Amid historic levels of fatal shootings by the security forces, Police Commissioner Dr. Kevin Blake has exhorted cops to exercise self-discipline, describing it as more important than the checks and balances that come with oversight.
At the same time, Dr. Blake has again urged Jamaicans to join the appeal to violent and hardened criminals that they should not confront cops with deadly force.
Writing in the latest edition of the weekly Force Orders, the police commissioner said fatal shootings do not benefit anyone and they are never the desired end state.
The latest appeal by Dr. Blake marked the third straight week the leadership of the JCF has used the Force Orders to underscore the importance of professionalism and discipline within its ranks.
In last week’s edition, he cautioned that the greatest risk to the successes of the JCF were cops not being consistent in the quality of service they deliver and those who themselves do not realise that we are living in a different time when getting away with their unprofessional conduct is no longer a likelihood.
Dr. Blake says the Jamaica Constabulary Force must revisit its disciplinary machinery to assess its effectiveness in ensuring that it presents a deterrence to anything less than professional service delivery.
According to data from the Independent Commission of Investigations, 37 people were fatally shot by members of the security forces last month, the highest number for a calendar month in 13 years.
Up to May 2, a total of 116 people were shot and killed by the security forces, ten more than the comparative period last year.
Dr. Blake is lamenting that there continues to be violent confrontations where some have resulted in lives being lost, while insisting that the main objective of the police in these incidents is de-escalation.
In the meantime, Police Commissioner Dr. Kevin Blake, in praising cops for Jamaica’s declining murder rate, disclosed that over 10 per cent of the more than 8,000 people arrested since January 1 this year were for major crimes including murder and shootings.
According to the latest statistics published by the JCF, murders and shootings have plunged by 23 and 32 per cent respectively this year when compared with the corresponding period last year.
The statistics revealed that a total of 174 people were killed and 168 shootings were recorded between January 1 and April 25 this year.
Dr. Blake also disclosed that, so far this year, the police have issued more than 250,000 traffic tickets and conducted over 9,000 national coordinated roadblocks.
In reinforcing the need for self-discipline, he noted that the lawful authority given to cops comes with a great degree of responsibility and accountability and said such power requires strong oversight and clear legislative and policy guidelines to keep them in check.