INDECOM Commissioner, Terrence Williams
THE Independent Commission of Investigations (INDECOM), in a report tabled in the House of Representatives on Tuesday, said 340 civilians were killed in various police operations between July 2013 and December 2015.
The information was included in INDECOM’s Quarterly Report for the April-June period of 2016, which also stated that 36 per cent, or 125, of those deaths occurred during what the Jamaica Constabulary Force describes as “Planned Police Operations”.
All planned police operations for the 30-month period where death or injury occurred were conducted in breach of the JCF Use of Force Policy, the commission noted.
The report said that INDECOM has been examining planned police operations where fatalities occurred, with particular focus on the Mobile Reserve Unit.
“A study of these operations tells a tale of routine disregard for internal policies and protocols,” INDECOM said.
It noted that of 124 planned operations only in one case where death occurred did the JCF commanders had a recorded plan. It said, however, that this sole plan was itself deficient, “as it did not display any steps to minimise the risk of death or injury as is required by the JCF’s Use of Force Policy”.
The commission pointed out that in its 2014 report to Parliament, “Command Responsibility for the Use of Force”, was the first report on this matter. In that report the commission announced that it would be conducting post-incident assessments of the police commanders. This report is on the findings from those assessments, it stated.
“It remains apparent that a significant number of deaths occurred during police operations which were evidently planned to execute search warrants or arrest warrants or effect the arrest of persons other than by warrant,” it noted.
The commission said that the second quarterly report explored those situations in detail and discussed the policies in the JCF which speak to them.
In terms of new complaints, INDECOM said that it received 224 such complaints for the period in review. The main complaints were: incidents of assault (84), discharge of firearm (44), fatal shooting (26), shooting injury (17) and conduct unbecoming (13).
“It should be noted that all, except for the allegation of conduct unbecoming, are always the most common complaints,” the commission said.