Activists warn that more jail doesn’t work

| 16/09/2014

(CNS): In the wake of two private members motions being filed in the Legislative Assembly asking government to consider increasing prison sentences for aggravated burglaries and robberies, a local activist group has warned that this is a backward step. Youth Anti-Crime Trust (Youth ACT), a non-profit group which works on reducing youth crime and advocates for responsible policy regarding juvenile punishment and treatment, has said that more jail time is not a quick fix as research shows that longer sentences do nothing to deter crime but are costly and detrimental to young offenders rehabilitation and many countries that implemented long jail times have since overturned those laws.

Bonnie Anglin, a spokesperson for the group, said that Youth ACT has written to members of the LA imploring them not to introduce more prison time for younger offenders as it just doesn’t work

“Countries, including the UK, have repealed the 'three-strikes' law after it proved to fill the prisons and were unable to fund the legislation,” she said.

In the lette, on behalf of the charity, she points to reputable research that demonstrates harsher penalties have unintended consequences without any evidence of a reduction in crime.

Anglin said that if a person is not deterred by prison in the first place, longer sentences don’t make any difference to the criminal act.

“Politicians believe that tougher legislation will reduce crime but the evidence and history have proven, country after country, it has not worked and governments need to look beyond the criminal justice system to stem increases in crime,” she added as she warned that politicians cannot cut crime with the stroke of a pen. Anglin warned that the country’s leaders were in danger of repeating the same costly mistakes, over and over again.

The charity points out that while governmentwants to increase prison spending, for a lot less it could increase funding for youth prevention programmes. With $1.5 million set aside for a new concrete prison wall, Anglin suggest shaving off just $50,000 of that to redevelop Eagle House to create a suitable secure environment for young people already in jail geared towards rehabilitation and to partner with ACT to build the long-awaited youth offender facility.

Anglin also points to the significant increase in recent years of genuine poverty among ordinary families in the Cayman Islands. Despite having one of the highest GDPs in the world, the local activist pointed out that there are currently an unacceptable number of families without water and electricity, children going to school hungry, high unemployment and a serious increase in child sexual abuse.

In the letter to the MLAs Anglin echoes comments made by Ezzard Miller that the CIG has budgeted as much for dealing with sexual abuse as it allocated to the Humane Society for dogs.

Youth ACT is made up of qualified and experienced volunteers who, without political motive, offer their expertise and time to work with politicians, civil servants, students, parents and the community to develop and implement constructive and proven effective measures to address the increase in crime.

See the full letter from ACT to the country’s politicians below.

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  1. Anonymous says:

    I have been following the comments to the article that spoke not to whether one should go to prison, or where the prison should be located, nor to what type of punishment the prisoners should receive while there.

    My understanding was that the article was highlighting evidence and facts from other countries that showed that longer sentences and mandatory sentences are not the best solution to crime. The article suggested some prevention programs to hopefully stop our youth and young adults from committing crime and implementing some other programs to address employment, parenting, drug abuse, education, job training, etc. to address some, not all, of the contributing factors to crime. The article also suggested that if we do not address these issues, crime will continue to increase and whilst punishment is necessary one should prefer not to be robbed than how long the robber stays in jail. 

    But when I read the comments, they are all about where and what prisoners should be doing or how they should be punished, instead of following the gist of the article and suggesting what we can do to STOP crime BEFORE it happens. 

    Honestly, Caymanians, CNS has given you the privilege of voicing your opinions anonymously. The Cayman Compass no longer prints any more anonymous letters. Use this opportunity in a constructive and positive manner and stop showing the world the hatred and ignorance that I have seen posted on this and many other articles. You this medium to make some constructive solutions to our problems.

     

  2. Anonymous says:

    Simple math:

    1 Prisoner

    10 Years

    60,000.00 Per Year

    1 x 10 x 60,000.00 = $600,000.00 per prisoner per 10 year sentence.

    There could probably be 100 prisoners in prison for 10 years. $60,000,000.00. Sixty Million Cayman Islands Dollars!!!! Where are we going to get that?

    This figure does NOT include the other prisoners being housed.

    Nor does it include the cost of building additional housing that will be required (those of you who live in this world know that HMP Northward Prison is at its capacity now, without 3-strike prisoners).

