Police service looks to boost numbers with recruitment drive

The Royal Cayman Islands Police Service is ramping up its efforts to plug the gaps in its workforce with positions including police officers, investigators and a helicopter pilot currently being advertised online and across social media.

Commissioner of Police Kurt Walton said in September that the police service was understaffed by 26 officers, leading him to have to move officers between districts and disrupt community policing initiatives to fill the gap.

Walton said at the time that police numbers were currently the same as in 2008, when the population was 56,000 compared to more than 88,000 in 2025. A soft hiring freeze had been in place across all of the core government, including in schools and the police service, until the end of 2025, as government focused on cutting costs and curbing spending.

Budget approved

In November last year, lawmakers approved a $74.3 million budget for police, coast guard and regimental services for the coming year, an increase of nearly $15 million compared to what was originally allocated for 2025.

The hike in funding is being put towards increasing staffing levels, especially in the police service which, as Walton told MPs in Finance Committee that he hopes to add 45 new hires in total, including 15 shift officers, 11 community policing officers, six traffic officers and three constables on Cayman Brac. There will also be 10 new posts in the financial crime investigation offices.

The police service is currently advertising for qualified, experienced officers to join its frontline operational teams. Interested candidates must have a minimum of three years of continuous, full-time police experience and current employment with an established police service, with experience in areas including community policing and response policing, investigations, intelligence, tactical firearms, child protection and child safeguarding and digital forensics.

Experienced police officers who have left policing within the last five years are welcome to apply. The advert states that the commissioner is especially keen to hire officers with a passion for, and previous experience with, mentoring and tutoring probationary constables in their continued professional development.

Helicopter pilot sought

As well as officers, the force is also advertising for a full-time helicopter pilot with the Air Operations Unit based in George Town, Grand Cayman. This position provides airborne response in the performance of law enforcement, rapid transportation and other police operations using an Airbus EC/H145 Helicopter. The successful application will be an experienced aircraft pilot capable of performing a comprehensive range of assignments in a full functioning capacity, available for duty 24 hours a day, under the direction of the Unit Commanding Officer. The post holder will, on average, clock 200 flight hours per year.