JLP wants Jamaicans to wear blue for cops

Government Senator and senior member of the Jamaica Labour Party's (JLP) Communications Task Force, Marlon Morgan, is calling on Jamaicans from all walks of life to stand in solidarity with the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) by wearing blue this Tuesday.

"Given the scourge of criminality, and in particular, violent crime with which Jamaica has had to grapple over many years, there can be no denying that our police men and women work under very tough and trying circumstances," Morgan said.

The JLP's spokesman comments come as human rights group Jamaicans for Justice gets ready to stage a protest that aims to spotlight "the escalating crisis of police fatal shootings in Jamaica and demand accountability, justice, and systemic reform."

The protest is slated for the Half-Way Tree Transport Centre this Tuesday.

As of April 26, some 106 persons have been killed by members of the security forces--a staggering 138 per cent increase compared to the 44 fatal shootings recorded in the same period last year.

"This marks five consecutive years of year-on-year increases in police fatal shootings. If this trend continues, the country risks surpassing the 258 deaths reported in 2013, the highest number in over a decade," JFJ said.

However, the governing JLP, through Morgan, is contending that the police must be supported in their quest to bring the country's crime rate under control.

"The efforts and energies of all well-thinking and law-abiding Jamaicans should be focused on supporting and encouraging our hardworking police men and women; not tearing them down," Morgan said.

The JLP spokesman noted that there has been a 36.6 per cent reduction in murders, as of April 26, this year when compared to the corresponding period in 2024.

"While the JCF and its members are not above criticism, at a time when Jamaica is registering historic and welcomed reductions in murders and other major crimes, the interest of the country will be better served by constructively criticising the police instead of tearing them down," he said.

In addition to urging well-thinking and law-abiding Jamaicans to rally behind the police and motivate them by wearing blue today, Morgan .implored the public to "shun actions and utterances that may serve to demoralise and demotivate the police".