    I agree: something needs to be done to address crime in this country. But by this formula we'll drain our resources for every other program in this country. Every sports and social association's grant will be cut considerably. Every other government entity will face reductions in budget. And government employees will have to be laid off, simply to be able to fund prisoners in prison. 

    We're already complaining that we can't get proper medical service because of a lack of funds. We now have to take our own sheets and band-aids. With this additional expense we'll have to take our own medications as well!

    Of course, we can introduce a type of taxation that'll give the government the funds necessary to keep this ball rolling…but then…I'm sure you don't want to contribute your hardearned money to funding prisoners in prison. 

    So then, HOW will we support this bill? Are we going to create a new export to generate the additional funds from? As far as I'm aware, the only exports we have is financial services and smiles; and the former's leaving us one by one and the latter's being generated by expatriates who send their own money back home.

    Let's stop destroying our country and setting ourselves up for ultimate disaster. We're all crying shame on Jamaica for their self-imposed impoverisation while we ride the same wave as they are on.

  3. Katina Anglin says:

    "With so many people in the local community criminalised because of minor offences, such as consumption and possession of small amounts of ganja, finding work in both government and the private sector becomes almost impossible, which drives many of these people, who were law abiding citizens except for their ganja use, into real crime.

     

    "Finding ways to remove criminal records for those convicted of drug offences and having government lead by example and begin employing ex-offenders is seen by many as a much quicker fix to some of the problems."

     

    This is an excerpt from Cayman News Service on the issue of reducing crime issue ( http://centos6-httpd22-php56-mysql55.installer.magneticone.com/o_belozerov/31115drupal622/crime/2014/09/17/crime-plan-down-cs-bosses)

     

    Incredibly, what is most likely the most effective solution continues to elude our society as an angle to the reduction of crime. 

     

    For quite some time, I've been advocating for a greater understanding of the police record system, which is actually being used against Caymanians, as a means of denying employment to them in favour of a cheaper labour force which itself borders on modern day slavery. But employment isn't my issue today, crime is.

     

    I'd like to advise the public from supporting the "3-Strikes" and the "stiffer sentences" motion. Not from the research conducted, such as that of YouthACT (http://centos6-httpd22-php56-mysql55.installer.magneticone.com/o_belozerov/31115drupal622/crime/2014/09/16/activists-warn-more-jail-doesn%E2%80%99t-work), but from my own experience.

     

    I too, am educated in the field of criminality and as a recovering drug addict I have the suffixes to my name. I assure you that longer, "stiffer" sentences is not the answer to a safer society. The only benefit to locking criminals up for extended periods of time is to have them attend their own boarding school and graduate as professors of law and criminal justice: the law under which criminals operate to achieve their own desired outcomes. The how to's and don'ts that make each more successful in their next criminal act(s). In other words, the education and presentation of the new and improved criminal model version 2015.1 graduating cum laud from the Cayman Islands Prison Service School of Criminal Education.

     

    There wasn't a lot of research done in this "knee-jerk" motion, or it would never have been proposed. Research would have proven that the largest countries in the world who have sustainable economiesand can AFFORD to house prisoners indefinitely have repealed or are repealing the laws that they have passed for longer sentences. If we're having difficulty housing prisoners now for a year because of the financial cost, how will we be able to house them for longer terms?

     

    The outcome of this is a most horrendous cycle that will have us all prisoners in our own homes, protected by steel bars, just as the prisoners at Northward. This law will create a breakdown in the family structure that will force younger, not-yet-criminals to become professionals, as our welfare department will not be able to afford to maintain the many families that will be affected by the incarceration of a family member or members in some cases for the long term. The increase in crime will affect us as a nation and as a result our tourism market and thus our financial industry and global standing will be affected most negatively. A decrease in finances equals an increase in poverty and an increase in poverty will result in an increase in crime. An increase in crime equals a decrease in income equals and increase in poverty equals an increase in crime equals a new steel industry: steel bars and doors for your homes, luxurious or not.

     

    It is also necessary for me to highlight the mental state of a criminal who's intent on avoiding prison: "I'm not going to prison, cost it what it will". Criminals will become bolder the older they get in crime. They will take greater chances and they will reject or even eliminate any intervention that will hinder or hamper their success, regardless of what it costs you. Are you prepared for this?

     

    So now that I've outlined how dangerous a criminal is, you must be thinking that I'm advocating for them to truly be incarcerated. No, I'm advocating for them to be provided with better opportunities and acceptance.

