All Granville cops on patrol wear body cams, says senior officer

Every police officer on patrol in Granville, St. James, is now equipped with a body-worn camera, stated Detective Sergeant Chea Notice, the sub-officer in charge of the Granville Police Station.

Notice provided this assurance during a meeting at Granville Primary and Infant School on Monday night, responding to concerns about interactions between the police and residents. He emphasized that the use of body cameras is mandatory for all officers on duty, not optional.

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One of the beauties about the Granville space now is that every officer who is going on duty is wearing a body camera.

"Every officer who is going on duty is wearing a body camera," Notice said. "We should see a change in terms of how the police interact with the public. Every officer that you see on patrol is wearing a body camera. It’s not 'should be', it is a must."

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We should see a change in terms of how the police interact with the public. Every officer that you see on patrol is wearing a body camera. It’s not 'should be', it is a must.

His statement addresses sustained calls from various sectors of society for increased use of body cameras within the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF). These calls often intensify following fatal police shootings. Civil society groups have particularly stressed the need for cameras during planned police operations.

Recent controversial incidents, including the deaths of four men in an alleged shootout with police on June 10 and the shooting of Latoya "Buju" Bulgin on May 17, have fueled the demand for greater transparency. In Bulgin's case, the incident was captured on CCTV, leading to a murder charge against Constable Andrew Wilson.

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Once you are out there and you see a police officer without a body camera, that is a breach, and you can complain to me or to [head of the St James Police Division] Senior Superintendent Eron Samuels. It’s a very serious breach.

Notice also assured residents that measures are in place to ensure the public interaction policy is observed. He stated that any officer seen without a body camera during interactions is in breach of protocol and can be reported. He urged residents to provide details of unprofessional conduct, emphasizing that the JCF is a professional organization with policies governing officer conduct, which are reinforced during daily briefings.

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The Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) is a professional organisation and it has a lot of policies that govern the organisation. One of the policies is the Public Interaction Policy, and that policy is preached every morning, every evening when an officer is going out.