FORMER Commissioner of Police Rear Admiral Hardley Lewin has dismissed what he charged are the frequent excuses from the Government and the leadership of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) to deploy body-worn cameras on planned operations.

Lewin, who was speaking Wednesday during a Jamaicans for Justice policy roundtable on body-worn cameras among law enforcement in Jamaica, at the Courtleigh Hotel in New Kingston, scoffed at the reasons given for members of the JCF to not be routinely outfitted with cameras.

The former head of the JCF and the Jamaica Defence Force was responding to a question from moderator George Davis about the $2-billion spend by the Government to bolster the crime-fighting capabilities of the police, including the procurement of body-worn cameras.

Lewin said he has always been full of commendation for the Government on the “big spend on national security” that has transformed the JCF.

But he argued that the biggest game changer in law enforcement in Jamaica since the police got automobiles is closed-circuit television (CCTV), such as the JamaicaEye programme under which cameras are installed in public spaces.

“They should have run with that so fast,” said Lewin as he argued that the Government should have placed the same focus on JamaicaEye as it did on other aspects of policing.

“The first job of the police is not to fight crime; it’s to prevent the crime. So this notion that we’re out there fighting crime, after the crime has been committed, it’s a failure of policing. And, we use cleared-up rate as our effectiveness [but] it’s [our ability] to prevent the crime [that measures that effectiveness — and] CCTV is critical to that deterrence,” said Lewin.

With Deputy Commissioner of Police Warren Clarke earlier telling the JFJ round table that thousands more body-worn cameras will be procured up to 2029 at significant sums, Lewin was clear that the roll-out needs to be faster.

“In this critical area where we need to shine some light in that dark corner of those particular planned special operations… cameras must be employed, — not [given to] the man [policeman] walking the market streets and so on…”

He pointed out that the excuses for the slow roll-out of the cameras run the gamut from them not being able to go into stealth mode to them not being able to be affixed to the uniforms of some members of the force.

“None of these things [make sense] so you keep moving the goalpost. To what end? They take us for fools,” Lewin remarked.

He also came to the defence of the Independent Commission of Investigations (Indecom) which has repeatedly called for the cameras to be deployed on all operations, especially where the police are likely to confront armed criminals.

The oversight body has insisted that it will increase transparency and accountability, especially when eyewitness accounts differ from the version given by the police.

Indecom has also increased its call for body-worn cameras amid the sharp rise in police fatal shootings.

“What the hell is Indecom going to do in such cases where you have an ironclad statement from four or five police officers that this is what happened?

“They’re not denying that they shoot the man; what’s Indecom going to do? Their hands are tied behind their backs!” argued Lewin.

He added that, “without any other form of evidence… the witnesses are removed [from the crime scene], the man is dead, and you’re now expecting Indecom to do the impossible. It cannot happen”.

Lewin said a thought should be spared for members of the JCF who use deadly force legitimately, yet Indecom cannot come to a determination that the shooting was justified.

“They’re also tarred and feathered when in fact they acted in accordance with their use of force policy. It is not fair to them,” charged Lewin.

The former top cop said he would not care if 1,000 people are shot and killed by the police “if it is verifiable that it is justified. It’s not the numbers; it’s the principle, the transparency and the accountability”.

According to Lewin, “the resistance to the acquisition and use of body-worn cameras in planned operations betrays a sinister purpose”.

Quoting extensively from an article he wrote which was published in the Jamaica Observer on June 22, 2025 titled, ‘Those police fatal shootings’, Lewin warned that, “The longer we take to close the transparency and accountability gap, the longer the runway we give the police to run with it, so delay, delay, delay. Let us see how far down the runway we can get before our international partners and other groups become antsy and start demanding answers. This has happened before.”

He acknowledged that, “This approach where we take the view that the end justifies the means will no doubt sit well with many Jamaicans who have long endured the effects of rampant criminality, particularly murders. But we have to carefully determine what we want. Is it a nation governed by laws, rules, and regulations that affect all equally, or is it acceptable to break our own laws to enforce laws and protect our people?”

In a message to the men and women of the JCF Lewin said: “Never in your history have you had the number of officers that you now do. Never in your history have you been so well-resourced with the tools of your trade, with promises of more to come. Never before in your history have you had so many well-educated and highly trained gazetted officers and rank and file.

“You do not have to resort to any form of quick fixes — howsoever popular and seemingly effective — if it violates the laws you are sworn to uphold.”

Lewin added: “Play by the rules. Criminals do not, and that is what makes them criminals. If you play outside the rules it makes you a criminal also. Remember, those who glorify and worship you today will be amongst the first to abandon you to save their skins when things go wrong.”