     

    If someone has only lowly, dangerous expectations to live up to, that is what they will offer/produce. If they have anything meaningful as an expectation then that is what they will strive for. At the end of the day, the criminal's goal is no different than yours: stay alive and survive. And to own a flat screen tv too.

     

    To address this, there are a few things we must do:

     

    1st: Accept that there are two types of criminals: those who got caught and those who didn't. A clean police record is not proof of an individual's ability to function within your company in your best interest. And your greatest asset could be the one with a conviction from 4 years ago.

     

    2nd: Become educated in how to read a police record so that it can be better understood where the person was at. To be totally fair, offences should only be considered in most cases for the post in which they have applied. No, I wouldn't suggest you place a person with a financial theft record to work as your cashier, but there's no reason why they can't pack your shelves.

     

    3rd: Most people have gotten to where they are through on-the-job-training. I don't have a degree, though most people think I do. I am who I am as an employee and function as I do as a result of the training that I have received and the people that I have been exposed to. I learned what I needed to in order to fulfill my role requirements and have always invested more of myself in becoming the best in my post, with the assistance of those around me and the compliments they willingly gave. If I were dependent on having a higher education, I'd resort to crime before I starve to death. But people have been willing to give me a chance and train me. This option shouldn't exist only for me; many criminals are who they are because no one will give them a chance to get out of the lifestyle they are living, simply by requiring years of experience for posts that are in no way technical.

     

    4th: With intervention anyone can change. Sometimes people are resistant to change; until they see changes starting to work positively in their lives.  The Drug Rehabilitation Court (DRC) is a wonderful example of the positive effects of alternative sentencing. I have seen so many people make a change by being a part of the DRC and are now assisting others with overcoming their addiction(s) and becoming productive citizens. In other words, they are a statistic in and are playing a role in the reduction of crime.

     

    5th: Not everyone can be a doctor or lawyer. Some of us are gifted in our hands. I wouldn't get to work if the mechanic doesn't keep our vehicles  serviced and operating. Vocational training is an open door to employment, which is a anti-crime tool. Let's jump on this bandwagon and train people in their innate skill and groom them into being the best they can be, before they find criminal work for their hands.

    My final note on this point is how appalled I was by the comments posted on CNS site on the article from YouthACT. The hatred and disdain was revolting, leaving me to question how the people who are always defending this country as a "God fearing nation" could make such animalistic remarks. How do you look at your fellow human being and refer to them as animals? How do you cry for them to be placed in a dump heap? How do you look at another human being who has done wrong and fail to equate that individual with your sister or brother, son or daughter? How do you look at our fallen brethren through the eyes of anti-Semitics and racists – as that's what you are, just from a different angle. You are driven by hatred of a prisoner – those you don't even know – and prejudice to those who have become entrapped in to crime with the same animosity and hatred of those who said that a negro was only 1/5th human. And those qualities are far worse than the acts of a robber who does what he has to do to feed his family, because people like you won't give them the chance to rehabilitate and earn an honest, decent living. The shame isn't on the criminal. It's really on you.

    To make the change in our criminals we must also make a change in ourselves.

    If you think that locking young ones up for longer will make you safer in the future, start the experiment now. We'll both sup the same sauce.

    Love always.

    • Anonymous says:

      You can tell that you've never been robbed, raped or had a gun to your head before. I would prefer capital punishment. That would reduce numbers. For the women that has children left behind, well provide counseling for them. But I will never feel sorry for the criminal that has been in my house and left me feeling unsafe. I have a child and I have duties to protect my child. Lock the criminals up and never let them out. 

      • Katina Anglin says:

        I understand your fears, concerns and frustrations and I assure you, your solution is a sure-fire way to experience it again.

        As far as the crimes listed, I've surely had my share, both as the victim and the perpetrator and enabler, though not in all capacities.

        I'm not someone sitting in a penthouse with a Ph.D; please read my letter again and it should be a bit more obvious where I've come from…I'm no stranger to crime.

        And while you're thinking about the mental well being of yourself and your own child, please think of how other must feel to have theirs taken from you by capital punishment, as you advocate. And the very laws you're advocating could very well apply to your own child/ren one day.

        And please feel free to advocate for employment of criminals…they'll be too tired and able to provide for themselves and not have to enter your living room. If employment of a criminal in order to reduce crime isn't too much to ask, that is.

