LoGB pledges resources

| 16/10/2008

(CNS): The murder of Estella Scott-Roberts has served to amplify her voice not silence her, Leader of Government Business Kurt Tibbetts said this morning. Pledging that the government would find whatever financial resources were necessary to bring her killers to justice, he said the government cannot and will not stand by and allow people to feel unsafe in their own country.

Speaking at the live televised post-Cabinet press briefing on Thursday morning, 16 October, Tibbetts acknowledged the widespread sadness in the community following Scott-Roberts’ murder, and described the crime as an unspeakable horror.

“It has exposed the truth that a deeply sinister person or persons lives among us,” he said. “As bold as the perpetrators were in committing this crime, the government is going on record as saying that we will be just as bold in our commitment to find them and bring them to deserved justice.”

He said that the government had told the Governor that if more resources are needed to solve this case it will do everything to get them as quickly as possible. “We will not stand idly by and let our relative tranquility slip from between our fingers,” he said, insisting that the authorities would find the perpatrators.

He said that the murderers may have thought that Estella would be gone forever but they were mistaken.

“By attempting to silence Estella’s voice they have amplified it,” Tibbetts said. “It is now more alive and vibrant than ever. They have not succeeded because she and the people of the Cayman Islands are collectively stronger than they thought. We stand together in unity and they stand alone in condemnation.”

He said that Cayman had lost some of its innocence last weekend and that the fabric of the country’s security had been stretched by other crimes, and now it was torn.

“As much as humanly possible we will work to repair that tear and the strength and security of the community,” he added.

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  1. Anonymous says:

    If the police were as vigilant in solving these unsolved murders as they were at handing out tickets and court summons for minor traffic violations, then there would be little to say. If they would use the authority given unto them for our protection wisely, instead of repeatedly abusing it as well as the our less criminally incline caymanian citizens then they would have our respect. I do not feel protected by them I feel bullied and helpless to stop it. It makes you so mad when you’ve had one overtake cars, sirens blazing hunting you down because you left the gas station forgetting to fasten your seat belts, or turning on your headlights; murderers still run rampant, murders remain unsolved.  We are spending all of this money on traffic traps and speedometers; why isn’ t there adequate training for solving these kind of cases; why aren’t we investing these monies to provide adequate training ; why must we import experts from abroad? why

    I appreciate Mr Tibbets speech, but as of right now and until Estella’s murderer is caught and all other murders are solved, theyare just meaningless words! The do not encourage faith in our government nor our national security for me. The laws here seem non-existent if you are not breaking some traffic offence.  I agree that a complet restructuring of the RCIP is needed, they need to be screened appropriately before recruited and trained to not only be road maids but as investigators. Their behaviors need to be monitored, and if there is a discrepancy they need to be removed from the force.

    Sadly I  agree, and it hurts to say it. But unfortunately this might be another incident that will be added to our list of unsolved cases. I hoped an pray that I’d be forced to retract and eat this statement relatively soon.

  2. Anonymous says:

    There needs to be a complete overhaul and restructuring of the police department. Superintendent Marlon Bodden was recently addressing the West Bay Action Committee and made a few statements that were utterly shocking.

    “Let me tell you something about murders, you can’t patrol to stop them. They are crimes of passion.”
    —This is beyond an incorrect generalized statement. Murders are not only crimes of passion but they are crimes of opportunity, greed and a crime that takes place when there is a perceived lack of social control, just to name a few.
    —Cant patrol to stop them? This is a bit of a balking statement.Mr. Bodden should know through his years of education in Criminal Justice Theory (which I would assume he has) that one of the best deterants for crime is a high police presence, this is not even an arguement, it has been proven through dozens of scientifically controlled experiments.

    "I can assure you we have followed our protocols and worked within what we have to the best of our abilities.”"
    —perhaps your protocols need to be thrown out and rebuilt. Don’t use the term "best of our abilities", that is just a cop out and an admission of failure, you will not be allowed to fail in this case, we won’t stand for it

    "Mr Bodden explained that the crime scene was opened after a thorough examination and that all normal procedures were followed. Regarding the high-profile nature of Mrs Scott-Roberts’ murder and the subsequent media attention, Mr Bodden said that all murder cases are treated equally."
    —your "normal procedures" are obviously not working (period). Was the crime scene attended to with a multi-layer perimeter setup and did you make use of the latest in crime solving techinques and theory? I would bet the house that you didn’t. The crime scene was opened WAY to prematurely to have been called an effective investigation. This is not a busy road, this is not a neighborhood, you and your officers and investigators should still be there today drudging the swamps, walking the mangroves, and tracing every inch of the path to that location to find every shred of evidence that may lead you to the killer(s)

    The community cannot let Estella’s death go unsolved. You cannot allow for a murder solve rate of 10%-14% to be acceptable. Now is the time to take a good hard look at where things are headed if the police and front line law enforement efforts are not totally revamped in the islands.

  3. Anonymous says:

    Because now the Government cannot deny that Cayman is no longer a Country of pride, but now a Country of great shame. Cayman is now an unsafe place, and has one of the higest murder ratios in the world for the amount of murders verses the small population of the islands. Cayman is a Country in deep problems with viscious murders and brutal violence, and can no longer be brushed under the mat, put on the back burner, or brushed aside. It is a shame Government didn’t pledge for all the brutal murders that have taken place in the years gone by, one being my very dear friend, that i know many details about the murder, and saw with my own eyes a very lousy and scanty investigation by the Authorities. If they had put a little more effort to it and listened carefully to what neighbours were trying to tell them, they may have solved that case. But i will say no more on that. God is the Greatest Avenger of them All! I leave it in God’s Hands, Avengance is His, and He shall repay! So yes, i agree, the investigations in this island regarding the brutal horrific unsolved murders in my opinion have been lousy! And probably because a problem of wanting the recognition and fame of being the one that solved the murder, so the RCIP and the CID don’t always give information to each other because each department wants to have the glory of solving the crime, like in the US with the FBI and the local Police Forces. Sometimes ego is the main factor in murder cases why they are not solved and thus become a cold case file!

    From a Fed Up and Disgruntled Caymanian with a very Broken Heart

  4. Anonymous says:

    There was a similar case a few months ago with a foreign national being found dead in a burned out car in West Bay.  Why did the government not make the pledge then?  As far as I know our incompetent police force has still not solved that one.

    • Anonymous says:

        Just another load of Promises that are "Only good for a fool" again, and to spend more money for the same results.

        We need a "Good Trained Police Service" not the ones we have….. they not capable in my opinion. Yes too many Unsolved crimes on hand..

       

      • Anonymous says:

        How about a little positivity for a change. You get a positive pledge from the Government and there is a chorus of negativity and griping abut what did not happen in the past and about the outcome. Let’s come together on this.

        • Anonymous says:

          If you took your car for a service and the mechanic did a lousy job most people would complain that they were not getting what they paid for.  The RCIP is a service and they are not providing what they are paid to do.  We have every right to ciriticize and be negative and with luck it will bring about positive change!  Almost everyone you meet has a negative story about how the RCIPS handle things.  Criticism where criticism is due and credit where credit is due.