Cayman’s rising threat of gun crime

The shooting at the Ed Bush Stadium has left many asking the question, “What’s become of Cayman? When did it get this unsafe?”

The place that was once known as ‘the islands that time forgot’ has found time and crime catching up with it.

Use of guns in Cayman has been steadily climbing in recent years, with spates of armed robberies and muggings, as well as murders, regularly making the headlines. The latest fatal shooting occurred just last month. Police have made no arrests in connection with that murder.

In 2022 – the most recent year for which police have released annual statistics – there were 95 crimes involving firearms – with guns either being used in the commission of a crime (58) or individuals possessing or importing an illegal or imitation firearm (37).

The previous year, 2021, police recorded 87 gun-related crimes, including 57 so-called ‘firearm-enabled crimes’ and 30 instances of possession or importation of a firearm.

In earlier years, the number of gun-related crimes was significantly lower. In fact, the number of such crimes reported in 2020 (47) was less than half that of 2022, for example, and in 2018, just 10 cases were reported.

* These figures relate to the number of arrests made for firearm-related crime. Prior to 2016, the RCIPS official statistics only listed the number of arrests made in relation to the possession of an imitation or unlicensed firearm, or the discharge of a firearm.

Regional comparisons in murder rate

Cayman’s murder rate remains low in comparison with some neighbouring jurisdictions. Last year, four murders were reported here. That equates to a murder rate of 5.6 per 100,000 inhabitants – far lower than the rates in Jamaica, Honduras or The Bahamas, for example.

Last year, according to the Jamaica Constabulary Force, 1,393 people were killed in Jamaica, which has a population of 2.8 million people. That equates to a murder rate of 43.85 per 100,000 residents. Honduras has a murder rate of 38.93 per 100,000, and The Bahamas has a rate of 32 murders per 100,000.

The Compass explored the region’s murder rates and the risks escalating violence in Cayman is having on its reputation as a safe place for tourists and workers in a story published earlier this month.

Despite its rising gun-crime numbers, Cayman is nonetheless considered a much safer place than many of its neighbours – which has helped drive its impressive reputation as an attractive tourism destination and financial services industry location.

Cayman remains as a Level 1 country on the US State Department travel advisory webpage – the safest travel designation. Travellers to Level 1 destinations are advised to ‘exercise normal precautions’.

On the subject of crime, the department notes that the Cayman Islands is “a safe place with little criminal activity affecting tourists”.

Murder reports in Cayman

By contrast, the department last month updated its advisory on Jamaica, which has a Level 3 designation, urging tourists to reconsider travelling to the island nation “due to crime and medical services”. It noted that violent crimes, such as home invasions, armed robberies, sexual assaults and homicides, are common, and that sexual assaults occur frequently, including at all-inclusive resorts.

Other Level 3 countries include Honduras and Trinidad and Tobago, while Haiti has a Level 4 designation, the most dangerous, which carries a ‘Do Not Travel’ advisory for US citizens.

The US State Department rates The Bahamas as a Level 2 destination, where travellers should exercise “increased caution … due to crime”. It describes the criminal threat level in New Providence Island, which includes the capital Nassau and Paradise Island, as “critical”. It notes that violent crime, such as burglaries, armed robberies and sexual assaults occur, but acknowledges that these do not generally occur in tourist areas.

Police officers in Cayman are not armed – apart from the Firearms Response Unit which, as its name suggests, is deployed in response to reports of gunfire or firearms possession.

Gun laws in Cayman are extremely strict. Firearms can only be legally owned on Grand Cayman with the express consent of the commissioner of police, and on Cayman Brac and Little Cayman with the express consent of the district commissioner, following a vetting process.

There is a mandatory minimum sentence for possession of a firearm in the Cayman Islands of 10 years in prison following a conviction and a trial, or seven years in cases where a guilty plea is entered.

Last year, four murders were reported in the Cayman Islands, the same number as in 2022.