a different set this year that are currently undergoing testing. So we do not have widescale deployment of cameras at the moment but we're going through the process that would allow us to have cameras for the troops to use when they're deployed," he explained.
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