FATAL FORCE
Poll: More J’cans believe police killings are excessive than justified; youth back cops, elders alarmed
Published:Friday | June 20, 2025 | 12:13 AMSashana Small/Staff Reporter
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A surge in police fatal shootings in Jamaica this year has stirred national debate, with more Jamaicans viewing the number killed as excessive than those who believe that the police are simply performing their duties. However, a significant portion...
A surge in police fatal shootings in Jamaica this year has stirred national debate, with more Jamaicans viewing the number killed as excessive than those who believe that the police are simply performing their duties. However, a significant portion of the population remains silent on the issue.
According to the latest RJRGLEANER-commissioned Don Anderson poll, conducted between May 18 and June 7, some 21.2 per cent of respondents believe that the level of police killings is excessive, while 14.1 per cent feel the police are doing their job. Notably, 26.9 per cent of participants declined to offer an opinion.
So far this year, 154 people have been killed by members of the Jamaica Constabulary Force, a figure that draws close to the 189 police-involved fatalities recorded in all of 2024.
The poll sampled 1,033 Jamaicans age 18 and older and carries a margin of error of plus or minus three percentage points.
It revealed generational differences in perceptions of police violence. Older Jamaicans were more likely to view the killings as excessive: 28.4 per cent of those age 55-64 and 23.4 per cent of those 65 and over held this view. In comparison, only 17.3 per cent of individuals age 18-24 and 15.2 per cent of those 25-34 expressed similar concerns.
Interestingly, younger respondents were more likely to say the police were fulfilling their duties. Of those holding that view, 20.2 per cent was from the 18-24 age group while 19.8 per cent were 65 and older.
GETTING RID OF CRIMINALS
Meanwhile, 12.1 per cent of respondents saw the killings as a necessary means of removing criminals from society. An additional 5.2 per cent were worried about innocent lives being lost, and 6.7 per cent believed police corruption or lack of accountability played a role. Another 4 per cent felt that the police were abusing their powers.
Anderson noted that while views are mixed, many Jamaicans believe that alternative strategies should be explored to fight crime. These include enhanced police training, thorough investigations, and improved evidence collection.
“When assessed overall, Jamaicans appear to be somewhat ambivalent on this issue, with a roughly equal number of persons supporting as those opposing the reported increase in police killings in the current environment, where it is felt that the crime has been too high for too long a time,” Anderson stated.
Public reaction to the rise in fatal police shootings reached a peak in April when human rights advocacy group Jamaicans for Justice (JFJ) staged a protest in Half-Way Tree, St Andrew. Dressed in black, demonstrators demanded greater police accountability and the mandatory use of body-worn cameras during operations.
JFJ Executive Director Mickel Jackson described the protest as a platform for meaningful engagement on issues of human rights and law-enforcement conduct.
“It’s a glorious opportunity for constructive dialogue,” she said. “I am not choosing sides, but I am on the side of accountability. I am on the side of human rights, and I am on the side of body-worn cameras and police accountability.”
However, the day before the protest, Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness urged citizens to wear blue in a show of support for the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) and called for balance in the conversation surrounding police fatal shootings. He expressed his satisfaction with the force’s leadership and suggested that the increase in police-fatal shootings was understandable.
Holness and several members of Government wore blue on the same day as the protest while attending the sitting of the House of Representatives.
“As you can see, today, I am decked out in my blue because I am in full support of the JCF,” Holness said.
Speaking with Senior Super-intendent Damion Manderson, commanding officer of the St Andrew South Police Division, Holness defended the increase in fatal police shootings.
“The JCF’s increased activities in interdicting criminals and in dealing with the gangs would have caused a significant increase in the loss of lives of those who challenge them. But I need the country to now also understand that the gang warfare is at a level where we must respond and respond decisively,” he asserted.