Conrad Harris, executive director of the Jamaica Society for the Blind, is advocating for equal treatment for persons with disabilities in highlighting the persistent challenges faced by individuals with visual impairments in their interactions with law enforcement.

Harris shared that people who are blind face scepticism from police officers regarding their ability to identify perpetrators due to their condition.

“We have had issues in the past where people have complained about the way officers of the law might treat them because they feel that because persons are blind, they are not able to identify whoever the perpetrator is. They have the concept that you have to be able to see somebody to identify them, so sometimes that possess (causes) an issue,” he told Our Today.

Persons who are blind or visually impaired can identify someone through their voice, by touching them and discovering unique features or through smell.

According to Harris, this has forced many visually impaired victims of assault and other crimes to shy away from making reports because they fear that their cases will not be taken seriously.

He said that to create an inclusive and equal society, members of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) must receive proper training and sensitisation on how to handle cases involving disabled persons.

“Part of it is actually proper training and sensitisation of the police person to understand that sight is not the only thing that you can use to identify persons. Also, training them to treat persons with disabilities as equals. Don’t treat them as lesser citizens. The same attention that they would give to someone with sight who complains, they should give to persons with disabilities,” he told Our Today.

He stressed that citizens who are visually impaired or have disabilities are among the most vulnerable in a population, making them targets of attacks. As such, he believes due diligence must be taken to ensure that they are protected and their concerns or complaints are taken seriously.

The Jamaica Society for the Blind is an advocacy group for members of the population who are blind or visually impaired. The organisation also provides social services to members of the community.