People’s National Party (PNP) President Mark Golding has added his voice to those calling for increased use of body-worn cameras by police during special operations.

According to Golding, the practice is one way to ensure trust and a good relationship between citizens and members of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF).

“We must have security for our citizens in their communities. We want to ensure the police have the tools they need to do their work. They are here to serve and protect. We need a good relationship between the police and citizens so citizens don’t have to fear the police if they are behaving themselves,” Golding, who is also the Opposition leader, said on Tuesday as he addressed a PNP meeting dubbed ‘Change Maker Conversations, Pathways to Hope’ at Long Mountain Community Centre in the St Andrew Eastern constituency.

The PNP has selected Patricia Duncan Sutherland as its standard-bearer to challenge the sitting Member of Parliament Fayval Williams of the Jamaica Labour Party in the next general election.

“We don’t like what we see where the numbers of people being killed by the police seems to be going up,” Golding said.

He argued that body-worn cameras protect the police from being falsely accused of wrongdoing and also protect the citizens.

“The environment in which we are living now is not one that we can feel comfortable with. Although we are happy to see some improvement in the murder rate over last year or so, after nine years — where it had been very, very bad — the techniques being used are not sustainable,” added Golding.

According to Golding, the strategy now being used by cops do not build trust and confidence between the citizens and the police.

“That must be the bedrock of our cohesive society, and that is why [we brought in] Unite For Change…so that we can deal with the root causes of why a youth feels that he has to go a certain path rather than the right path. We are giving them better options and opportunities,” he said.

“We need those programmes back so that the youth have an avenue if the school system has let them down; their family life and home background was not what it should have been and they have been struggling through life ever since and they are not seeing a way forward,” Golding said.

Statistics provided by the Independent Commission of Investigations (Indecom) on Wednesday showed that for last month there were 28 fatal shootings by the security forces, while four were reported in February up to Wednesday, making it 32 in total since the start of the year.

On January 31, human rights group Jamaicans For Justice (JFJ) reiterated calls for body-worn cameras amid what it claimed was a surge in fatal shootings by the security forces.

In a statement, JFJ said it was once again raising urgent concerns about the absence of body-worn cameras during security forces’ operations, calling it a critical issue that continues to undermine transparency, accountability, and public trust in law enforcement.

In an immediate response, the police high command said that contrary to misleading claims, it has 750 body-worn cameras and that additional cameras are being procured and will be deployed before the end of the calendar year.

“Given the current availability of cameras, a deployment strategy has been implemented to maximise their effectiveness. The primary focus has been on public order policing, where body-worn cameras have already contributed to a reduction in confrontations and improved accountability in police-citizen interactions. It must be clearly understood that operational deployment decisions are made by the JCF, based on strategic priorities and operational needs,” the high command said in a media release.

“The repeated peddling of misinformation about the JCF’s body-worm camera programme does a disservice to the public. These misleading narratives create a false impression that the force is reluctant to embrace technology that enhances accountability. Worse still, they seek to draw unfounded connections between body-worn cameras deployment and police-involved incidents, thereby distorting legitimate discussions on law enforcement policy and oversight,” the high command added as it argued that the public should be guided by facts and not speculation and conjecture.

“Those who claim to be advocates for justice must hold themselves to a standard of accuracy and responsibility in their statements. We are not simply implementing cameras — we are ensuring that their deployment is part of a comprehensive, well-resourced, and long-term strategy. This will continue to be done in a manner that ensures effectiveness and sustainability,” said the JCF.