Police say they will continue to “harass”criminals
(CNS): Police have vowed to keep up their high profile patrols but have also said they have been and will continue to get in the face of known criminals. Speaking at the press briefing last week, the commissioner said that some of the known gang members had even begun to file complaints about police harassment because of the RCIPS focus on trying to keep the gang members apart. Police are also now taking a hard line across the community on illegal window tint, which they say hampers their ability to see who is going where and if there are weapons in cars.
On Friday police said they had stopped some 400 vehicles and stripped tint on the spot from 88 cars. Officers have promised that this campaign will continue and that police intend to keep up their scrutiny of known offenders and gang members across the island in order to ensure they are not moving around with firearms.
Chief Superintendent John Jones said it was an island wide operation. ‘Blackened windows pose a real safety threat to police officers and to members of the public. However we’re not going to stop at tinting we will be tackling license plate issues too. Too many people on the islands have their number plates obscured, have their plates displayed in their windows, or worse have no plates displayed at all," he added. Aside from contravening the raffic law the main concern is that missing plates makes it difficult for the police to trace vehicles involved in criminal activity. ‘This is not about cracking down on traffic offences – it’s about making these islands safer for all,” he said.
Meanwhile the commissioner said the police were watching the fifteen or so offenders, that he calls “the triggermen” and they are now under constant surveillance. “Every day at every hour we have officers targeting these individuals; they are pulled over and stopped and searched,” the commissioner said. “So much so that they are taking issue and are making formal complaints about harassment and sending letters in from their solicitors.”
But where there is information that says these people are active and may have guns, and he said the police would not stop getting in their way to stop the movement of guns.
He said that the high profile policing, armed patrols and road blocks would not stop until the RCIPS had put an end to the gang violence. He said the police were also raising their presence in all the hot spot areas where they know gangs gather and confront each other, such as certain clubs and bars.
Chief Superintendent John Jones said this week that, following his prediction that an innocent bystander would soon be shot, he never dreamt in his worst nightmare that it would be a young child that became that victim. “We need to get these thugs off the street,” he said. “We have strong intelligence as to who they are,” but, he added, the police cannot convict anyone in a court of law without evidence.
Jones confirmed that the police know who the shooters are in most of the killings but unless they can secure evidence they cannot bring charges, and in the absence of a weapon or other forensic evidence they are dependent on eye witness testimony to secure a conviction.
See CS John Jones interview with News 27’s Daybreak
Category: Local News
Folks
POLICE HARASSMENT = 2 things from the Criminals
1. RESISTANCE against the Police
2. COMPLIANCE (think twice before breaking the Law)
Some maybe even indifferent to the harassment, because they have been harassed already. I fear number 1.
THEN WHAT?
Tap their phones, bug their cars and houses, harrass them everyway you can, wake them up at 3 am and search their house, put 24 hour surveillance on them. Make their lives so miserable that they just want to move elsewhere. Keep it up!!
Id like to send a Thank you to our Police Service without you things would be alot worse.
To my fellow brothers and sisters we need them more than ever so please lets give them our entire support,i understand that frustration gets the best of us most of the time but bad mouthing the people working to protect us somehow dosnt make sense.We must have faith because at this point we need it to sustain a peace of mind.
Things are hard enough as it is dont lose hope too.
"Police say they will continue to "harass"criminals"
Cayman has to be the only place in the known universe where you can "continue" to do something before you have "started" to do something…
???
Everybody complains that the police are not doing enough and now that they step up to the plate and actually do something still you complain…
pathetic.
it is so sad you people will complain about anything…
Do you have no sense at all? Removing Tint means they are removing the tint that is TOO DARK! You are allowed a 35% tint. They strip anything below that! They have every right to as IT IS IN THE LAW! If you dont like people staring up in yo face wear some 15% Tinted Sunglasses!!!
The other side to the arguement is that with tinted windows and hard to see licence plates the CCTV camaras will not be able to see who is in the car and or identify the car, we already have cameras at most traffic lights and I am sure more are to come, this is 21st century policing, and camera evidence is far better in the court systems than a human can be.
Boo the cameras at the traffic lights is to activate the changing of the lights after a certain amounts of traffic cross in one direction ,and to allow waiting traffic to cross from the other direction, not to catch criminals.
The window tint has a purpose and it can be used for a good reason. That’s why the law gives you a percentage to put on. For must it is to help with the heat in the car and to keep it cool when parked it has been proven to protect car interiors and keep the temp in the car 5-10deg lower with tint than a car with out. Also this is used on cars for ppl with eye problems asit cuts the glare. I don’t see the issues with tinting the car it is an issue with ppl putting the black tint on. I would like to see the part of the law that’s states you must remove the tint on the spot. You can’t have it both ways if you are issued a ticket then you should leave with it. I don’t see how they can force you to remove it on the spot and then still give the ticket. This could be a violation or a bending of the law.. I would like to see this highlighted or explained.. I lived in the USA for 5 yrs and my car had dark tint and when I was stopped I was asked to strip it off and get a warring or leave it on and be fined $50 for the 1st offence and the fine would increase for every incident after and by the 3rd I would have to appear in curt and have points put on my Drv lic..