        • Anonymous says:

          If capital punishment is reinstated as it once was here. The numbers in the prison would decrease.  Other countries have the death sentence for drug users/traffickers.I would love to see that in Cayman as well. 

          I am a firm advocate of prevention. The problem begins at conception. Legalize abortion and have free clinics. Sterilize and castrate rapists once convicted. Mandatory eitiquette training in public schools. The parents are not teaching it therefore force them to learn. Cayman is already a nanny state. 

          While the programs you suggest are wonderful. Bored children will be up to no good. Lengthen the school day to 6pm for primary students and for high school 8pm. Remove summer break. You want real solutions make real decisions. 

          For the current criminals. No I will not hire a former criminal. I have a business and I need to make money. 

          A proper drug rehabilitation facility needs to be in place as well as a standalone mental health facility. Once you get to the prison you will see the root of the problem was neglect of the individual as a child, drug addiction and mental instability. Normal people do not turn to crime or drugs when times are tough. 

          At the very least advocate for the rehab centers and the abortion clinics. At a minimum. 

  4. Anonymous says:

    Maybe the person is a lunatic.  However, at least a lunatic that is not in prison and committing crimes and terrorizing the community or deteriorating the standard of living of the island. 

    Maybe I am the lunatic and not that poster.  I think we shoud send the prisoners "home" back in the middle of the safari in Africa somewhere. Give them the 'freedom' they seek.  The freedom from being held down by society

  5. Anonymous says:

    What garbage!  What has three-strikes to do with youth sentencing?  The problem with three-strikes was it over punished older criminals who were nearing the end of their criminal careers.  Indeed if anything is learned from the failed experiment that was three-strikes it is that tougher sentencing needs to be focused on those at the start of a criminal career not at the end.

  6. Anonymous says:

    Legalized abortion will reduce future inmate numbers. Pro choice for women. Stop forcing the low economic society to have children they cannot afford and don't have the time for them. Neglect leads to seeking attention from elsewhere and then prison eventually. 

  7. Anonymous says:

    What works for me is that these scumbags are locked up somewhere they cannot get near me, my family, my home or my business.  The younger ones should be locked up for longer because they are far more likely to reoffend.

  8. Bonnie Anglin -Chairperson, Youth ACT says:

    This is Bonnie Anglin, Chairperson of Youth Act, author of  the letter, signed and gave permission to CNS post it as an attachment to the article.  I began by identifying myself as I do not have to hide behind "Anonymous"  as when I truly believe in something and I have history, research and empirical data and peronal conviction to support my beliefs, I can speak my mind freely, once done with respect (minus hatred, the devil and bigotry)

    To those of you who believe the solution is chipping rocks like Nelson Mandela, who later became the Prime Minister of South Africa and who forgave his imprisoners – be careful. I don't think there are many more Mandela's. As my wise father alway told me,be careful what you ask for, because you might get it.  So after you advcate to chip rocks like Nelson Mandela and "treat them like dogs"- they might not be like Nelson Mandela, when released. Be careful what you ask for, you might get it and wish you did not ask for it .

    Be careful what you ask for or you, not the Offenders,  might be "the person running from Cayman" like the Jamaicans had to do in the late 1970's and1980's. Or you can stay, get a gun licence, get dogs (please don't 'abuse them as we are  notorious for doing), install electric gates, and the list goes on……….OR 

    Let's do the math. Instead of spending $50-60,000 a year to send Offenders back to the community without treatment to offend again, let's advocate for meaningful programmes while incarcerated, in an attempt to address the issues that caused them to commit crime in the first place. If not, you are deciding on your own incarceration – with dogs, grills, bars, guns, security companies,cameras,and the list goes on.

    Unfortunately, the  civilized world, in 2014, does not allow us to "throw away the key" and the cost to incarcerate, like our cost of living, will always keep increasing. We hava a problem, but we are smart people, we can work out. 

    So what are we going to do?  Hatred and ignorance OR working together to see what WE can do to help solve this, and many other problems in our country?

    You are choosing your own Prison – Northward  – or your Home with every security gadget available – it's still a Prison!

