Baines plans RCIPS growth

| 28/10/2009

(CNS): The new police commissioner has said that he wants to increase the current police numbers in the Cayman Islands by around 50 officers. Facing what he called several skill gaps, with a need for more community and neighbourhood police officers, as well as the development of a task force, David Baines says he will be looking overseas to recruit at least half of these officers, including the US where he is hoping to attract specialists such as former FBI agents or other highly trained law enforcement officers.

Baines said he has plans to recruit and train local officers in the future with the introduction of a buddy system, but speaking on Rooster’s morning talk show Crosstalk this week, the senior officer said he had to deal with the immediate problem and address the current spike in crime. He said he wanted to fill the shortfalls in specific skills and expertise as quickly as possible and he did not have the luxury of time to train raw recruits.

“I have been speaking with colleagues in America with the view to provision of trained investigators, whether it is FBI agents or some of the South Florida law enforcement agencies to deal with the here and now,” the commissioner said. He explained that he was looking to recruit at least ten skilled investigators, at least three scenes of crimes officers and an unspecified number of specialist criminal analysts and intelligence officers, which, he said were key to making successful arrests but there were none of these experts currently in the RCIPS.

“People talk about having a task force but there is no point in having one unless they are clearly briefed, clearly directed and clearly understand when the best chance is to catch someone with firearms, drugs or indeed illicit material. It’s important we have the background information,” Baines said.

“We are going to grow our resources by about fifty officers over the next couple of months.” The senior officer said around half that number would be front line officers that could be locally recruited but the other half would have to be experienced and trained officers. He said this would also help with the current policy to make the police more visible. “People say they don’t see police and that’s because we have stripped front line officers to deal with specific incidents.” Baines explained that with the recruitment of specifically trained officers he could put front line officers back in post boosting the visibility.

In the meantime, he explained that he has put every single officer in uniform so as they move around the island people will see them going about their business increasing the feeling and perception of security. He said all officers will be going out on patrol as much as possible.

Yesterday, Baines himself was on foot patrol in the centre of George Town and heard first hand from local businesses how welcome the increase in police visibility has been by the community. A persistent and long term criticism of the service,that Baines has clearly acknowledged, is that the community feels police officers are rarely on their streets. Residents say they only ever see police in patrol cars with windows tightly closed and somehow distant from the community they are meant to police. The policy to increase foot patrols by officers and make them more visible has been extremely well received.

Speaking to News27 yesterday while out on the beat, Baines said the patrol was to reassure business owners and to build confidence in the community. “You will see every rank from the most junior PC to the most senior officer taking their turn to be out here and visible to the community,” he told the television crew.

Meanwhile, Supt. Marlon Bodden, the senior investigating officer on the murder enquiry of Fabian Reid, who was shot dead while driving a car in the North sound Estates earlier this month, conducted a walk through of the scene of the crime last night. The RCIPS said the purpose of the visit was to provide another opportunity to meet and speak with people who may recall additional details of the incident. 

Reid is the latest victim of a tit for tat spate of shootings which the commissioner said was linked to a girl and gang respect issues that began with the death of Omar Samuels, who was shot in the leg in George Town in July and died from the would after it severed his femoral artery. Three men have been charged with that murder and are currently in custody. However, the killersof Marcus Ebanks, Carlo Webster and Reid remain at large.

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  1. MIKE GOODING says:

    Shaun Ebanks has been hitting the nail on the head and is continually doing so.        It seems this country is prepared to listen and believe everything the British says.     Show me the facts.     What David Baines has enacted ,  is what any senior constable in the RCIP has done over the years.     I,  myself, as a retired Police officer,     after 24yrs of committed service,   did this and went far beyond this so called strategy  with more than enormous success. Shaun is absolutely righrt in everything he says.     We worked together  with enormous success.     We don’t need to hire officers from the  US  or anywhere else for that matter, as he stated.     We have the material right here on this little rock.   We have stalwarts such as,    To name a few,  such as DENNIS BRADY,   MEL BROWN, GILLARD MC.LAUGHLIN, PAUL ANGLIN,  EUGENE MYLES,  DALTON EBANKS,  ALDEN WELCOME,  DAVIS SCOTT,  JAVIN POWERY , AND YOURS TRULY     who can make all the difference.      We all are prepared and ready to make that difference but unfortunately,   not with the present management .  GIVE US SOMEONE SUCH AS    DEREK HAINES    AND THIS COUNTRY WILL BE A HAVEN TO LIVE IN ONCE MORE.   We are saddened, disgusted,  hurt,  embarassed and frustrated by what is going on in the RCIP.     What Shaun  is saying is simply this:   WE NEED TO GET BACK TO WHAT WORKED FPOR US.     

