KINGSTON, Jamaica — Former assistant commissioner at the Independent Commission of Investigation (Indecom), Hamish Campbell, is expressing confidence in newly appointed Deputy Commissioner Yanique Taylor Wellington.

Speaking on her appointment in a release on Monday, Campbell shared, “Yanique Taylor Wellington has a clear drive to ensure the commission’s staff are treated well and fairly…She recognises that a strong and supported workforce is essential to undertaking the difficult work of the commission.”

With her appointment as deputy commissioner, Taylor Wellington, who is Campbell’s successor, is the first woman to hold the post of head of operations at Indecom.

Noting her determination and integrity in holding state agents accountable, Campbell said, “She has a solid understanding of Jamaican law and international best practice standards, and the strength of character to ensure she is not dismissed when raising issues of accountability.”

In the meantime, he said his hopes for Indecom are centred on continuity, support and long-term development. This includes investment in technology, staff development and capacity building. These, he said, will be critical to strengthening the organisation’s future effectiveness.

Reflecting on when he joined Indecom and the lesson learnt, Campbell said: “I reached a point where I had to step back. If you stay in constant reaction mode, you miss what is really happening. I needed to understand the bigger picture of what the commission was dealing with.”

When Hamish Campbell stepped into the role of assistant commissioner at Indecom, the organisation was already operating under significant strain. Jamaica was experiencing one of its most violent periods in recent history, and the commission’s workload expanded almost immediately. Fatal shootings were at a peak, and the small team of Indecom investigators faced a relentless cycle of active cases, on-call duties and public attention that rarely paused.

Although Campbell brought decades of experience from the London Metropolitan Police, the scale, pace and scrutiny of homicide investigations in Jamaica tested his leadership and endurance from the outset. As the months turned into years, Campbell began to realise that the job could not be sustained by reacting to one investigation at a time. The volume was simply too great. Files kept coming, calls never stopped and without a different way of working, the pressure would only compound.

That shift in perspective changed how he approached the role. Instead of seeing cases in isolation, he began looking for connections between them.

“You start to notice patterns,” he explained. “Trends in behaviour, repeated names, teams, similar circumstances. Once you see that, you can manage the work more deliberately.”

Drawing on his background in homicide investigations, Campbell pushed for more structure and consistency in how information was handled.

“Good investigations depend on good systems,” he said. “If you cannot track what you are seeing, you cannot act on it properly.”

This thinking led to practical changes that reshaped his day-to-day work. The introduction of Indecom’s first database allowed him and his teams to properly track cases, review progress and identify gaps. Later, an enhanced platform made it possible to conduct deeper, more regular case reviews. Campbell viewed these tools as a way to bring structure, insight and fairness to every investigation.

While Campbell placed a strong emphasis on building systems and strategy, he found the greatest fulfilment in supporting investigation teams and overseeing cases that carried significant public and institutional importance. These investigations often unfolded under intense scrutiny and required careful judgement, persistence and independence.

One of the most defining moments during Campbell’s tenure came with the commission’s investigation into the Clarendon shootings, a case that tested both his leadership and the resolve of the organisation. The scale and severity of the incidents placed extraordinary pressure on the small investigative team, and public attention was intense.

“Those cases were an important moment for Indecom,” Campbell reflected. “They strengthened our ability to challenge and investigate the JCF (Jamaica Constabulary Force) and demonstrated why the commission is necessary within civil society.”

For Campbell, this was as much a personal test as it was a professional one. The intensity of the work and the weight of responsibility left a lasting impression on him. He became deeply aware of the real human lives behind every file; the families affected, the officers on the ground and the communities watching closely.

“It made me realise that to do this work well, you have to remember that real people are involved at every level, and that perspective shapes every decision you make,” he added.