    • Anonymous says:

      Better suggestions:

      -Rehab program great, just don't reduce time spent in there

      – better social outreach programs

      -better sex education

      -easier access to birth control

      -legalize abortion

      -improve the public education system and monitoring of at risk children

      -longer harsher sentences

       
  9. Anonymous says:

    Ok maybe more jail doesn't work in the current capacity. Then make it VERY unpleasant. Redirect the prison in the middle of the dump. Put the prisoners in individual 'cages' no more need for AC. No sharing of the accommodations and no human contact other than visitation from family. Food is bread and butter. The prisoners then are exposed to the elements rain, wind and shine. Scorching heat or windy. Rain=shower. Toilet? Oh well, leave the excrement right there with them, if the rain washes it away lucky for them, if not se la vie of a prisoner. Exercise is swimming. Take them out on a boat and they can swim around near the 12 mile bank. If they escape by swimming away, then so be it. However more than likely they will drown. 

    Sounds cruel? Well they aren't going to a five star hotel are they? Did they care about the effects that they would have on their victims? I think not. Why do we have to care about how they are treated? Besides making prison as inhospitable as possible would be an incentive for these criminals not to reoffend and turn their life around because they NEVER want to return to such deplorable conditions. 

     

    • Anonymous says:

      You are a lunatic. Thank god you are not in charge of sentencing. Time after time, it has been proven that harsher sentences do not work, nor would your barbaric suggestion.

      • Anonymous says:

        The chances of a prisoner surviving those conditions sound slim to none.  It would solve the problem of reoffending because:

        -they may not survive their time

        -they would think twice because they wouldn't want to return

        -if they commit the crime, then they would probably commit suicide before going in there or back

         

        Either way it reduces numbers.

  10. Anonymous says:

    Longer and Harder sentences is the solution for the trend of these crimes to continue, Not make them decrease, why are we trying to become a backwards country in almost everything we do? Try eliminating the problem from the root.  Address that there are no trade schools in Cayman, nor any work programs to help prison inmates secure a job once leaving the prison system like the UK and United states. Cause if our boys and men are not able to learn a trade that can allow them to make a legitimate living or obtain a job the continuous cycle of crime and incarceration will always continue.

    Because the reality isnot everyone can work in our financial institution or tourism. What about these who left school without any exam passes (due to our lacking Education syllabus and backwards education policies, like regardless if a child  is at the right level in their class still push them to a next grade) and can’t go on to higher education what options do you think are available for them? Stop using the Bandad Policy and get to the root and start fixing it from there, then and only then will you see the crime states go down.

    Cause reality is the only reason we see a drop in our crime states is because majority of our young Caymanians between the ages of 20-35 is incarcerated and the younger ones haven’t suffered quite enough to get to that large scale of crime as yet.

  11. Dr. Deborah Surat says:

    It would be a shame for Cayman not to learn from the mistakes of other countries. By changing the harsher sentencing laws in the US, it is projected that $4 Billion will be saved in the next 10 years.  Yes, that is Billions with a B!  A "Smarter Sentencing Act" has been introduced into the US Congress to try to overturn the mandatory sentencing that has proven to do nothing other than cost the citizens more but not make them any safer.  Cayman could be on the cutting edge of doing the right thing, rather than following in the footsteps of the US and the UK who are just now realizing the mistakes of those policies.  If Cayman wants to spend the money wisely, please address the root issues of these crimes.  If we had been able to put the rehabilitation and educational programs into place appropriately 10 years ago, when I was a policy advisor for the  Cayman government, this conversation may not have been necessary.  Don't wait another 10 years to make the right decision.  These prisoners will get out one day, do you want them to be ableto be productive members of society or do you want them to be planning their next crime against you?  Without putting funds into true rehabilitation, you will just keep putting money into more prison space and suffering from the revolving door of increasing residivism. Please, Cayman, do the wise thing NOW so that we are not having this conversation again in 10 more years  Pay now, or pay a whole lot more later!

    • Anonymous says:

      Dr Surat's time as policy advisor to Dr Frank McField is one of these times that many of us sensible Caymanians shudder about when we recall the nonsense, patronage and waste of money that went on. That said, her post is not without merit but the rehabilitation and social efforts to address the growing problems should have been in place long before she ever came here-in the early 1980s in fact, when the money (and drugs) started flowing in with the construction boom. Dr Surat and Dr Frank, I fear, made a bizarre pair, listening only to each other and trampling on anyone who disagreed. Never again, please. Never again.

