MLA calls for tougher burglary sentences when victims are home
Burglars who break into homes while people are inside could face tougher penalties through changes to the law proposed by George Town legislator Joey Hew.
Mr. Hew wants to see break-ins where people are disturbed by intruders in their own homes elevated to the more serious charge of “aggravated burglary,” which carries tougher sentences. Currently, that only happens when a weapon is involved.
He will bring the proposal to the Legislative Assembly this week in a session that will be dominated by private member’s motions.
Citing feedback from victims at community police meetings, Mr. Hew said the courts do not take into account the traumatic impact home invasions could have on families.
He wants social inquiry reports, including victim impact statements to be put before the court, in all cases where people have been disturbed in their own home by burglars.
“In attending a few of the community police meetings, what we are finding is that offenses treated as simple burglaries can have far greater effect on families than the court realizes,” Mr. Hew told the Cayman Compass.
He said he had met a family, with young children, who had moved home after being disturbed in the middle of the night by burglars. There were no weapons involved in the raid but the children were terrified and the family could not get over the trauma, he said.
Mr. Hew believes there has been an increase in these type of burglaries, where intruders are likely to be home, sparking fears of a confrontation with residents. And he wants the courts to recognize a distinction between this and burglaries where no-one is home and the loss is purely financial.
“Unless an investigating officer takes it upon themselves to collect victim impact statements and prepare a social inquiry report, the court won’t know the traumatic effect of that burglary,” he said. “We are saying that when a person is in the home, that should be automatic.”
He added that categorizing those type of offences as aggravated burglary would give the court the option of stricter sentences.
“I don’t want to tie the court’s hands with this, but there have been several cases recently where the magistrate has said they wished they could have given a tougher sentence – I want to give them that power.
“We have to do something to deter these guys that are breaking into homes knowing there is going to be somebody in the house. It is only a matter of time before it escalates into anything more serious,” Mr. Hew said.
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I never though I would say the following about the Cayman Islands but we need to introduce the Castle Doctrine as in Texas.
Basically someone who illegally enters your home does so at their risk. If you shoot them dead, too bad.
We must combine this with allowing responsible, vetted homeowners and business people have the right to own a shotgun. Or a Taser at the very least.
Do this and I predict a rapid end of the crime wave.
Thank you, MLA Hew!
As someone who has personally been through the trauma of having my residence broken into while I was asleep inside and having my work computer stolen, my purse and wallet emptied and even my Rotary pin stolen, I can attest to the devastating effect it has on one’s emotional and psychological state. I now live in a gated community because, as a woman alone in this country, it almost seems that I am solely responsible for my safety.
This breaks my heart, because when I first arrived (pre-Ivan) to these islands, it was in large part due to the fact that I no longer felt safe in the US and had been preparing to apply in Texas for a concealed weapons permit. In light of the recent rash of burglaries and home invasions here, I now keep a golf club at hand. And that certainly isn’t a way of life I ever expected to face here.
Thank you, for recognizing the trauma inflicted by such crimes and taking steps to curtail it.
Mr. Hew wants to see break-ins where people are disturbed by intruders in their own homes elevated to the more serious charge of aggravated burglary, which carries tougher sentences. Currently, that only happens when a weapon is involved.
A politically expedient band-aid to attempt to stem a major hemmorage ?
When will Cayman’s politicians quit ‘sitting on the fence’ on this major and worrying issue of the threats, trauma and danger posed to its law-abiding citizens by this criminal element in the society ?
What tougher sentences can be given down that acts as any type of deterrant than those already being served at ‘hotel Northward’ ?
Give the law-abiding citizen the rights to send these intruders to ‘hotel GT hospital’or ‘hotel Chrissie Tomlinson Memorial hospital’ at the very least.
For sure, there are some homes in Cayman that will never be targeted because these criminals have absolutely no doubt about which ‘hotel’ they will end up in should they make that mistake.
What Cayman’s politicians do not seem to understand is that there is a rising tide and attitude of ‘intimidatory’ violence and violent attitudes and behavior acroos the board in Cayman’s society now.
IMO, it is being encouraged because the ordinary citizen is seeing nothing being done about the real bad elements and are following their examples.