  2. Shaun Ebanks says:

    I have trained and worked alongside many US law enforcement officers  while I was a member of RCIPS. I’m sorry to inform you Commissioner Baines, but it’s highly unlikely any such officers whom are/were federal, state or local in the US would want to enlist in the RCIPS or be part of an "elite task force" to target drugs, guns and gangs without firearms. These operational officers from the US "WILL NOT ACCEPT YOUR OFFER" in this regard.

    The RCIPS could however utilize their expertise in certain aspects of management and tactical training. The Americans I knew, were high energy individuals and kicked butt when it rightfully needed to be kicked. As for the UK, they usually prefer to kiss butt and then give some good old lip service to the media and the public to swallow and then head to the beach, preferably to one with a well stocked bar/pub nearby.

    What Commissioner Baines really needs to do is to fully staff DTF, reinstate access to firearms and actively support Kurt Walton and his team of officers in these challenging times we face. Hold them accountable to produce results but allow them to do their job without one hand tied behind their backs. Commissioner Baines, you should do your research and see what Derek Haines, the late Gregory Thompson and myself did while we were there.

    We knew how to get results every week and we did it with very limited resources. We had few officers, very little money, few vehicles and old Protector who spent most of her time at Harbour House Marina getting repaired. However, what we did have positively going for us, was an unbroken and determined spirit of officers to include HM Customs and some Special Constables like Captain Arlond Brooks and others who would "bounce" alongside of us and go beyond the call of duty to nab those involved in criminal activity. 

    Additionally, we were supported 110% by our then Commissioner of Police who allowed us to do our job without the bureaucracy that hinders police officers from doing what needs to done today. I can only imagine us being at DTF with our team and had access to the $30 million dollars extra in our police budget, that the PPM administration later provided to our successors.

    I humbly ask, where is the "Beef" and the "Results" for all that money ???

    Let me make it abundantly clear, I DO NOT hold the present DTF management responsible for the out of control situation with gangs, guns and drugs in the Cayman Islands today. I hold those who saw it fit to disband an effective department like DTF to "babysit government officials" harass motorists for expired cupons, missing registration plates and broken headlights, 24 hours a day that continued for years.These are the persons whom are responsible for the failures of the RCIPS, not the DTF, or as some senior officers are now attempting to say, it was all Operation Tempura fault.

    While I do accept that Operation Tempura did have a negative impact on the RCIPS, not all the blame is at their door step. In fact, when it became known of their presence here, some of our good old very senior officers and others alike, were feeding them pure foolishness which has all been proven to be absolutely false in our courts. However, they will outright deny have said that today, but the outstanding 70+ reports that Operation Cealt are supposedly dealing with, do you really believe all of these so called allegations of corruption came from the public ???   

    The so called "zero tolerance" that was religiously preached just before me and others departed in disgust, really only applied to traffic violations (non-criminal) which was well publicized at the country’s front door. As for the back door, they totally forgot about that and left it wide open and unattended to criminals to roam. Today we are all seeing the results of this foolish blunder.

    I need not say anymore !!!!

     

    • Anon says:

      "As for the UK, they usually prefer to kiss butt and then give some good old lip service to the media and the public to swallow and then head to the beach"

      Sorry but my experience is that the caribbean officers and civil servants are the ones that kiss arse and the brits are the ones who kick arse and then the caribbeans get all upset at our directness.  Can’t tell you what I do because I would be sacked but trust me I am close to these people on a daily basis and its all about face and not about embarrassing anyone into getting the job done. 