      • Anonymous says:

        It seems you are a bit misinformed about the effect of Dr. Frank McField's ministry. For the first time in history of our country we were holding interdisciplinary meetings, where the entire rehabiliation process was being overseen simultaneously by the various boards and care takers and had begun to yield success, before he was voted out.

        There were no more stand-alone decisions by individual departments but an overall care management plan that was created for people in detention rehabilitative services.

        Departments were being held accountable to complete recognized, assigned and agreed tasks in the best interest of the individual, community and society as a whole.

        It did cost a pretty penny – therapy isn't cheap; but had that model continued to exist, this conversation would be non-existent right now.

        • Anonymous says:

          Oh please 15:57, stop it. I was a very very senior civil servant at the time and we were in despair at the nonsense that was going on in Frank's ministry. The scenario you ask us to believe in was only in your and Frank's mind. I gasped when I read your post, so far from reality is it.

          • Katina Anglin says:

            Then you were not in the rooms where change was being made, but instead one of those against the therapeutic approach, as you obviously still are. You weren't there to hear what students and prisoners were telling us that was needed to help them: one from becoming a criminal and the other from becoming a recidvist.

            We fear what we don't understand and you, like many, don't understand how therapy brings about change. So you fear it. And when you fear it, you reject it.

            Many people believe that discipline must be corporal or not at all. If you can't crack an electric cord across their child's back, then you "leave the wutless, good-fun-nuttin ting alone"; you're unable to  talk to them and show them the benefits and social attractiveness of doing right; and you'll send you and them straight to hell rather than admit you've failed and have someone else bring about the change you couldn't. Because you no longer can implement corporal punishment, in other words "beat the devil out of you", you reject the solution – therapeutic – that is proposed and effective through others. Simply because if's not your way and that's the only solution you ever knew. I understand where you're coming from.

            So go ahead; drive every point home that supports your hateful tirade against other humans who have fallen through the crack and need a hand up instead of a kick while they're down. Hopefully, one of these young men help you start your car one day. Ooops! That'll never happen – you're so far up in society that if your battery doesn't start, you'll just buy a new car.

  12. Anonymous says:

    What has worked to dissuade criminal activity since the early barbarism of the Roman Empire, are beat patrols, and enforcement of the laws of the land with actual consequences.  I don't understand how attitudes are supposed to magically change when the RCIPS publicly lament crime statistics that were a result of their own neglected duty.  Get out there boys.  Have a staffed year-round traffic department instead of pretending that ill-equipped crime fighters are fully occupied bumbling-up their tougher investigative roles.  You could nab 50+ DUIs a night by showing up and stopping drunk drivers at closing time at any one of dozens of night spots.  If you wanted to.

  13. The REAL Truth says:

    Just let them take the criminals into their homes and care for them and be responsible for them.  If you don't want to do that then come up with a better alternative.  Doing nothing is pretty much expected from you but making everyone else do nothing is not.

    • Anonymous says:

      Ok so prison time doesn't always work..ok CI Government, why should I as a private company hire an ex con??? Why doesn't the government give them jobs then??? Garbage man for one???

      • Anonymous says:

        It is views like this that continues to fuel criminal activity.

        Maybe if you hired the criminal he'd be occupied for 8 hours for the day, too tired for another 8 and asleep for another 8. Doesn't leave much time for criminal works.

        And by the way, if the garbage man doesn't come by, your ass will be living in shit! Be grateful for the garbage man, you bag.

    • Anonymous says:

      7:02 why the hell should I do anything for these criminals???? Tell me?? I raised my children and thank goodness they ALL turned out well, I work for a living and so does my husband, honest hardworking people.  Why should I give back to the criminals that rob, rape. drug dealers and even kill? 

      Government supposively had a work camp and look how that turned out a young teenage girl was brutally killed. 

      Maybe the parents single or not single should be held accountable with the actions of their young minor children!!!! 

  14. Anonymous says:

    Jail is punishment. Now these 'activists' want us to feel sorry for them after they terrorized innocent people? I think not. They need to be removed from society and do their time. This is real life not school rules and it's a slap on the wrist. That's the problem now. They don't fear the repercussions, because they aren't harsh enough. Cayman likes to copy other country's laws. I say let's follow Singapore's example. We wouldn't have overcrowding in the prison at all. 

    • Anonymous says:

      Christian no doubt!

       

    • Anonymous says:

      Try providing them with employment and acceptance. Most criminal activity is as a result of unemployment. And the longer a criminal is in jail is the more hardened they become. Stop growing them into hardened citizens and groom them into hardworking citizens.

