Jamaican Security Minister Withdraws Remark

Last week, Dwight Nelson, Jamaica's Security Minister said that people killed by police are collateral damage in the country's war with criminals. According to the group Jamaicans for Justice (JFJ), in an address to Jamaica's Police Federation's Annual Conference, Nelson said the following:

"I pledge to you today that. I will use every effort to assemble a team of first-class legal officers to defend policemen when they are hauled before the court like common criminals," Nelson told the conference.

"This country must recognise and accept that we are fighting a war, and in any war there will be collateral damage. No policeman should be made to pay for this damage," Senator Nelson said.

"I am prepared to stand by you as you go out there to trample the underground network who have no compunction to dabble in criminal activities," he added. "I want to say to you today, I have the support of this Government, of which I am a part, in my unequivocal support of all policemen and women in the lawful execution of their duty. Inspite of the challenges we face as a nation, we must recognise that we have to provide you with the tools to get the job done."

JFJ condemned these remarks by saying:

"The rule of law demands that those who have acted outside the law are called to account," said JFJ. "Our problem in Jamaica is not that many policemen are "hauled before the courts like common criminals" as the minister is suggesting. Our problem is that our justice system fails to credibly investigate, charge and effectively prosecute those policemen against whom allegations of unlawful conduct are made. The result of these failures is impunity for unlawful police actions, increasing distrust of the police by citizens and increasing frustration by the citizens at the failure of the Government to protect them from unlawful actions by the police force."

Nelson apologized and withdrew the remark. He said that he did not mean that the government should back illegal acts by officers, but that police officers are justified in using deadly force against criminals.

For background, I recommend a couple of useful reports that I have come across or been a part of in my work.

"Killing Impunity: Fatal Police Shootings and Extrajudicial Executions in Jamaica, 2005-2007," by Jamaicans for Justice and the George Washington University Law School International Human Rights Clinic.

“'Let them kill each other': Public security in Jamaica’s inner cities," by Amnesty International. Amnesty International's latest human rights report, which just came out last week, mentioned police killings.