THE police high command says it will deploy enough cops in Half-Way-Tree, St Andrew, today as a planned protest against the constabulary by human rights group Jamaicans For Justice (JFJ) appears set to attract opposition from citizens who have been encouraged to show support for the police.

The deployment of police personnel “is a precautionary measure intended to ensure the safety of all participants and to preserve public order, especially in light of credible indications of possible counter protests in the vicinity”, the high command said in a statement while emphasising that the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) “has no affiliation with any of the groups planning to protest”.

On April 9 when JFJ announced its ‘End Police Violence Protest’, saying it will be held from 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm at Half-Way-Tree-Transport Centre, the group encouraged protesters to wear black.

But last week, opposition to the protest started circulating on social media, with Jamaicans being asked to wear blue in support of the police.

On Monday, Government Senator Marlon Morgan gave an official voice to that encouragement in a recorded statement.

Morgan said that while the JCF and its members are not above criticism, “at a time when Jamaica is registering historic and welcome reduction in murders and other major crimes, the interest of the county will be better served by constructively criticising the police instead of tearing them down”.

“I am urging well-thinking and law-abiding Jamaicans to rally behind the police and motivate them by wearing blue on Tuesday, April 29,” he added.

“At the same time, I’m imploring the public to shun actions and utterances that may serve to demoralise and demotivate our policemen and women,” Senator Morgan said.

“A demoralised and demotivated JCF can only serve to advance the interest of the menacing criminals in our society, and not the vast majority of us who want to see the police winning the fight against the criminals and sustaining the prevailing reduction in murders in our beloved country,” he added.

Morgan said that given the scourge of criminality, and in particular violent crime with which Jamaica has been grappling over many years, there can be no denying that the police work under very tough and trying circumstances.

As such, he said, “all well-thinking and law-abiding Jamaicans should be focused on supporting and encouraging our hard-working policemen and women, not tearing them down”.

At the time JFJ announced the protest, it pointed out that 93 individuals had been killed by the police, “marking a staggering 165 per cent increase compared to the same period in 2024”.

Last week, the Independent Commission of Investigations (Indecom) stated that a total of 102 civilians were killed by the security forces between January 1 and April 24, and renewed its call for police and soldiers to be equipped with body-worn cameras when embarking on planned operations.

JFJ, in its release advising of today’s protest, said the action “aims to spotlight the escalating crisis of police fatal shootings in Jamaica and demand accountability, justice, and systemic reform”.

JFJ’s Executive Director Mickel Jackson warned that if this trend continues the country could surpass its highest-recorded police killing figures, exceeding the 258 deaths reported in 2013 — numbers not seen since before the establishment of Indecom.

According to the JFJ, the protest will bring together victims, their families, human rights advocates, and concerned citizens to amplify their voices and push for change. Participants will engage in a peaceful rally with placards and chants such as “End Police Violence”, “Where are the body-worn cameras?” and “Accountability Now”, alongside victim testimonials and solidarity speeches from civil society leaders, the human rights lobby group said.

It said some of the noted individuals scheduled to attend the protest are attorney Bert Samuels; Arlene Harrison-Henry, who is also an attorney and former public defender; Susan Goffe, human rights advocate, former JFJ director, and current JFJ member; Dr Maziki Thame, political scientist, The University of the West Indies, Mona; and Carla Gullotta, executive director of Stand Up Jamaica.

JFJ said it will use today’s protest to press for “transparency and timely disciplinary action for police misconduct; increased resources for forensics to hasten investigation; action on the long-promised reforms to the Constabulary Force Act; increased deployment and timelines for full body-worn camera infrastructure; and publication of Force Orders to ensure public awareness of policing standards”.

On Monday, Senator Morgan said it should not be overlooked that a culture of accountability is increasingly being fostered by the JCF, and professionalism is being prioritised through human rights training and sensitisation.

He said the advent of Indecom, the Inspectorate and Professional Standards Oversight Bureau, the Police Civilian Oversight Authority, as well as other internal administrative protocols show that, “there are greater mechanisms to hold the police to account and to safeguard the public against police excesses today than there has been previously in the history of this country”.

Meanwhile, the police high command said it, “firmly upholds the view that in a modern, functioning democracy, all citizens have a right to express their views through lawful and peaceful demonstrations, and it is the responsibility of law enforcement to provide the environment in which these rights can be freely exercised”.