    • Anonymous says:

      Ebanks, I agree with some (not all) of your comments. I wrote the comments below suggesting that, if they hire Americans, maybe a couple. Otherwise, send some of your officers to the U.S. for AOT.

      There may be a few officers that will take you guys up on the offer. However, the problem is retention. How long will they stay when they find out it’s a whole different ball game. Americans are very competitive – ‘SOME’  will want to come in and most likely, want to call all the shots, and will like criticize the way things are done, because ‘that’s the way they do it back home.’ Personally, I think this will cause more cliques.

      The part about their guns, that’s not the entire story – but, yours will suffice. Well, I will just add, most like to go hunting (deer, duck, rabbit…) or like outdoor shooting ranges to sharpen their skills in case needed for the job.

      Depending on what state they are from, they are physically fit – typical for jogging/running daily, and weight lifting. This is a must, because some of the suspects are sometimes fit as well, unless, of course, they are chasing a heroin addict, which, tire quickly.

      I agree, that your officers there should be given the tools/support…to carry out daily functions. This is one area that should not be outsourced.

  3. Anonymous says:

     

    I can’t believe it; he wants 50 new officers, to do what? Believe me when I say all the officers you see walking on the streets won’t be there for much longer, all Baines is doing is giving us a smoke screen. What, this is to stop crime, look what has happened over the last couple of days all the criminals have done is moved to a different district and now is robbing people there. Please don’t be so naïve, recall the shootings we had some years back in central (of course not we have sort memories), the police came out in force for a couple of weeks and crime died down for a while, then it came back again.
    What are foreign officers going to do? They don’t even know were the airport is and who are the bad guys are, oh there’s only 15 of them (funny). Yes they are going to come to the island for 2 yrs, so if an American police officer comes, you are going to have to train him and educate him to our laws, UK officers are brought in, and getting them out of the bars will be hard enough. AND don’t forget they have nothing to do with our islands, they are not here forever, how many of them do you truly believe is willing to get stabbed, shot at to stop crime; I can tell you NONE of them.
    Going to the beginning of my first few lines 50 new officer, what is the cost of this going to be? You think US officers and UK officers are going to come to the island for a pay cut? NO.
    We actually should get rid of some of the officers that they have already that do nothing all day but just drive a car with their windows up in the AC and talk on their cel phones (of course not wear a seat belt).
    I do agree with one thing and that we need a special task force to be formed but this unit should not be under the control of the RCIPS, it should be a national security force which oversees all aspect of serious crimes on this island (sorry Baines you have no say).
    Finally, please everyone do not be mislead in what Baines is doing, nothing is going to change. After 2 weeks you won’t see any more officers, they will all be back in their cars and offices again.
    To our Leader of Government Business (soon to be Premier), form a National Security Force away from the police and I can tell you things will change. I unfortunately am uncertain who should run it but I do have a couple of persons in mind.
  4. Anonymous says:

    CNS are you going to report another attempt murder/poss of firearm charges dropped in court this last Monday? printed in compass today

    CNS: Wendy’s reporting is so prolific that most people either don’t know or forget that she’s the only CNS reporter on Grand Cayman. Occasionally the laws of physics (she can’t be in two places at once, though she does try very hard) means that she is unable to cover everything. However, you can go to the CNS public forum and start a conversation with the Compass link. We will hire another writer as soon as we can. (Buy lots of ads!)

    • Anonymous says:

      Thanks for the reply, i didn’t mean to offend you as i think CNS is truely doing a wonderful job. I was just wondering if you had heard as i think this should be reported on CNS, this is another case that appears to have been lost.

      Wendy, thanks again for all the reporting. Oh i thought there was a number of staff reporting.

      CNS: No offence taken. We love what we do!

  5. Anonymous says:

    What you need to do is  train your officers, send them to a country that knows how to train a police officer as in the UK or the US, the lack of training in the Cayman police service is a complete joke. Police drive around with no seat belts nearly all the time and break the law daily, have a look the next time you see a police car coming toward you…… You will never get the crime under control here if the officers don’t know what they are doing.

