Progressives party leader Roy McTaggart has demanded action be taken to control rising levels of serious crime in the Cayman Islands.
“Now is the time to act if we are not to let this problem spiral out of control,” he said in a video statement this morning, Thursday, 6 July.
Grand Cayman has seen a string of robberies and burglaries over the past few months, including three burglaries at businesses and the armed robbery of a gas station this week.
In his address, McTaggart shared his party’s ideas on practical ways to bring crime levels down, which he dubbed ‘The Progressive’s agenda for action on crime’.
Among the suggestions were police action on criminal gangs, increased funding for vital resources, better support for former prisoners and an expanded Neighbourhood Watch.
“I encouraged the premier to take up these ideas and consider them,” he said.
“This is a time when we need to come together for the benefit of our people, not score political points.
“But one way or another, action must be taken now to reduce serious crime, enhance the safety of our communities and maintain Cayman’s reputation as a safe place to live, work, visit and do business.”
‘Not the full story’
McTaggart said the Cayman Islands, compared to many other countries, has a relatively low crime rate, but stressed that is “not the full story”, as serious crime is on the rise.
“We see evidence of that in our daily news, but it is also written large in the statistics published by the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service,” he said.
The 2022 statistics, released in April, showed a slight drop in overall crime but a 55% increase in robberies and a 150% increase in attempted robberies compared to 2019.
Murder was up by 300%, attempted murder up by 50%, rape up by 111%, wounding up by 225% and possession of imitation and unlicensed weapons up by 50% and 150%.
“With rising serious crime rates and increasing use of guns, Caymanians and residents are naturally becoming more fearful,” the Opposition leader said.
“Fearful we might become victims of crime today, but also fearful that, over time, our islands could become like some of our sister countries in the region.”
In order to cut crime, the government needs to be willing to act, he said, and not make excuses that the governor bears responsibility for national security.
McTaggart said the administration has been “far too quiet on crime and crime prevention”, and added, “Tackling crime and keeping people safe should not be politically contentious.”
The Cayman Islands government’s 2020/2021 Strategic Policy Statement contained a commitment and actions to create safer communities, he reminded.
“Fast forward to the Strategic Policy Statement launched by the premier in parliament this April, and most of the promised actions have been dropped or watered down.
“Controlling crime cannot just be left for the next two years,” McTaggart added.
Persistent and consistent
The first step that McTaggart proposed is introduced to tackle crime is more direct action from police.
They must “disrupt criminal gangs, target prolific and persistent offenders and achieve more arrests and convictions”, he said.
“The RCIPS demonstrated in December 2022 that they could succeed with this approach, but they must be more persistent and consistent.”
The party leader said support should be given to the police commissioner to implement ‘hotspot policing’ which focuses on troubled areas, and he must be held accountable.
More resources should be provided to support community policing like CCTV systems, he said. Government did recently announce some expansion of the CCTV network.
The police, the Coast Guard, and Customs and Border Control should work jointly to improve Cayman’s capacity to detect illegal boats importing drugs and guns.
McTaggart suggested support should be given to former prisoners to help prevent a return to criminality.
This could include enhancing training while in prison, assisting with access to employment on release, and access to housing and mental health and addiction services.
“It also means counselling, support, and cognitive behavioural programmes to help tackle criminal attitudes and beliefs,” he said.
Young people should be educated to prevent them from getting involved with gangs and divert them from criminality, the Opposition leader added.
“This work will have the most impact in the long term, not just on the safety of our communities, but on the improved life chances it will create for many young Caymanians.”
He finally proposed that the Neighbourhood Watch programme should be expanded, as “the safest communities are those that help to look after themselves”.
The Compass has reached out to the government press office for comment and is awaiting a response.
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