INDECOM renews call for police body-worn cameras

  

The Independent Commission of Investigations (INDECOM) is urging the Police High Command and the government to fulfill the commitment given that members of the police force will be fitted with body-worn cameras in the new year.

 

More than 280 people have been killed by members of the security forces so far this year. 

 

The government announced that more than 1,000 body-worn cameras will be procured for the force. 

 

In an interview with Radio Jamaica News, INDECOM Commissioner Hugh Faulkner again argued that body-worn cameras will help alleviate the controversy around the some of the fatal shootings. 

 

"With regard to body-worn cameras, given commitments made to INDECOM by law enforcement bodies and subsequent media reports as recent as December 11, 2025, making reference to Cabinet approval for 1,000 additional body-worn cameras to be procured, the Commission looks forward to the law enforcement personnel engaged in lead, planned operations activities to routinely be fitted with body-worn cameras. The Commission repeats its stated position that transparency, accountability and public trust, are likely beneficiaries of the operational equipment of the utilisation of body-worn cameras," he maintained.

 

Meanwhile, Mr. Faulkner said the agency will be highlighting a number of concerns and in its report to be submitted to Parliament in the new year. 

 

"The Commission will in its fourth quarterly report for 2025, to be delivered in the early weeks of 2026, list all the INDECOM investigated cases for which rulings for charge were handed down by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions. Data on the number of incidents for which charges have arisen and the number of law enforcement officers charged, along with the categories of offences for which charges have been preferred will also be detailed. Any matter for which a charge process is pending will be highlighted. The cases for which rulings for charge were delivered in the previous year of 2024 will also be included in the data presented to provide for Parliament and the public, comparative analysis for the years 2024 and 2025," he outlined.