KINGSTON, Jamaica – Motorists are being advised to take note of JamaicaEye surveillance cameras in their vicinity if they are involved in an accident.

The National Surveillance System or JamaicaEye has several cameras in the main townships across the country.

Senior Director with responsibility for Major Technology Transformation within the Ministry of National Security, Emil Holgate, said that if a person is involved in an accident, the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) utilises video footage from JamaicaEye in their investigations.

“If you say you have an accident or you’re involved in an accident, what we recommend is that you indicate to the investigating officer, which is the police who is taking the report that you would have observed that a camera was in the vicinity or is in the vicinity of the accident. They (police) will use the video to determine liability or to make any other determination in furtherance of their investigation,” Holgate explained.

He said the system does not allow civilians to have open access to the surveillance footage, as it is primarily set up for use by the JCF to support their operations and investigations.

“We will not give members of the public access to the video. As you can imagine, whenever the video is captured, it not only captures the particular incident. There are also other elements in the periphery that are captured that we have to ensure we protect the persons who are not necessarily involved in that particular incident.” Holgate said.

He noted that the JCF usually initiates their internal protocols to utilise the footage as evidence.

Holgate said the use of the JamaicaEye system by the JCF to assist with traffic accident investigations is very high, and members of the public should be pleased to know that the technology is being utilised to improve the police’s efficiency.