KINGSTON,Jamaica- Activist group Jamaicans for Justice (JFJ) is demanding that politicians create mandatory body-worn camera policies as it calls for more accountability from security forces and the government for the reported 163 police killings that have taken place in 2024.

“This horrifying trend already exceeds the 2023 figure of 155 police killings, placing Jamaica on track to record the highest number of killings by security forces in nearly a decade,” the group said in a press release Thursday.

JFJ is now calling on residents to join in demanding that the Government and security forces ‘prioritise true accountability’ by implementing the rule.

“These policies should include clear consequences for officers who fail to activate their devices,” JFJ maintained.

Mickel Jackson, JFJ executive director said, “it is incomprehensible that body-worn cameras, although deployed in a limited capacity, are left at the discretion of the police to activate.”

The statement follows a similar call by the Independent Commission of Investigations’(INDECOM) Assistant Commissioner, Hamish Campbell, regarding the resistance of some officers to utilise body-worn cameras, as deadly police shootings climb.

READ MORE: Cops refusing to activate body cameras in deadly operations, says INDECOM
JFJ is also demanding that clear protocols be established on how footage from these cameras can be utilised to support investigations conducted by oversight groups like INDECOM and the Inspectorate and Professional Standards Oversight Bureau (IPROB).

Hours before the statement was released the Jamaica Constabulary Force ordered the detainment of two cops involved in the November 10 killing of three suspected robbers in East Kingston.

READ MORE Cops involved in fatal shooting of 3 men in east Kingston detained