  6. Anonymous says:

    Could you please do random checks on people to determine what they are doing in certain areas and train your officers to liaise with the Immigration Dept to establish whether somebody is on Island legally or should be put on the next plane home? Seriously, I drove from Eastern Avenue to Walkers Road the other day during my lunch hour, and I was amazed by the amount of people (mainly men), who were walking or riding their bike apparently not on their way to or from work. I am sure that some of them were on their day off, but I also suspect that a lot of them just don’t have a workplace to go to and where perhaps checking out the area, looking for easy targets. Random checks are a must as criminals need to feel unsafe, worrying that they could be picked up at any given moment and hopefully before they are comitting another crime. Spread the word that you will be doing these check and that everyone should have a valid ID with them or they maybe getting themselves in a whole heap of trouble……..

    • Anonymous says:

      Hold on a moment- do not forget the eastern districts, including all the side roads/subdivision(off the main road) for patrol, late nights early morning too plsssss!!!

    • Anonymous says:

      Is it an offence in many countries (that have people that know what they are doing) and mean business (not burn hours,promise, and TRY TO  impress/fool WHO THEY CAN ) to be in public without a valid ID?   I am curious if there is a good reason for this-let me guess, to determine if you are working, legal & even valid-who knows, but lets try to find out put it in place-YES  citizens must carry a valid ID!!!

      Food for thought -"do not keep doing the same thing everday and expect different results". 

       

       

  7. Anonymous says:

     This is fantastic news, if the new front-line officers are WALKING, and not lurking around in pimped out cars!  The general public are not going to put up with being held under suspicion.  And sorry to say – no Brits!  I’m not one for generalising and I’m sure somebody is going to tell me I’m being small-minded or whatever, but I don’t like how theyare trained and indoctrinated, successive legislation has given police more and more power in the UK to now where they can just ‘satisfy themselves’ they need to search you and then they can do whatever the hell they want.  No plods!  Get specialised people from the US who have no pension to protect, no family to risk and bust these thugs once and for all.  Amen.

  8. Tiger says:

    Why would an american want to come to cayman? They live in the most advanced country in the world.

    To think they’d want to come to this little rock in the middle of nowhere….

  9. Anonymous says:

    Here are a couple of suggestions. First, it would be a good idea to look into either hiring a couple of Americans to train the new/existing personnel. Secondly, maybe sending a few at a time to classes in the U.S., some classes are a day long, some are a week long – called advanced officer training. These are held at sheriff’s academy, police academy…..

    Hiring American officers to join the ranks, can have advantages as well as disadvantages. Unless the officers are hired from California, New York this could backfire. But, even hiring officers from here these states can backfire. First, California and New York have large Caribbean immigrant communities/populations. **It is a plus when you have officers that understand the culture of the Caribbean. 

    I mention California and New York as a good place because, they, for the most part, have a little more protection of citizens. Meaning, the officer can be brought to trial more quickly and/or easily if accused of human/civil rights violations….In addition, these states have more officers, budgets are bigger for training.

    I would also like to say, there are some states that have a long list of accusations of abuses, racism, civil rights violations…..I’m not saying all law enforcement officers of these states are bad, but, sometimes the entire department can be labeled as rotten/corrupt after getting negative national attention.

     

     

  10. Anonymous says:

    Glad to FINALLY see that he is going to do something productive.  Too long you have had police be the "UK way" which isn’t working.  You really should get only Caymanians involved with these short term police from the U.S.  

    You then get highly trained Caymanians officers, which can then train more Caymanians, and eventually have a highly trained CAYMANIAN Police force.

    As an expat, I would much rather deal with a Caymanian Officer than ANY other type of officer in Cayman.  I hope this works because crime is at a tipping point for many of us in consideration of leaving the island and selling our houses here. 

  11. Anonymous says:

    I know at least four people who live in Cayman who used to be police officers overseas, some with firearm training etc, have pilot licences, marine training and they have all applied to join the RCIPS and their applications have been ignored.  Why waste money going overseas, paying for flights, accommodation etc and just recruit the officers right here in Cayman.  The Commissionerjust needs to contact the Training Department, go through the applications and he will find experienced officers right in front of him.  Not rocket science!  If he can’t find their applications (they are lost) just put an appeal in the newspaper for the officers to come forward.

