Rogue cops warned amid fatal police shootings

In a forcefully worded edition of Commissioner’s Corner, Police Commissioner Dr. Kevin Blake has handed the podium to Deputy Commissioner of Police Karina Powell Hood, head of the Force Development & Logistics Portfolio (FDLP). The move signals a dramatic shift in how the JCF will now measure success — not merely by statistics of crime reduction, but by the consistency and discipline behind every badge.

The warning comes against a backdrop of mounting public outrage. In the last few weeks, police have reported deadly confrontations with suspects in St. Andrew, St Catherine and Clarendon, including all of five on April 27. According latest data from the Independent Commission (INDECOM) – the state task with investigating shootings involving members of the security forces, there has been 116 police fatal shootings so far, approximately 10 more than the corresponding period last year. Sixty-four officers have been charged between 2024 and 2026 INDECOM noted. 

While police claim self-defence, residents have released grainy cellphone videos questioning the sequence of events — videos that Commissioner Blake admits are now a “grave concern.”

A Few Rotten Apples Paint the Whole Tree

“Some videos of unprofessional conduct of a few of our members are surfacing and are cause for grave concern,” Commissioner Blake writes. He warns that the public does not isolate the individual. “Very few persons speak about the member as an individual, but instead as the JCF.”

The warning is chillingly relevant. After each fatal shooting, the public discourse has increasingly lumped professional officers together with those accused of trigger-happy or disrespectful conduct. Dr Blake rejects the idea that firm policing must be unprofessional. “There is no conflict between professionalism and firmness,” he states. “Discipline anchors authority. Respect sustains it.”

‘Do What You Document – The ISO Standard for Life and Death

DCP Powell Hood takes the argument to the tactical level, arguing that the same precision required for the JCF’s ISO 9001 certification must now govern every traffic stop, every search warrant, and every use of deadly force.

“Consistency and attention to details matter,” Powell Hood stated. “Maintaining standards by documenting what we do and doing what we document.”

She emphasizes that policies and standard operating procedures (SOPs) are not bureaucratic handcuffs but rather survival tools. “They protect the officer, the organisation, and the public,” Powell Hood said. 

In the context of recent shootings, this is a direct rejoinder to claims that officers are acting outside standing rules on de-escalation and proportionality. When an officer fails to log an interaction, fails to call in the license plate, or fails to warn before firing, Powell Hood argues, the entire force is put at risk.

The ‘Minor Matters’ That Prevent Mass Casualties

Perhaps most critically, the Deputy Commissioner reframes the definition of “excellence” in policing, noting it is not measured by dramatic drug busts or high-speed chases.

“Excellence is found in everyday moments: routine reports, the simple interactions, the ‘minor’ matters that may never make the news but shape how people experience their police force,” she wrote.

Drawing on Procedural Justice Theory, Powell Hood notes that “people judge the police less by the outcome of a case and more by how they were treated.” She warns that a single disrespectful encounter at a checkpoint or a single unexplained shooting, can undo months of crime-fighting gains.

“A single moment of professionalism can strengthen trust; a single moment of dismissal can weaken it,” she says.

Operational Consequence: Details as Crime Prevention

The timing is no accident. The JCF is aggressively working to bring Jamaica’s murder rate down from its longstanding perch among the world’s highest. But Deputy Commissioner Powell Hood insists that chasing the big numbers while ignoring small indignities is a fool’s errand.

“When we properly investigate a minor crime, we show respect, we build trust, we prevent escalation, we strengthen our craft, and we reinforce our legitimacy,” she said.

In practice, this means that the officer who dismisses a report of a stolen phone or a threatening gesture is planting the seed for a future fatal confrontation. Conversely, the officer who meticulously follows protocol de-escalates potential violence before it requires a gun.

A Direct Warning to Supervisors

The column concludes with a direct operational order to every rank: supervisors must enforce standards consistently. Commanders must embed discipline into culture. No more looking away because an officer gets “results.”

“Consistency, discipline, and respect are what define us,” Powell Hood writes.

For a nation exhausted by funerals — both of alleged criminals and, on other days, of police officers — the message offers no easy comfort. But Commissioner Blake and DCP Powell Hood are betting that without this discipline, the next viral video of a fatal shooting will not only spark protests but will permanently sever the trust required to keep Jamaica safe.