The under strength Royal Cayman Islands Police is being pushed to the limits while it waits for new recruits to arrive, a press briefing heard.
One officer has more than 900 hours in overtime, the briefing was told yesterday.
And, said Deputy Commissioner Anthony Ennis, the police were concerned about the welfare of their officers who were working tirelessly and strenuously under difficult circumstances.
New recruits were due to come on stream and all being well, the RCIP was expecting to be back up to strength by November, said Acting Police Commissioner Rudi Dixon.
But one possible stumbling block to staffing, which they were trying to address, was the cost of living and the problem people had in getting affordable accommodation, the briefing heard.
It was having an impact on recruiting suitable people and some might decide it is just not worth it, said Mr. Ennis.
He appealed to landlords to be reasonable with their rent demands.
Another move to try and help the manpower situation was that the RCIP was trying to recruit seven auxiliary officers who would help with the lock up and transport of prisoners, the briefing was told.
Mr. Dixon said the police administration department was now able to move back out of the police station and into office accommodation of its own in Elizabethan Square.
There would now be a case file follow up system where victims and complainants of crime would be kept informed of the status of the investigation every three weeks, he said.
It had also been arranged that people could call 911without having to give their name and address if they had information about criminal or suspicious activity, said Mr. Dixon.
The police would then be called and would address it immediately, he added.
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