Topic: Ministry of Home Affairs
Scathing Fire Service report says department is top heavy with senior officers
Massive deficiencies in the Cayman Islands Fire Service, discovered more than a year ago, are finally revealed to the public.
Cayman will set time limits for prohibited immigrants
Cayman seeks to set 'time limits' on prohibited immigrants.
Cayman, Cuba agree to faster repatriation
Officials from Cuba and the Cayman Islands signed a new memorandum of understanding Friday which they say will help speed up the process of repatriating migrants that land illegally in the territory.
Prison officer suspended after hidden camera found in office
A prison officer has been suspended after a covert surveillance camera was found hidden in the office of a senior manager.
South Sound drowning victim buried in Cuba
More than three months after a Cuban migrant drowned off South Sound, his body was laid to rest in his native Santa Cruz.
Cubans break out of detention center
Six Cuban refugees were on the run on Tuesday after breaking out of the Immigration Detention Centre.
Immigration may activate 'mass migration' response
Cayman's Immigration Department considers ramping up its response to Cuban migrant arrivals as more reach local shores.
More Cuban migrants arrive in Cayman
Three more boatloads of Cuban migrants arrive on Grand Cayman's shores.
Acting fire chief 'medical boarded'
Cayman's acting fire chief has been officially retired.
Cuban family struggles to return loved one's body
The family of a Cuban migrant who died in Grand Cayman in early January seeks the return of his body nearly three months later.
Court: Fire chief not yet retired
Cayman's former fire chief claims he was forced to retire, but the civil service and a local judge say that's not the case.
Proposed changes could ease criminal conviction barriers
Reformed criminals could have the chance to get convictions stricken from the record under proposed legislation aimed at improving the job prospects of ex-offenders.
Unprecedented access to immigration coming
Work permit holders, Caymanian job-seekers and local businesses will soon have better access to immigration records and employment data.
Cuban migrant costs soar to $1.6M
Major increases in the cost of housing and transporting Cuban migrants hit Cayman in 2014.
Cuba, Cayman talks set to resume on status of refugees
Representatives from Cuba and Cayman will meet soon for further negotiations on an agreement regarding treatment and repatriation of Cuban migrants.
Premier names new political aide
The premier wastes no time in hiring a new political assistant. Several high-profile jobs in the rest of the Home Affairs ministry, however, are still looking for full time staffers.
Landfill catches fire again
A 'sizeable surface fire' broke out at the George Town Landfill on Sunday.
Permanent residence tests delayed another month
Cayman is not quite ready to start hearing new applications for permanent residence.
Immigration chief's suspension is 'administrative'
The investigation into alleged 'misconduct' by Cayman's top immigration officer could wrap up next week.
Baines 'no confidence' motion delayed
West Bay MLA Bernie Bush is postponing his planned vote of no confidence motion in Police Commissioner David Baines.
Surfers tell of Cuban migrants' rescue
Details of the Jan. 3 incident when one Cuban migrant died and three others were pulled from the water off South Sound.
Official: Travel debacle could reoccur
Systemic problems that led to an embarassing expenses audit for government last year have not been fully corrected.
Premier McLaughlin's job description without end
By a process of self-selection, Premier Alden McLaughlin is now on the hottest seat in the Cayman Islands government.
Modular police cells remain unused
New police jail facilities lie unused in George Town while government tries to raise money to build a new police station.
Changes put premier in charge of massive ministry
A government ministry reshuffle puts massive responsibility on the premier's shoulders and lightens the load for the former health minister.
Seamen's benefits 'never adequately implemented'
Participants in Cayman's benefits program for retired seamen and veteransreceived unauthorized payments for years.
2014 Year in Review
A month-by-month review of the Cayman Islands' top new stories in 2014.
New option mooted for police complaints
Plans for an independent complaints authority to investigate public grievances about the police could be shelved in favor of moving that role into a new ombudsman’s office.
Premier has 'great concern' over immigration situation
Cayman's premier says he's greatly concerned about recent suspensions in the Immigration Department.
Top immigration official suspended
Chief Immigration Officer Linda Evans has been suspended pending an investigation into allegations of misconduct, the Ministry of Home Affairs confirmed Tuesday.
Cayman Islands chief immigration officer suspended amid investigation
Cayman Islands Chief Immigration Officer Linda Evans has been suspended from duty.
Regulator gets tough on dropped 911 calls
Regulators will compel Cayman Islands telecoms companies to upgrade their networks as a matter of “national security” following a series of connection failures that prevented emergency 911 calls from getting through.
Director of immigration boards suspended
A senior immigration official is being investigated over allegations that she put false information on a work permit form.
Immigration spurs Cayman Islands population growth
More than 12,000 people have gained Caymanian status or permanent residency since 2008, according to government data.
Credit card expenses published, hard to find
Government ministries comply - in varying degrees - with directives to proactively release credit card statements.