      • Anonymous says:



        You hire them then.  I would rather the electric chair for most.

        • Anonymous says:

          I work in a company that has quite a few employed – and doing very well!

  15. Anonymous says:

    Prison is not the answer, I agree. What we really need is a boot camp. I don't want them seating down playing dominoes and taking selfies to post on FB . I want them to change their way of thinking. I want a drill sergeant waking them up to clean the urinals and toilets at 4 am in the morning with a tooth brush.  I want them to plant casava and pull bush at 5 am. I want them to change and sending them to prison is not the answer. I want them to work in boot camp to pay for boot camp.

  16. Anonymous says:

    An ounce of prevention is worth much, much more than a pound of cure.

     

    Instead of enacting longer prison sentences which is a reactive response to crime, the MLAs should take proactive steps to prevent crime by dealing with the root cause of crime instead of putting ineffective band aids on the symptoms.

     

    The steps are:

     

    Step 1: Prevent unwanted and pre-natally damaged babies coming into this world. To do this we need explicit age appropriate sex education and easy, inexpensive access to birth control products (including abortion). Teach young women how to bring wanted and healthy babies into the world and teach them how to nurture them. Teach young men how to be supportive fathers who engage positively in parenthood.

     

    Step 2: Legalize and control drugs (yes, all of them) as we do today with nicotine and alcohol. The tax revenue can then be pumped into support services and education related to Step 1.

     

    Step 3: Invest heavily in education and base the strategies on empirical and measurable evidence. This will also enhance Step 1.

     

    Building bigger jails is immoral, cowardly, and lazy; capital punishment (state sponsored murder) is just another name for abortion in the 60th or 70th trimester of pregnancy.

     

    The steps that are outlined above are not a quick fix. The are seeds that will bear fruit in 18 to 30 years.

     

    • Anonymous says:

      Thank you for this intelligent and well thought out response. Now if only the powers that be could listen and act on it. Unfortunately, the religious lobby in Cayman always seems to win out against sex education and birth control – as well as legalisation of drugs. If we would just get off our moral high horses and deal with the reality of Cayman's social problems, maybe we could get somewhere and reduce the numbers of young Caymanians in our prisons. Prayer and church has not worked. We need to look at real, long term solutions. And also not knee-jerk reactivist punishments. 

      • Anonymous says:

        I can't figure out how Christians living in a God fearing country can spew such hatred from their lips as I have read here! OHHHHH my Christian Brother – my God weeps for you!

  17. Anonymousand says:

    Miss Anglin is right! Jail is not the answer for these punk “victims”.
    Instead, allow the real victim to pile blows on them, then they pay pack the theft/damages in cash, or in hard time laboring for the victim..
    Or breaking big rocks into lil ones.
    Get them to quarry that govrrnment land with shovels and pick axes!
    Yes they can rehab themselves, but pampering + halfway homes are too good.
    Were they thinking of bargaining and kindness as they robbed+raped innocent people!??

    • Anonymous says:

      You're certainly off to a great start! Keep this as part of the law and we will have a tit-for-tat community…the only thing wrong is the criminals already have guns. Idiot! How on God's green earth will we solve crime by advocating for more to be committed. So glad you're not a lawmaker.

  18. Slowpoke says:

    Great to see that the anti-science, punish more, commenters are out in full force.  Read the research on this issue, please, please, please. 

    It is a huge cost with no benefits, and I am sure you are the same "small Government" activists.

    • Anonymous says:

      not only are they out in full force, but they're uneducated in the effect of this law, but full of venom and hatred that blinds them to a real solution.

      Many crimes are committed by members of families that shock the community when they get caught. Some people should be careful what they ask for, before they get what they're asking for.

  19. Anonymous says:

    I know what to do now with criminals aged 18 and above and that is lock them up in a $h..t whole and make them work for their accommodation, I for one am sick and tierd on spending $60k per yr per prisoner. 

