Archive for February 1st, 2011

Chamber condenses Expo in face of tough times

Chamber condenses Expo in face of tough times

| 01/02/2011 | 0 Comments

(CNS): Despite the tough economic recession, the Chamber of Commerce says companies still need to focus on their recruitment strategies, and even though its annual local recruitment fair is being condensed into one day, this year’s Expo still promises to bring the right recruiters and job seekers together. Globalisation, rising labour costs, and the need for organisations to run with fewer management layers mean companies have to be more efficient about how they recruit, hire, evaluate and manage people, but the Chamber says very few organisations appear to have well-defined talent strategies in place. “The Chamber has always placed a level of high importance on education, training and career advancement for our community, youth and chamber members,” said CEO Wil Pineau.

“It just makes sense. Even in today’s market where economic growth is low, we still need to focus on our future business development and prepare for better days. Good business development includes having the right people with the right training who can grow with the company bringing knowledge and experience to their industries. Whether the economy is thriving or stagnant, it is vital to remain engaged with our community and future and existing workforce,” he added.

In its 13th year, the Expo provides an opportunity for employers to meet job seekers and promote their career opportunities and brand. Each year the job fair averages about 30 exhibiting companies. This year the Expo will take place on Friday, 4 February, and will run from 10am until 7pm at the Family Life Centre off Walkers Road.

Businesses already signed-up include The Ritz-Carlton Grand Cayman, KPMG, Walkers, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, Island Companies Ltd., the University of Tampa, and the Department of Environmental Health. Any business wanting to join these corporate citizens and connect with the local workforce and promote their scholarship, employment and training opportunities should contact danielle.ebanks@caymanchamber.ky or call 949-8090.

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Cops challenged by robbers

Cops challenged by robbers

| 01/02/2011 | 18 Comments

(CNS): The surge in armed robberies is the biggest current challenge to law enforcement, the police commissioner has said in the wake of the publication of the latest crime statistics. During 2010 there were 64 robberies, representing an increase of over 39% on the previous year, which was already considered high. There were also another 11 attempted robberies, more than double the amount made in 2009. David Baines said the robberies were being committed by a variety of offenders from desperate drug users taking wild risks to properly organised bank robbers, making it difficult to solve the crimes. Even in the face of a $50k reward, the police received no calls or information from the public in connection with that particular bank robbery.

Although the RCIPS has been able to claim success in 2010 in stemming the unprecedented surge of gang related shootings and murders, at the beginning of 2010 the robberies are placing new pressures on the service as it struggles to get a handle on what has become a more than weekly event.

With five robberies occurring in the first month of 2011, the average trend of more than one armed robbery occurring in Grand Cayman each week appears to be continuing. Despite the efforts of the police, who have managed to charge ten offenders for 13 crimes, more than 50 remain unresolved, leaving a significant number of armed and violent robbers still targeting fast food venues, liquor stores, gas stations, shops and banks.

“It’s clear that stemming the current tide of robberies does present a significant challenge. We cannot be on every street corner and we cannot predict with accuracy when and where the next offence will take place unless we get intelligence – and therein lays the greatest challenge,” Baines said at a briefing last week, where he revealed the latest crime statistics (see below).

Following the failure of a $50,000 reward to bring in any information at all on a bank robbery, he also noted that while the police had made a number of arrests in the bank cases, without evidence they were not able to bring charges.

“The reality is that we must provide sufficient evidence to support a charge and this is often a tall order for want of identification, witnesses and ‘no comment’ interviews,” Baines said.

The service is taking steps to make sure staff are sufficiently trained to maximise opportunities brought about by arrest, Baines said, and more officers are also being trained to retrieve CCTV evidence in an effort to fast track evidential opportunities, which is increasingly becoming critical in securing charges.

“You’ll be aware that the majority of our robberies last year were characterised by a threat of violence or actual violence that was wholly disproportionate to the spoils. It seems that many offenders were prepared to use firearms, an offence carrying at least a ten year prison sentence, for a few hundred dollars. Such desperate acts are often symptomatic of illicit drug users and we will be focusing proactively on the local trade that continues to flourish,” he added.

However, the commissioner stated that there was a diverse range of people committing robberies, from the highly organised three bank robberies, where the offenders left no forensic evidence, wore masks and knew exactly how to stage the hold-ups, to these random high risk hold-ups of pizza joints for a few dollars, where the offenders could be drug addicts or gang initiates.

“We also suspect that on some occasions ‘insider information’ may play a part and I encourage business owners to know their staff and vet them thoroughly. Staff also need be disciplined to understand that careless talk can render your business vulnerable,” he warned as he pointed out that some employers were not taking the necessary precautions with their staff.

“We issued advice last year to the Chamber of Commerce regarding handling cash in transit. I would hope that this was taken on board but we have still seen instances where vulnerable people have been used to transfer cash and continue to be targeted. If businesses have slack security procedures, you can guarantee that the criminal element won’t be slow in picking that up,” Baines added.

He stated that significant resources were being devoted to investigative and tackle this crime trend, and explained that police were analysing information such as the locations, victims, offenders and then deploying resources appropriately. Experienced police officers and other specialists in various police disciplines have also been enlisted to support the already overstressed resources, and all opportunities to “get in the face of known offenders” were being taken, the senior cop revealed.

“The active targeting of prolific offenders involves confronting and stop-searching suspects when seen on the streets and other tactics,” Baines said, as he added those could not all be revealed for operational purposes. 

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