Greater risk assessment needed - Police Commissioner

Police Commissioner Owen Ellington has pointed to the need for senior officers within the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) to conduct greater risk-assessments before deploying the men and women under their command.

In some cases Commissioner Ellington says police personnel would not be issued with certain kinds of weapons as the risk assessment would show that less lethal weapons would be adequate.

His comments come a week after 27-year-old Kayann Lamont, who was eight months pregnant, was allegedly shot and killed by police Corporal Dwayne Smart in Yallahs, St Thomas.

The shooting allegedly occurred after a scuffle broke out when Corporal Smart attempted to prosecute Lamont for using indecent language.

Writing in the weekly force orders, the commissioner conceded that there have been cases where citizens have been injured in situations where an examination show that the force used was inappropriate at the time.

Against this background, the commissioner says greater responsibility will be placed on senior persons responsible for briefing, debriefing and dispatching personnel who may have conducted themselves contrary to the policies of the JCF.