THE word “independent” as described in the Oxford dictionary is as follows:

“Free from outside control; not subject to another’s authority.”

The Independent Commission of Investigations (Indecom) needs to take a read of its nearest dictionary and start to live by the dictates of the definition, or just change the damn name of the organisation.

I honestly have no problem if it decides to call itself the Criminal Rights Commission of Inquiry, because at least it would be honest. You cannot be a human rights activist and a crusader for a cause and then say you are an “independent” investigator.

What nobody chooses to remind Indecom is that it is not a criminal investigation organisation in the normal sense of the word. Its purpose is to investigate an incident to determine if the police have acted illegally or in breach of force policy.

That being said, Indecom should not be having press conferences celebrating that it has charged 65 police officers since January 2025. That is the expected narrative of a commanding officer, speaking of how many criminals he has brought to justice in a specific period within his police division — not an organisation investigating incidents!

Why didn’t you lead with the fact that in over 1,000 incidents investigated the police have been found justified in their actions? This garbage has been going on for too long, this garbage has been tolerated for too long.

I can imagine that the bulk of incidents in which police officers have been charged have been because of statements of witnesses who are either members of the family of the alleged victim, or members of the community which are, in effect, under the control of gangs.

Ours must be the only country that has an arm of our government that celebrates the destruction of police officers’ lives. Yes, by charging the officers — even if it will result in an acquittal, which it normally does — it will nevertheless destroy the career and the life of the targeted police officer, or at least subjugate it considerably.

This type of activity is common in divided societies. For example, Northern Ireland in the 70s having a police force representative of the Protestant segment of the society resulted in the Catholic segment celebrating their downfall.

I know this is a divided society. The men and women who protect this country are still largely drawn from the working class population. However, there is no conflict that mirrors Northern Ireland. If there was mandatory police service for all citizens of Jamaica, irrespective of social or income bracket, Jamaicans For Justice and Indecom would not exist. Let me explain.

Independence failed to end the Jamaican oligopoly. Michael Manley, despite his best efforts, failed to end the Jamaican oligopoly. Indecom is living proof that the oligopoly still exists. You think I’m talking out of my hat?

If the children of attorneys, doctors, and leaders of industry — to include the attorneys who work for Indecom — had their adult children conducting high-risk entry raids into dark tenement yards, do you think they would be calling for them to wear a red, blinking light on their heart that ultimately will one day capture the footage on that body-worn camera of a bullet hitting that red light and killing them?

No combat team in the world that I have researched wears a red, blinking light whilst doing a high-risk entry. Look at the photo, that’s what a bodycam looks like when it’s on.

This point has been brought up to Indecom and met with absolute silence. Why? Because it’s poor people ‘pickney’ who are being sent to die, irrespective of whether they are wearing a police or military uniform.

Let us look at the word “independent” again. The Oxford dictionary defines it as “free from outside control”.

I cannot count the number of times I have said that Indecom is allowed to accept contributions from foreign countries and organisations, to include human rights organisations, which are critics of the Jamaican armed forces. Has Indecom ever once said in response to my allegation that it will not and does not accept any form of contribution or assistance from anyone or any organisation other than the Jamaican Government?

No, it has not. Ask yourself why!

The solution lies in an amendment or reconstruction of the Indecom Act. The Act itself turns the entity into crusaders. The Act puts Indecom in a position to recommend charges of police officers for lack of cooperation, which in effect stalls the police officers’ careers and forces them to answer questions that should not be asked.

Indecom’s investigators are civilians. They have no business asking questions about police intelligence. Neither are they qualified enough to be judging police techniques or approaches. They know nothing of police work. They are not signatures to the Secrecy Act.

At least one of its former investigators is now a lawyer defending criminals and gang members. This is dangerous. The Act needs to be amended. People who work there must be barred from being members of the criminal bar for an extended period.

I don’t think you guys really understand what in the hell is going on at Dumfries Road. Let me lay it out for you. When you are called in to be interviewed as a “witness”, a person is appointed to serve as a judge to moderate the proceeding. That person is normally a senior member of Indecom.

I would love to know which fascist went to his bed one night and woke up with that ridiculous formation. It’s like being tried in Saddam Hussein’s Iraq! And get this, they actually wanted to be able to lay charges on police officers without the authorisation of the Office of the Director of Public Prosecution! It took three judges in England to shut down that lunacy.

Why is it that when members of the press ask for the salary information of foreigners working there it is met with silence? Is it because they don’t want to say publicly that they are paying foreigners more than Jamaicans despite the fact that the Jamaicans are in senior positions to them? Is it that they are afraid to say that they are receiving salaries from foreign organisations?

Are salaries calculated based on nationality, rather than rank? I hope not. So why is it then a secret?

We (police officers) are winning this war at last. We are fighting for a cause. We expect that we will suffer losses also. What is not expected is our demise to be celebrated by those we fight to protect.

Feedback: drjasonamckay@gmail.com