  12. Anonymous says:

    Not sure where the extra funds are coming from to pay for these officers….sure we’ll see more tourists coming if it’s a safer place but without better facilities and attractions the increased tourism will be negligible.

    The obvious way would be to get rid of some of the dead wood officers and replace them with professionals, but this won’t work because a number of the ousted officers will be Caymanian and regardless of how corrupt or useless they are, the racist attitude of some locals will ignore the improvement in police protection and focus on theusual foreigners taking our jobs etc.

    Police morale is already at rock bottom so it’s probably as good a time as ever to start. Current officers should be reviewed on performance and efficiency and nationality needs to be ignored here. Currently a lot of police from overseas are here on a working holiday and many local officers are poorly trained and feel their birthright enables them to take it easy at work.

    Any new officers from abroad need to be screened carefully and it needs tobe made clear that they are coming here to do a tough job not a cushty job in the sun and they are going to come up against a lot of criminals who don’t care about consequences. They will need to bear in mind they will be unarmed when most criminals carry a small arsenal on their person and in their vehicle. They obviously need to be aware that the locals will do anything to protect and harbour their friends no matter how heinous the crime, rather than help the police.

     

  13. Anonymous says:

    I’d personally advise recruiting ex british army special ops – they are disciplined work hard and you get none of the nonsense you have experienced recently – we use a lot of ex army guys to provide security and intelligence at various global locations and I cannot praise them high enough – the ghurkha s are especially good  

  14. Mike Hennessy says:

    Let’s see…no skilled investigators; no expert crime scene officers; no criminal analysts; no intelligence officers.  Other than that, I guess RCIPS is in great shape. 

    Sarcasm aside, it is refreshing to hear such blunt, candid talk from the Police Commissioner.  Putting more officers in uniforma and walking (walking!) the streets strikes me as nothing more than good sense and a logical first step to deterring crime.  It’s also refreshing to hear an emphasis on building human capital instead of agitating for high priced, high-tech tools (toys?).  Sherlock Holmes did quite well with nothing more than keen powers of observation (the magnifying glass was an affectation of the movie makers).  As an aside, I would hope the Commissioner might also be looking at ways to use the Special Constables to beef up the regular police force.  The Specials are a great asset to the community and I suspect they would be willing to be play a greater role in the overall policing effort if asked.

    Most startling to me is that the Commissioner is open to the idea of recruiting officers from the U.S.  I never understood exactly why there was a de-facto ban on hiriing Americans in recent years, but it certainly seemed that the idea wasn’t even considered during my time on island.  Of course, the disastrous results of Operation Tempura and it’s "highly decorated and above reproach" team of "expert" undercover investigators from the U.K. may have something to do with that. 

    It would be my hope that American police officers would come in with a "work first, party second" attitude, but alas, we can only wait and see if that happens or if they would fall victim to the Paradise Syndrome that seems to have afflicted the SPIT team. 

    While it’s easy to dismiss the Commissioner’s remarks as so much talk, talk is the way change gets started and if these words are backed up with action, the RCIPS will in a relatively short period of time become a much more effective police force.

    • Anonymous says:

      Absolutely more skilled but most importantly, good work ethics.

      My grandaughter’s father was stopped yesteday by task force with their fancy guns pointed at him and his work crew(coming from work) and told to get out of the car and put/keep their hands up.  After searching his car and found nothing, the only thing they could come up with was to make some reference to something being wrong with his car.  They left him without giving a reason as to why his car was stopped and  searched.-Yes you heard me right, no reason given for doing what they did!!!!!!  What is the deal, do these police officers no longer have to advise civilians of what they are being pulled over/searched/stopped for?????  Under what grounds and what sectionof the Law or do they not know????

      Mr. Commissioner, be assured, if my Grand daughter was in that car(as is ofter the case) you would be hearing a lot today, tommorrow and for a long time and from many lawyers, if it meant me selling my home, my car & my last piece of clothes.  Those officers would also be facing some civil suites as well.

      I support searches, stops, enquiries or whatever gets the crime rate down, but do not stir up more war in the community, by disrepecting citizens and violating their human rights.  Do not even mention if they had harmed him and left my Granddaugher without her father.

