The Independent Commission of Investigations (Indecom) has offered to help a grandmother obtain a funeral grant to bury her grandson who was shot during a police operation nearly a year ago.

Indecom made the offer in response to a Jamaica Observer article on November 8, 2025, reporting Marcia Francis’s heart-rending plea during a visit by the newspaper to Justice Square in downtown Kingston last Friday.

Francis begged for help to bury her grandson Matthew Small as the anniversary of his death looms.

Small is named in Indecom’s 2024 Security Forces Fatal Shootings report. Listed as number 176 with an incident date of December 13, 2024, Indecom said Small, along with another individual, was shot dead in the Whitehouse Housing Scheme in Ewarton, St Catherine, by individuals assigned to the Jamaica Constabulary Force. According to Indecom, the fatal shooting incident, which took place during “a planned police operation had no eyewitnesses and no body-worn cameras were issued or used by the team”.

In the Observer story published last Saturday, Francis said, “My grandson dead from inna December last year and mi beg dem a likkle help fi bury him and all now. A don’t have it.”

According to Francis, her grandson, whom she described as “a nice likkle bwoy”, had died innocently.

“Police just si him and kill him inna Ewarton. Him born and grow in Linstead, so him come look fi mi and seh him a go down a him grandparents go fix up; him a go weed up him daddy grave and last year December I hear that Matthew dead. Ewarton police kill him and wi have dem a court same way. From last year December him dead and him can’t bury and dis yah December will make one year. Si it here, I have nobody to help mi with this,” she said, waving a burial order with Small’s name on it.

On Thursday, Indecom, in a statement issued to the Observer, said it has contacted Francis and has offered its assistance with the referral process for a funeral grant.

According to Commissioner of Indecom Hugh Faulkner, this assistance was an extension of Indecom’s role as an independent investigator.

“Beyond the need for independent and factual resolution of cases that we investigate, our complainants and their families may require additional support, which includes referrals for counselling and social services to improve livelihood and foster resilience after the death of the caregiver of the household,” Faulkner pointed out.

“While the formal enquiry by the investigative teams is conducted, there is a parallel social-intervention mechanism which aims to give guidance on accessing support for affected individuals who may require, emotional, financial, or physical assistance,” he added, noting that the majority of the referrals made by Indecom are to the Victim Services Branch of the Ministry of Justice, the Office of the Children’s Advocate, and the Ministry of Labour and Social Security.

He said since 2021, Indecom, through its family liaison officers (FLOs), has integrated investigations with social intervention referrals, to offer social and economic support to citizens beyond their formal enquiry into complaints or allegations against law enforcement officials.

“Indecom recognises that when investigations are paired with practical help, trust in institutions can further be strengthened, and humanitarian challenges addressed,” the commissioner noted.

He said since the introduction of the investigation with social intervention referral mechanism, the FLOs have made more than 160 referrals to Victim Services for counselling, 14 referrals to the Programme of Advancement Through Health and Education (PATH), 30 referrals for funeral grants, two each for education grants and compassionate housing, and one referral each to the Bureau of Gender Affairs and the Jamaica Association for the Deaf.

To date, Faulkner said Indecom has successfully confirmed 11 referrals for funeral grants, four PATH referrals and the donation of a wheelchair from Food for the Poor.

He said, while an Indecom referral will not guarantee grant assistance, the commission believes that the initiation of additional welfare mechanisms is an important first step in supporting accessibility to all citizens.

Currently, Indecom has two FLOs who coordinate this response across its five regional teams.