KINGSTON, Jamaica — Opposition Spokesperson on Justice Zuleika Jess is calling for immediate and systemic reform of Jamaica’s policing accountability framework.

Citing data from the Independent Commission of Investigations (Indecom) that 133 people have been shot and killed by members of the security forces since the start of the year, an average of more than 26 per month, Jess expressed serious concern at the public response from the country’s most senior justice officials.

She pointed to the Minister of Justice’s declaration that the law permits police to use deadly force against a fleeing suspect, and the Police Commissioner’s instruction to officers not to become paralysed by public criticism in the wake of fatal shootings, describing both as statements that erode public confidence and build a wall of institutional arrogance around the security forces.

“Running away must never become an automatic death sentence. The right to due process, to a fair trial, and to the presumption of innocence are not suspended the moment a person flees. That is a dangerous signal,” Jess warned.

The Member of Parliament for St Elizabeth North Eastern was careful to affirm the right of police officers to defend themselves when confronted with deadly force from criminal elements, and called for transparency as a central tool of protection, both for the public and for the reputation of the Jamaica Constabulary Force itself. Jess argued that visibility into police operations, rather than defensiveness from leadership, is the most effective antidote to eroding public trust.

The opposition spokesperson called for the mandatory deployment of body-worn cameras for all officers engaged in planned operations, enhanced training in de-escalation tactics, and a strengthened independent oversight framework to ensure that accountability is not treated as an attack on the institution but as an essential condition of its legitimacy.

Last month the justice minister urged Jamaicans to cooperate with the police, warning that law enforcement officers are legally authorised to use reasonable force — including lethal force — even against a fleeing suspect if it is the only available means of stopping them.

“And, as I’m saying, if the person is trying to escape and the only way to apprehend the person is deadly force, it is still reasonable force in the eyes of the law,” Chuck stated. He was addressing an Alternative Dispute Resolution Policy Development and Estate Planning Public Education Forum in Coral Springs, Trelawny.

“That is not my law, it is the common law reaffirmed in many cases over the decades that if the police think you’re a felon and you’re escaping, they must use reasonable force to arrest you,” Chuck said.