$11 million to tackle crime

The government is putting around $11 million into halting the surge in violent crime that has plagued Grand Cayman. 

Premier McKeeva Bush told a specially-convened meeting at the Westin on Tuesday night that an additional $4.6 million had been given to the police. This, he said, added to a $2 million CCTV system, more than $3 million for the customs scanner and $500,000 to potentially remove the prison antenna, came to about $11 million. He said it was everybody’s business and it was regrettable this money was not spent on education and social programmes. 

The additional cash, added Commissioner David Baines, would enable the police to create 50 additional posts. In the past, a ‘hot spot’ team has responded to increasing demand for officers in certain parts of Cayman when incidents occur. However, the only way to respond to increasing demand has been to pull resources from elsewhere, including the neighbourhood patrols, in order to staff major investigations. 

The staff increase would give the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service a team ‘as of right’, he said. While no individual officer has all skill sets, the areas of strategic objectives breakdown into armed presence, proactive investigative and surveillance and an operational support group, which controls the ground. 

This permanent group would create a foundation at every level that could deal with burglars, armed robbery and gang violence. The neighbourhood patrols would also be able to be a visible reassurance and preventive measure. 

“We are intending to stabilise the force and maintain our presence,” said the Commissioner. 

Officers capable of bearing arms will also be increased from 80 to 100. 

Gang experts 

Experts are also being brought in to assist the situation. Jon Murphy, Chief Constable of Merseyside, is arriving on island next week, Governor Duncan Taylor said. Mr. Murphy is considered an expert in fighting gang crime and has served as the Association of Chief Police Officers’ national co-ordinator of Serious Organised Crime. 

Mr. Murphy will speak to the police service and offer thoughts and advice while here. There will also be a delegation of 16 officers from the Liverpool area to assist in investigation and detection, much in the vein of the support given by 14 visiting West Midlands police officers in 2010. 

Mr. Taylor added that a review of tactics and work of the RCIPS by a different jurisdiction was a commitment he had made to the Legislative Assembly. “Could we use different tactics? It is healthy to review,” he said. 

Talks had taken place with Canada’s Royal Canadian Mounted Police representative of interests in Mexico and the Caribbean with a view to identifying someone who could come to Cayman and look at the policies and tactics of the RCIPS. 

There may also be a forensic prosecution expert arriving to do what the governor described as a ‘cold case review’ of some of the acquittals, which he said were a delicate subject. Whilst this would not be to undermine judgements the expert would examine how cases were put together and evidence presented in an open manner in order to review this aspect in an open manner. 

Mr. Baines added there were around 100 gang members identified on Cayman. Around 50 of these were active in West Bay’s main two gangs but there were 13 gangs identified in total and membership of these was often fluid in that individuals moved location and became part of a different gang. 

He noted that it was important to say that not all of these were ‘trigger men’ who would be prepared to shoot and take life. Some, he said, were runners or low-level members rather than enforcers. 

In 2009, he said, there were 15 identified trigger men. 

“Of those, two are abroad, three dead and the others arrested and in Northward. Some are now out, But since then, others have been released to complement these toxic individuals and some dangerous individuals who had been put away eight years ago are also coming out,” he said. 

There were also areas of Cayman where groups congregate in numbers and criminality is part of the lifestyle. 

There is also legislation being looked at to identify what constitutes being part of a gang. The RCIPS is working with the legal department to see if photos on Facebook of young men giving ‘gang signals’ and holding guns – or what appear to be guns – is enough to get a charge of gang membership. 

“Do we need to change legislation to reduce the threshold?” he asked. 

Sharing resources 

Franz Manderson, deputy governor, said it was understood this was not just a police issue and many agencies were involved, which met regularly to share resources. The prison service, for example, had been looked at carefully. 

“It is important we have a good rehabilitation programme at the prison. The government has given the prison department funding for six new prison officers, three teachers, three vocational trainers and a chaplain,” he said. 

Mr. Manderson revealed that officers had shared border control and enforcement. 

“We are arresting our own people [Caymanians],” he said, adding that it was vital to keep unscrupulous foreign nationals out of the Islands. 

Six new dogs had been used in customs, particularly with flights arriving from high-risk destinations such as Honduras and Jamaica.  

“We must make sure we are not seen as a hub for drugs to North America and Europe,” said the deputy governor. 

Governor Taylor said that although crime was a serious problem, the amount of people that had taken the time out of their businesses to attend and input into the discussion had given him great comfort. 

Mr. Bush thanked the large crowd and said the government would continue to do all it could to help the police. Some of the problems are down to cuts forced on the country by the UK, which had affected staffing levels. 

“We will be pressured again in the next budget. But the problems started long before. Some of it is because Cayman refused to deal with education. Some young boys have never worked. It is an endemic problem that has built up.” 

The meeting was arranged by the Cayman Islands Tourism Association and the Chamber of Commerce.