Jamaican Cops To Wear Bodycam

July 8, 2020 | By Hopeton O’Connor-Dennie |

International Operation Nabbed 3 Cocaine Cops

The Commission Of Police Major Antony Anderson has disclosed that:

“Thousands of body cameras were signed off on by me for the acquisition of these body worn cameras.  Servers have to be installed to store the information from these individual body cameras.”

Background

There are some 12,000 members of the Jamaica Constabulary Force founded 1867. Of course not all the 12,000 will get body cameras. Cameras will be given to those mostly confined at the operational level, this means people dealing with street crimes and those constables who patrol the streets and of course those going on Special Operations or what we refer to in Jamaica as raids.

Referring to the recent arrests of three police officers on what appear to be cocaine and related charges, the commissioner said:

“It was a good thing because it sends a signal to the rank-and-file membership that if you engage in certain activities you can and will be caught. The three police officers who were arrested in the United States were arrested because of a joint International operation and it wasn’t United States officers alone, it was a joint operation with the local police here in Jamaica.

The commissioner also indicated that:

“There have been a number of operational changes in the force.   For example, a new body has been set up called PSTEP, as well as other operational bodies. Some time ago the Mobile Reserve was disbanded and there is now a new operational body. These are some of the things you will see as a public, but there are changes you may not see. The force is undergoing tremendous transformation.” The Commissioner was speaking in a live interview with Nadine Spence on CVM TV nightly Panel discussion in Jamaica W.I.

Hopeton O’Connor-Dennie is National & International Correspondent for Vision Newspaper.