    Now what should we do with our children, especially those who happen to come from  the lower income bracket ( not saying these are the only ones committing crime)? This is the problem, we have already lost two generations of young caymanians and can't afford to loose another.

    if you have the time watch this video http://youtu.be/ZEvQLUJdJMM it is a panorama tv special call last chance accademy. Based in the uk and a very interesting watch, it they guarentee all their students 5gcses and deal with problem children in the school system. I am not saying our teachers are incompitant or not able to teach our kids, but these teachers are extremely special in this program and I believe if our minister for education watches this and uses some of their ideas we will have educated kids and not as many trouble makers in the future… 

    Just my opion, hopefully some of you spend the time watching and agree

    • Anonymous says:

      I spent the time watching the panorama documentary, very interesting, Tara!!!!! You need your education staff, consultants watch this, in fact let’s hire that man to run our education system… He really loves his job and the kids… WOW is all I can say…
      Thanks for sharing

    • Anonymous says:

      I haven't watched it but I do agree with a part of your statement which eludes to lower income criminals; it  is true that poverty breeds crime.

      Now if we can just get those in power to employ Caymanians in every capacity that they qualify for, we can reduce the Caymanian criminal and start deporting more expatriates who have been overlooked as part of our criminal system and are jumping through the hoops with riches in hand, while the light is cast on Caymanians as the ONLY criminals in this country.

  20. Anonymous says:

    Wait, $1.5m for a wall?! WTF?

    • Anonymous says:

      $1.5M for a secure wall seems quite reasonable. I believe we spent $400K to put a fence around some politician's house, and he keeps escaping.

    • anon says:

      it will be a nice wall, slightly bigger than the previous one, and will create a beautiful 2-tiered effect. It will look simply divine as a backdrop to the rising sun.

    • Anonymous says:

      The roof at Northward Prison leaks so prisoners huddle in the corner when it rains. The cells are unbearably hot and adds to frustration and anger, making the officers' jobs more dangerous. But instead of addressing those issues and making the prisoners physically safer they are building a $1.5M to keep prisoners out of view of the public (as though we don't know they are there), whereas they could spend .5M on improvements and 1M on REAL rehabilitation and job education and reduce crime and recidivism.

      Glad they're not running my business finances.

  21. Anonymous says:

    Crucifixion, first offense.

    Nail them up I say

    • Anonymous says:

      But Crucifixions a doddle

    • Anonymous says:

      With such a criminal mind, they should start with you, before you commit your first atrocity. Or you might have done that already – just never been caught. Wickedness.

  22. Anonymous says:

    Just WAREHOUSE these scum. Get them away from me.

  23. Anonymous says:

    What works best is solitary confinement.  Prevents the "university of crime" problem.  And the weak willed immoral criminal types are quite scared of it.  Lock them up with four walls and their Gideon bible.  (The bible reference is not intended to imply and religious affiliations, other texts are available on request).

  24. Anonymous says:

    Locking criminals up keeps them off the street – old saying 'if you can't do the time, don't do the crime'. The real problem is that the prison regime is too soft and the sentences too short.

    • Born Free says:

      Did you know that according to the DoP [Director of Prisons] it now costs the people of this Island a minimum of CI$60,000.00 per year to keep a prisoner in Northward. 

      So with your permission 11:53!  We will get really tough on these criminals and lock them up for 20 years to life. But it comes with one caveat [condition] that is, don't let me hear you "BITCHING" about having to waste CI$60,000.00 a year  on these people, when we could do so much more with that money! And! We will also expect you to adapt at least "one prisoner" and  pay for his annual upkeep until he is released from prison.

      Think you could do that for us? UM! Just as I thought! You are probably saying really nasty things about this comment right now. Aren't you?

  25. The Parliamentarian says:

    All the namby-pamby do-gooders who think crime isn't too bad are just not thinking clearly, or  not thinking at all.  You want to reduce crime?  Just enact capital punishment for the repeatoffenders.  It WILL reduce crime, and it WILL stop ALL crime by the repeat offenders.  It's a win-win solution to a problem that is growing every day. 

    • Anonymous says:

      When did you move to Cayman from Iran?

    • Anonymous says:

      Capital punishment is being eliminated around the world for two reasons:

      1- murder is murder, regardless of who takes the life and

      2 – it has been proven in many cases that innocent people had been wrongfully accused, convicted and executed. Guess what? They couldn't receive an apology and a cash payout from the government and families have even declined to accept payment saying "just bring him back – that's all we want".

      If they do get around to capital punishment though, I hope you are the first to be executed for inciting murder.

    • Anonymous says:

      What on earth are you talking about.  Look at American Society to see how capitol punishment fails dismally as a deterrent.