Cloud computing 'inevitable' for government
The Ministry of Home Affairs’ Wesley Howell says the move to offshore servers for government sites and databases is “not imminent but inevitable.”
Charity BBQ cook-off decision goes to the dogs
The BBQ Battle of Lalique Pointe will officially go down as a draw, but thanks to Franz Manderson and Eric Bush, the Breast Cancer Foundation is the real winner.
Migrant detention nearly cleared out
The migrant detention center in George Town is now nearly cleared out, after the repatriation of two dozen Cubans.
Work permit reform under way
Major changes are ahead in the Cayman Islands work permit system.
Recovered computer records still missing
Eight months on, police and computer services are still attempting to recover records from a hard drive crash.
Report: Gov’t IT ‘customer service’ poor
Cayman's government is poised to shake up its computer services department, one way or another.
Chamber: Private sector must take outsourced civil servants
Cayman's private sector must do its part in assisting transitioning government workers, the Chamber of Commerce president says.
New London office appointment falls through
The Cayman Islands government’s months-long attempts to bring in a new director for its London office have failed for the time being.
Cuba MOU may be signed by ‘end of year’
Havana expects a new agreement regarding treatment and repatriation of Cuban refugees arriving in the Cayman Islands to be completed by the end of the year.
Gov’t reviews suggest different fates for IT
To outsource IT, or not to outsource? That is the Cayman Islands government's question.
Cuban MOU talks gain Cayman support
The Cayman Islands government announced on Tuesday ongoing negotiations for a new memorandum of understanding governing the treatment and repatriation of Cuban refugees.
Auditor: Long way to go for financial accountability
Financial statements produced recently by government ministries are still being disclaimed.
Immediate outsourcing plan: Cut 200 jobs, save $2m plus
Government has 18 areas where jobs could be outsourced in the short term, a consultant's report concludes.
Disruption to 911 calls linked to network issue
A connection failure disabling emergency calls could happen again, warns the Department of Public Safety Communications.
Cayman calls for probe
A Caymanian prisoner who died in a Panama jail cell had been in negotiations with officials in his homeland to be transferred out of the dangerous Central American prison.
Witness protection charges
A US$234.40 payment to Comfort Suites in Grand Cayman and a US$783.22 rental car bill in Florida were apparently charged to the local government in various witness protection/assistance efforts.
Mixed signals emerge over disrupted 911 calls
The ICTA has yet to release its findings from an investigation into what caused emergency communications to be disrupted for six hours recently.
Public sector job description: Money for nothing
Has there ever been a time when so many in the Cayman Islands have been paid so much, to do so little?
Speed cameras back in CCTV plan
Government reconsiders using speed cameras amid plummeting traffic citation numbers.
Acting fire chief fights forced ‘retirement’ in court
Cayman's ousted fire chief claims he was forced to retire and wasn't even given a chance to defend himself.
‘Gov’t should be ‘very very concerned’ about data loss
Recently reported computerized records-keeping failures in government systems should be treated as a serious problem.
RCIPS data storage failures mount
Problems with police records storage date back years and apparently went unreported.
CINICO announces payment changes
Individuals applying for CINICO’s Standard Health Insurance Contract are now required to pay two months of premiums up front, CINICO has announced.
Blencathra claims raise questions over London office replacement
More questions are raised over Cayman's London office, this time over who is to be its new leader.
Another top ranking immigration officer arrested
A senior immigration officer is arrested in connection with what police said was a domestic violence-related attack.
Lawmakers question fire chief’s position
Some confusion arises among local lawmakers regarding the status of Cayman's fire chief job.
Taking charge of Cayman’s London office
The total dysfunction of Cayman's London office has embarrassed the country on the international stage.
Ex-chief: Cayman’s London office ‘totally dysfunctional’
"Catastrophe" at the Cayman Islands London office was very narrowly avoided, the former director has revealed.
Budget records error-ridden
A number of mistakes in government budget records are revealed.
Hurricane Chance helps response teams
A simulation exercise was hosted at UCCI to refresh emergency response teams.
No answers on missing police data
Government is coming up blank in the search to recover corrupted police files.
Gov’t withholds reports on IT systems
Two recent reports on security and operations problems in government information technology systems were held from public release.
MLA’s hiring advocacy queried
The need for local hiring battles with the independence of the Cayman Islands civil service.
London office chief will be Caymanian
A Caymanian will be chosen to lead the Cayman Islands London office.
Police ‘defer’ crime reports at stations; use 911 calls
Some local residents who tried to report crimes at police stations were told to call 911 instead.
Police backup drives also corrupted in computer crash
Searches for a large amount of apparently irretrievable police data continued Thursday with a new revelation that some backup drives were also corrupted in a hard drive crash.
Cuban migrant detention facility becomes ‘prison’
Cuban migrants who land in the Cayman Islands will now be guarded by prison officers.