      I am not here to declare his innocences, but all of these people cannot be lieing about poor, unprofessional & egoistic behaviour from the police.  There have been mention about these  officers laughing as if what they are doing is funny.  If pointing guns at people give them a high, maybe they need to spend more time in the toy stores.

      By: A hard working and dedicated citizen of this Island, that is very much involved in enforcing & upholding the Law.

       

       

      • Anonymous says:

        Here in the U.S., they lock kids up as young as 8 years old. Yes, we have juvenile detention with 8 years to 18 (some can stay up to the age of 21-25)

  15. Anonymous says:

    What needs to happen is that the officers we have in the force now needs to get up off their behinds (putting it nicely) and early their salaries, put them on the street in the "hot sun, rain or storm".

    I hope that Baines not thinking about bringing in any more "English or Caribbean" cops cause they are rude and arrogant and treat Caymanians like they are better than us!!  

    • Anonymous says:

      Could we therefore stop hearing all the bleating (eg Ezzard ) about how this law or that has increased the size of the civil service? It’s this sort of demand-more cops, more teachers, more social workers that grows the public sector (with all its generous benefits) and we CANNOT afford it! Hell, we can’t afford what we have now!

      In any case, it’s BETTER policing we need not MORE. if you bring in 50 skilled ones, Baines, drop 50 of the useless ones we have now.

    • Anonymous says:

      you could also say that about the caymanian cops!!!

      where  rules dont apply for them or there countrymen but everybody else

      is fair game 

  16. Pale Rider says:

    Sorry to sound so skeptical, but everytime a new British Commish comes here and starts spouting off about "hiring specialists", it just means another group of transient British police officers, who come for two years, party like it’s 1999 and f*ck off back home and then get to put "overseas cultural diversity" experience on their CV’s….Let’s see just how many actual North American Police officers get hired after they find out they have toface hardened criminals intent on doing bodily injury without the ability to carry a firearm…I’m betting not too many…Prove me wrong!!

    • Anonymous says:

       Yeah that’s right, American police officers are all softies not used to dealing with hardened criminals like you get here…are you KIDDING me Pale Rider? Try to show a little intelligence dude.

      • Pale Rider says:

        Oh, the irony of you telling me to show some intelligence….

        That aside..nearly every American police officer MUST undergo some sort of state madated/approved training in order to become a commissioned law enforcement officer in their chosen state.  That’s right, state…if you are certified in Florida, it does not automatically mean you have the certification to work in any other state, you must be certified to work in the state you wish to work in…The POINT of my post is that nearly all American police academy training focuses primarily on using DEADLY force to repel threats to life and limb, hence the heavy reliance on the use of firearms by American police officers.  Ergo, take someone who is trained and has been accustomed to using a firearm to deal with violence and then tell them that they have to deal with similar violence with none other than a baton and the "Name of the Queen" and I guarantee you that the majority of the of the type of the police officers that you would be looking to try and recruit would look at you like you had two heads and tell you F*ck OFF!!  I was not in any way implying that American police officers are soft…it’s just that it is not easy to completely retrain someone who has been doing something for umpteen years and then expect them to deal with that situation in a "touchy-feely" kind of way…which is what the RCIPS seems to have decided is the right way to deal with the crimianl element …you know,..hold them and pet them and call them George….

        • Anonymous says:

          Who says they aren’t going to be allowed to carry guns if they come from the U.S.  Think about it, they may be placed on a "special forces" team and start knocking down doors with good Caymanian Officers and American Officers side by side.

          Don’t be so short sighted, I am sure that many of the properly trained American’s who will be carrying guns, and you just don’t know who they are..  Just think, and read the firearms law: http://www.gazettes.gov.ky/pls/portal30/docs/Folder/SITE83/GAZETTES/GS2006/GS432006.PDF

          As an American, I can tell you they will be wearing bullet proof vests though.  This is a great decision by Baines, as long as one of the requirements of their contract is to train no less than TWO Caymanian police officers while here.  It is a win win for everyone, they get to come to a nice little island and Caymanians get trained.

          • Pale Rider says:

            Do you think that hiring a few more expat officers from God knows where and "requiring" them to train 2 Caymanian officers is going to make one iota of a difference??

