More than a thousand registered guns in Cayman

There are more than 1,100 registered guns in the Cayman Islands, and, while compared to the United States, the number may seem minuscule, the number of licensed firearms on island is considerably higher than in several other small island jurisdictions.

According to information released to the Cayman Compass following a freedom of information request, in November 2020 there were 494 licensed gun-holders in Cayman, who own 1,102 firearms between them.

Of the licensed-firearms holders, 92 were licensed to have more than one weapon, 121 are members of the Cayman Islands Sport Shooting Association, 75 are farmers and the remainder is thought to comprise of authorised officers, private security contractors, and regular citizens.

According to a Small Arms Survey carried out in 2017, there were 393 million guns in the US at the time – meaning there were 120.5 firearms per 100 people, and literally more guns than people in the country.

Cayman’s 1,102 licensed guns is a far cry from this, with just 1.5% of the population legally owning firearms here. But, compared to other small jurisdictions, that’s a relatively high number.

World Population Review, a website that tracks gun ownership by country, among other statics, indicates that Curacao, which has a population of 165,000 people, has 600 registered guns, while the Solomon Islands, Turks and Caicos, and Saint Maarten – all of which have relatively similar population sizes to Cayman – has 70, 100, and 300 registered guns, respectively.

With more than 1,000 legal guns distributed across the Cayman Islands, extra efforts have been taken to keep them out of the hands of would-be criminals.

“Responsible firearm ownership in the Cayman Islands by licensed firearm owners can be accredited to the RCIPS,” the shooting association said in a statement to the Cayman Compass.

Under the Firearms Act, a gun 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 permission of the District Commissioner, after “a thorough application and vetting process”, according to the RCIPS website.

To obtain those permissions and to legally own a firearm in Cayman, among other qualifications, applicants must not have a criminal record, and must demonstrate that they are qualified to operate the firearm. The firearms licences must be renewed every three years.

Under the law, the RCIPS Security and Firearms Licensing Unit has the authority, at any time, to inspect registered firearms, which must be kept by their owners in gun safes bolted into the floor

“We share many of the same views as the RCIPS as it relates to responsible firearm ownership; notably, the continued success of improving the minimum security requirements for licensed firearm owners through periodic inspections and security guidance,” CISSA said in its statement.

Additionally, the association believes that a key element in the efforts to address firearms crimes in the Cayman Islands begins with people in the community, and is calling on individuals with knowledge of illegal guns to share this information with police.

The number of unlicensed firearms in Cayman is not known. Of the four murders that have occurred so far this year, three involved illegal guns – the fourth was committed with a knife.

The availability and accessibility of unlicensed guns within Cayman’s criminal factions have long concerned police, and with good reason. Between 2011 and 2019, one gun, which remains unrecovered by police, was responsible for at least one in every eight murders and a string of other violent crimes.

Throughout 2021, there were 57 firearms-related crimes in Cayman, including three murders. Meanwhile, in Jamaica, there were 1,019 murders involving guns last year.
As part of the drive to remove illegal firearms from the community, police launched targeted operations in 2021 to help combat a rise in gun crime.

At a press conference earlier this year, Commissioner Derek Byrne acknowledged that, at the heart of these crimes was gang-related shootings and robberies targeting the proceeds of illegal gambling.

“RCIPS responded quickly by making a number of significant arrests and disrupting and dismantling the groups involved in organised criminal activity, primarily in the George Town and West Bay districts, through proactive patrols and intelligence-led policing, and six illegal firearms were seized,” said the commissioner.

Last month, Cayman’s National Security Council held a meeting to discuss the recent spate of gun crime in Cayman.