I heard many times in the past few months that gang activity was on the rise but like most Caymanians and residents, I thought the issue was being overblown.
Unfortunately I was wrong.
It is a lot worse than I could possibly imagine.
Recently one evening I left a scooter parked inside the garage at the Meridian, on West Bay Road. As I was leaving the building at 12.15am I saw six kids inside the garage trying to break into the cars and one of them was about to flee riding the scooter.
I was lucky that I was able to prevent the kid that was riding the scooter to go beyond the entrance of the garage.
I tried to chase them away, but at the same time I was concerned that they could be armed with blades or knives. It gets a lot worse as the same kids came back three times the same evening, determined to accomplish their criminal intent.
From time to time I read the police report and it puzzles me why they omit the names of these kids and refer to them as a young person. Make no mistake, these kids are criminals.
As I chased them I saw that the youngest of the gang was probably 12 or 13 years old and the oldest, 17 or 18 years old. They may be young but because of the irresponsibility and the neglect of their parents, now they are accomplished thieves, capable of breaking the locking mechanism and hotwire the ignition of a motor vehicle.
This situation has to change. These gang members should be arrested and prosecuted. This is not the case of a slap on the wrist.
If we do not act now, soon these kids will be terrorizing our neighbourhoods even further. We need to know their names and parents should also be held responsible.
It is amazing that these parents allow their kids to be out late in the evening, with total disregard for whatever criminal activity their kids may be perpetrating.
The gang activity is starting to affect the tourism as people are getting concerned about their safety.
It is really sad the one of the fastest growing industries in Cayman is the security business. Most businesses and apartment complexes now have security guards.
One of the best selling points of a real estate property is that it is either safe or that it has security guards.
I was informed that the Meridian is now adopting tougher security measures. I wonder what the guests of the Meridian and the several other rental properties in the Seven Mile Beach area will think when they see security guards all over.
They have been promised a vacation in paradise and in the end they will feel that they were a lot safer back home.
Gui Passos
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