            I would say take a poll and ask as many Caymanian officers you know how much "Training" they ever received from ANY expat officer, but I would venture to say that 99.9% of them would answer NONE!!  Not because Caymanian officers didn’t want the knowledge, but because the expat officers tend to think Caymanians are too stupid to train and educate…

            Again, Don’t believe me???  Take a poll….

             

            • Anonymous says:

               You may be right about past "training" that should have occurred.  However, I submit to you that US Officers would come here, and would do training without question.

              This "apprenticeship type" training would be part of their contract. They would have a year long contract that would be extended to them, and at the completion of the year they could get another year if they have proven they trained a Caymanian.  If they didn’t train a  Caymanian, they would nto have their contract renewed.  Very simply really.

    • Anonymous says:

      Who said anything about North American??? Learn to read and while your at it have a look what goes on in America,I think they have proper hardened criminals and not the pussy wannabes what you think we have here….

      GET A LIFE

  17. Anonymous says:

     thats awesome..mr. baines rocks!

  18. Anonymous says:

    I’m hopeful to see these new "recruits" be of more help than harm b/c half of the problem now lies within the underhandedness of the force…. Let’s just pray they will not become corrupt as well.  

  19. It's Str8 Talk says:

    Baine!! Baine!! 4 More Years!!

                      Prezzeeeeeeeee………

  20. Dan Dan says:

    I understand why the Commissioner sees the need to import ‘specialists’ to deal with our current crime problem and I support him in this decision but I hope that he is a man of his word and does indeed have a system in place and that he does train the Caymanians officers to be better at their jobs.

    I seriously doubt that he will keep his word and I know that the divide in the RCIPS will only get worse and in the very near future there will be NO local police officers at all. It will only fuel the corruption among the RCIPs!

    I fail to understand something else too, three men were charged in the homicide of Omar Samuels, how did they come to that conclusion?

    Were all three pressing the trigger or were two merely accomplices to the crime?

    And if they were aiding the killer I think that the police should also be charged for Negligence in this case because there is no way you guys are not liable, those precious few minutes when no one from the RCIP’s (who responded to the call at least) showed the balls, common sense, compassion, empathy or even bravery to save a life is downright shameful. 

    Oh, the joys of living in the Cayman Islands!

    *One Love*

    Dan Dan

  21. Anonymous says:

    Where are they going to get the money to pay these police officers??

  22. Anonymous says:

    I think Mr Baines is on the right track. He seems to have a good head on his shoulders and knows what is going on here, despite the fact he hasn’t been here that long.

    Keep up the good work!!!

  23. Anonymouse says:

    Sounds like a plan to employ another bunch of useless Met failures who will come here and create more Operation Tempuras and Cealts for us to pay for.

    The prudent thing to do is make those who now work in the Police force start being productive. If they cant solve crimes then let them get out of the stations and walk.

    They can al least appear to be policing so that criminals will take note.

    I guess Mr. Baines recent walk through George Town was a face card to say he dont have enough officers to protect the public.

    What will they think of next.

    Can I make a citizens arrest next time I see a Police officer wasting the publics time??????

  24. Twyla Vargas says:

    YES I AGREE WITH MR BAINES PLANS, and I say lets give him a chance to see it work.   I do believe recruiting officers from South Florida maybe a welcoming change, provided they are well informed not to get fooled by that enchanted white sand beach and clear waters.  They have a job to do. !!!

    Skilled investigators with specific skills are definately need, intelligent and undercover officers.   It is time that Cayman welcome hard core no nonsence officers to deal with these hardcore no nonsence criminals.  Some of us may not like it, but we cannot have our cake and eat it too.  We are crying for help, we are saying the police not doing their job and every thing that we can think of.  But we are not stopping to think if we can handle this on our own. 

    Yes we blame the police for much, and some things they do need blame for. Take for instance late night shifts, going out on the road all night and comming back without a tick in their note book. !!! Not good enough…  There is too much people on the island, too much crime taking place, that police can come back in without having a thing to report.  No, No, No. that cannot work.   Now una dont start it up, because of what I am saying, because una know I split justice, and is always defending the police when it is necessary.

