KINGSTON, Jamaica — The Police High Command said it has noted the concerns raised by the Independent Commission of Investigation (INDECOM) about the increase in fatal shootings since the start of 2017 when compared to the same period last year.

A news release from the Corporate Communications Unit (CCU) of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) disclosed that since January, a total of 31 fatalities occurred during police-criminal confrontations.

According to CCU, 23 of those fatalities resulted from shootings against the police while eight were as a result of assault at common law.  In four of the Assault at Common Law Cases the perpetrators used firearms, two used machetes, one a knife and the other a piece of board.

The Police High Command said that an assessment of the data for the period in review shows a direct correlation between an increased number of violent gun attacks against the security forces, increased gun murders and shooting of civilians and an increase in police use of deadly force when compared to the same period in 2016.

The JCF said that there is a concerted and calculated stream of gun attacks against the police, disclosing that a total of 45 gun assaults against police officers were recorded for the first two months in 2017, which is a 13 per cent increase in comparison to 40 for the same period in 2016, and equates to an average of 1.4 attacks per day.

Similarly illegal guns were also used in more than 80 per cent of attacks against the civilian population, the CCU release added.

The leadership of the JCF said it “places on record our stance with respect to use of force; we take no pleasure in the loss of lives and choose to instead make arrests for persons to appear in a court of law. In instances where the suspects surrendered peacefully they were apprehended and taken into custody. In fact, for the mentioned period in 2017, there were 30 instances where criminal gun assaults were brought under control without deadly force by the police.”

Even in the face of the unceasing attacks on our members, the JCF continues to remind police officers of their legal and moral responsibility in the use of force and in protecting themselves when confronted with deadly situations, the Police High Command said.

Where criminal suspects violently attack members of the security forces, self-preservation necessitates that members defend themselves, it added.

The Police High Command also reminded police officers that use of force is a tool of last resort and must be guided by the principles of PLANJM; that is proportionality, legality, accountability, necessity, justification, and morality.

As the principal law enforcement body in Jamaica, the organisation said it remains committed and resolute to serve, protect and reassure the people in Jamaica with courtesy, integrity and proper respect for the rights of all.