All well-thinking Jamaicans welcomed the creation of Independent Commission of Investigations (Indecom), which ensures that the security forces remain professional and ethical. In every organisation you will find the few who ‘let down the side’, and it is important that they be brought to justice.
I must, therefore, quote at length Police Commissioner Dr Kevin Blake’s response as shared by Jamaica Observer Editor-at-Large Arthur Hall in a report headlined ‘No Apology — Police commissioner slams JFJ; says criminals to be blamed for 50 fatal shootings in 50 days by security forces’.
Commissioner Blake is reported to have said that “….while he supports the view that the number of fatal shootings by the security forces is too high, the focus should be on the criminals who make the decision to challenge members of the Jamaica Constabulary Force [JCF], ‘which is a far more superior force’.”
Hall reported: “He charged that a call for the JCF to be held more accountable is a slap in the face of Indecom, which has a single most important mandate of investigating actions against civilians by members of the security forces.”
Here are excerpts from the commissioner’s response, as quoted by Hall:
“And so, let me encourage Jamaicans for Justice to be more responsible in their public pronouncements, especially when the nation is aware of its members’ proven ability to comprehend the most basic and fundamental principles of security.
“To suggest that fatal shootings numbers can be reduced by anything other than the unwillingness of persons being apprehended to engage in deadly confrontations with members of the security forces is irresponsible, or at best advocating for us to relent in our pursuit,” added Blake.
“He declared that criminals who are intent on killing and maiming will not be left free to hold communities at ransom and in constant fear,” wrote Hall.
Jamaica Highlights 