    Now another thing, the public need to leave the police alone and make them do their job.  When police  have to wring up some one for getting out of hand, or kick off a door when its needed, stop calling politicians.  That is why Caymanian police dont want to protect  some a una, because the first thing una do is talk about I going to sue, and I going to call this one and that one.  If ya wrong, ya wrong.   We need a few officers working with our Cayman Officers and to you all I would say "Be strong and learn"  You are only going to pass this way once.  So walk good.

    • Anonymous says:

      I agree but disagree also: bringing in more Cop alone is not the answer, bringing in the right ones is. once they are intentifyed and here get rid of the defunct ones ASAP! I would further like to agree with the other writer, to bring in Cops from any other Country but England & other Caribe Islands! Then start changing all Officers in the force every 3 Years or so before they become too Caymanized and too friendly. The once that don’t perform (no matter the national) are sent home, they all are paid to work like any other worker, therefore they either work or go back home! Of course it needs to start from the top….like the saying goes; crap flows down-hill!!!

      • Twyla Vargas says:

        I TOTALLY AGREE with your comments 19:11  I think we should get cops from other jurisdiction.  The same old same old needs change, and trust me when I say Caymanians do not at this moment want more officers from England and certain caribbean countries. 

         Check the police force and see which officers have all the command stripes on their shoulders. !!!  It is a sign of a clique,  Not good.   Some of these officers are only looking out, and invite their own country men to come in or apply for these  vacant positions.  Dont for one moment think that no one is paying attention.    The commissioner of police need to take a good look at that also.

        Other Cops from other foreign jurisdiction are weakened in the knees to protect and cover up criminals from their own country.  Stop it.  "Ever watched the move"   "I know who you are, and I saw what you did"   

        If special officers are brought in I do hope they are made to understand how it run yaw, and I  do hope they are well informed that we will be watching every move they make, while working with our Caymanian police, and beside that some of us dont have anything to do except "Watch police" 🙂

  25. Anonymous says:

    I agree with 10.36 it does sound like Baines has a plan and is determined to turn things around with the RCIP.  He’s not been here long and already it seems to me he is working hard on solutions.  He seems to recognise that a lot if improvements are needed, and personally, I like the fact that he is prepared to get out on the beat with the rest of the officers, thereby setting a good example.

    I agree, we should give him a chance and see what he comes up with.

  26. Thankful says:

    Great!!  Mr. Baines, this is good.  I believe we are heading on the right road with this. 

    In this day and age, with the criminals becoming more sophisticated in executing crime, a good forensics unit is crucial!  

  27. Anonymous says:

    bring back Mr.Brady and Mr. Haines.

     

  28. Anonymous says:

    So far it sounds like Mr. Baines has a plan. Lets give him a chance to see what he can do to clean up the mess of the RCIP.

    • Anonymous says:

      HELLO…

      WHAT ABOUT IMMIGRATION GROWTH… need more people in there to do checks on foreignors and assess terrorist suspects

      BOY THIS ISLAND IS BACKWARD!!! 

      • Anonymous says:

        The world is in a financial crisis.  Cayman, though small on the map, is a part of the world.  Many Caymanians are being laid off, so let me guess, many foreigners are too(i hope before the Caymanian). 

        Caymanians are referred to as being proud, maybe they are, but I cannot comprehend how it is, that with all the Caymanians(that really want to work) that are out of jobs, how we are   still going into so many businesses  and in every department there are still so many foreigners???

        How can we find work for so many foreigners in such a crisis and we wonder why the crime rate is so high?? 

        Come on people make room.  I go to many employers trying to help people find work and they will tell you-things are so slow, I agree.   The world must understand, things are SLOW  but the people of the country must be given priority, they have no where to go!!

      • Twyla Vargas says:

        OH YES I AGREE 12:59. Immigration growth needs to be looked into.  We need more hardcore immigration officers trained like cops.  The sweet mouth criminals sit down in that department recreation and size up each officer at the booth, scheeming how to put forward a good lying distraction plan to get more time.  Pass boring jokes, sympathetic lies and even offer free days work.  When they begin the distraction conversation dont answer them.

        We are not really backward, its just that the passive S&^%$ needs to stop.