"COCKITINESS" AND THE COLLAPSE OF DUE PROCESS- By Richard Hugh Blackford

There is a word my late mother used often—sharp, dismissive, and always deliberate. She would describe certain people as “cockity.”

At the time, I thought she made it up later learned that she hadn’t.

“Cockity” is not just arrogance. It is something deeper. It is the belief that you are above correction, above scrutiny, and ultimately, above the law itself.

In recent weeks, I have seen that trait on full display in Jamaica’s leadership most strikingly in the conduct of Deputy Prime Minister Horace Chang, and by extension, the posture of the administration led by Andrew Holness.

WHEN POWER REJECTS ACCOUNTABILITY

In his contribution to the Sectoral Debate, Dr. Chang did not merely defend the police—he dismissed civil society outright. From the floor of Parliament, he argued that:

Civic leaders and watchdog groups are not qualified to critique the police. He also argued that they are not authorized to advise on policing policy. He stated further stated that only the Police Commissioner, Kevin Blake, has such authority.

Those pointers alone would have been troubling. But he went further; declaring that officers engaged in “Special Operations” will not be required—or even allowed—to wear body cameras.

This must provide significant cause for concern, because in a modern democracy, at a time when questions are mounting about the scale and legitimacy of police killings, the response from the State is not to increase transparency, but to remove it entirely.

Under no circumstances whatsoever should this be considered policy. What this amounts to is posturing; and this is the very definition of cockitiness.

THE NUMBERS WE CANNOT IGNORE

I feel that it is absolutely important that we deal with facts.

In 2025, police killed 311 Jamaicans. In the early months of 2026, that number has already climbed by another 93. In roughly 16 months, over 400 Jamaican men have lost their lives at the hands of the State. These are not abstract figures. These are human lives -ended without the benefit of trial, jury, or judicial process.

At the same time; total homicides in the current period stand at approximately 126, of which an an estimated 42 are linked to domestic disputes. This leaves 84 criminal homicides outside the home- pointing us to an uncomfortable truth that the State, through its police force, is now responsible for more deaths than the criminals it claims to be fighting, outside of domestic violence.

DUE PROCESS IS NOT OPTIONAL

The Jamaican Constitution does not suggest due process. It demands it; and it outlines a clear path:

Accusation, Arrest, Charge, and Trial before the courts.

That is the system, and it is also the Law.

When a government signals-explicitly or implicitly, that lethal force can replace that process, it is not strengthening justice. it is bypassing it. And when Dr. Chang dismisses calls for accountability, when he shields “Special Operations” from even the most basic transparency tools, he is not defending policing. He is redefining it.

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN OVERSIGHT IS IGNORED?

Jamaica has an independent oversight body in INDECOM, which was specifically designed to investigate police abuses. But what happens when INDECOM'S Its findings are slow to translate into action? What happens when INDECOM'S authority is quietly undermined? And what happens when its role is treated as an inconvenience rather than a necessity?

Every single Jamaican needs to understand that Oversight without consequence becomes theatre, and that justice without enforcement becomes fiction.

“MEET YOUR MAKER” GOVERNANCE

We cannot ignore the broader tone set at the highest levels.

When the Prime Minister publicly adopts rhetoric that signals a take-no-prisoners approach to crime, it not only filters downward, but also shapes behavior. Such rhetoric creates an environment where officers may begin to believe that results-not rules, are what matter. And so we arrive here- where a small cadre of officers are driving a disproportionate share of killings. Where Operations conducted without cameras, narratives offered without evidence, and we have a government dismissive of criticism. This is not coincidence, but a system taking shape.

THE DANGEROUS BARGAIN

Let me be clear that like most Jamaicans, I welcome the reduction in the murder rate. But I reject-completely and without hesitation, any idea that the ends justifies the means. Because once a society accepts that then the law becomes flexible, people's Rights become conditional, and Justice becomes selective. Eventually, the machinery built to eliminate criminals does not stop there; it expands.

So, in retrospect, my mother’s word—“cockity”—was never just an insult but a warning. It was a warning about people who, once given power, begin to believe they are untouchable and answerable to no one. Such an attitude from political leadership places Jamaica at a crossroads. We can either reassert the primacy of law, due process, and accountability; or we can continue down a path where the State decides who lives and who dies—without explanation, without evidence, and without consequence.

If we choose the latter, then we must be honest with ourselves:

We are no longer preserving justice. We are replacing it.