I still have tint on my car as when I am in traffic I hate to have ppl staring in my face. For those that say tint should not be on cars at all. Would you live in your house with out blinds? If house had no window coverings then we could help cut down on the wide spared of domestic abuse on the island also. If you wish to live so open.. And don’t say that your house is your personal space well guess what my car is also part of my personal space.
What I am trying to say is the dark tint does not mean you have a gang banger driving it. I see a lot of upstanding ppl with dark tint on their car. What i find even more amusing is to see the same officers parking in the parking lot of the police station with their personal cars and the tint is as dark as it can be.. So how are we the public to feel if the one enforcing the law are the one breaking it every day….
I have nothing against them dong what they got to. But at the same time let’s make sure we are doing it by the book. So the Gov is not leaving them self open for some kind of legal action from some Joe of the street.
JM2C
In response to "BLAH BLAH BLAH" wait on that, the Commisioner needs to give the public a very good reason why there are Police vehicles with 5% TINT namely the CID Detectives, Task Force, why do they need to HIDE???
Has anyone every thought that notifying the whole island that they are profiling for dark tint that criminals will just remove the tint and breeze right through the road blocks !!!!???? Then what ??
We’ll I would love to be shown the place in the law where it is shown that I "must" remove my tint because the "eyes" of the police can tell me that it is too dark.
Just like their ears are a "human decible meter" telling me my car is too loud.
Cmon son! I know they cant serious!
“So much so that they are taking issue and are making formal complaints about harassment and sending letters in from their solicitors.”
Dear Police,
We know we break the law everyday and cause havoc across Cayman but we are people too. Stripping our illegally tinted cars and searching for our illegal possessions is messing with our thug life. We have feelings too. It’s embarrasing to cry in front of the other thugs. Please stop doing your job and trying to…oh got go my mama just made some breakfast since I’m too useless to make it myself let alone afford an apartment.
PS I’m telling my mama on you.
Yours truly,
Gangsta
Can the Commissioner please publish the Regulations under which the RCIPS operates with regard to the defintion of, testing of, and forced removal of tint from a persons vehicle without the benefit of due process??
I suspect that this is being done, "off the books" so to speak…
What planet are you on.
These are tough tactics against the people ruining these islands. They are designed to be in your face, annoying and agrivate the thugs. That is the plan.
Tough, targeted policing is what the island is crying out for. We are trying to catch them out. These thugs don’t play by the rules.
Get real.
what is there to separate the police from the thugs if the police don’t play by the rules? right now they may only be going after the gangstas, but tomorrow they may be going after you. you don’t think so? history is full of examples. the police, the judiciary, etc. have to play by the rules at all times. any time they step outside of those rules they are no better than the thugs that they are trying to take down. simple as that.
Mr. Commissioner, I think you are doing a good job but please make sure that your officers get everyone they should. I was at a certain popular restaurant where they sell great "curried goat" and right outside the bar, I saw one guy selling numbers and even exchanging money and writing the numbers down on his paper. If I saw this while just driving in to the parking lot then surely they are not hiding. Why don’t these people get arrested? Please send undercover people there and you will make plenty of arrests – if you want to.
Oh please its high time some kinda lottery was legalised in this antiquated ole place. In case you hadn’t noticed there’s people being murdered all over the island. An innocent child died only last week and you are wanting the police to send out undercover people to catch folks selling numbers. Get a life please!
My only question is how are the police going to test if the tint on a car is legal or not? At night legal tint may look much darker than it does in the day and could be wrongfully acussing somebody of an offence. When you take a car through licensing, they have a light meter that measures the amount of light the tint allows to pass through, i can’t imagine that all the police have this device in their cars…….
Why would they need it in all cars? They only need to bring one to a roadblock.
The machine is called a ‘Tintman’ and it measures the degree of ambient light coming through the glass at any given time, dayor night.
The point here is, as mentioned above, do the police have a power to instantly remove tint from a vehicle? No, they do not. So here we go again, a load of gung ho cops giving people opportunities to get money from the courts following illegal actions by the police. Baines is completely out of his depth here, XXXXX
You want to improve the RCIPS? Get rid of all the non-performing, un-skilled and unproven dead wood within the force. Baines, man up dude, because you are faltering and making rediculously reactive and inappropraite decisons, endorsing illegal actions of your drones. Thin end of the wedge, here we go again.
The way to go RCIP!!! strip them down, and let them show their faces. This gives a better chance of identity under any circumstance. Let the tinters know that there is a price to pay by booking their Licence Plate Numbers if it should happen again,
The tinit should be stripped and they should get a ticket on the spot!
Show no mercy for those who break the law; even these minor infractions.
lets stop "harassing" and start "whooping some ass"
lets stop "harassing" and start "whooping some ass"
Blah Blah Blah. He claims they know who the criminals are but cannot get evidence. How do you "know" without evidence? Because some informant who won’t go on the record said so?
And as for tint, I hope they stop and strip the 5 or 20% tint from those pretty SUVs that the Premier and Attorney General drive in. The top should be setting an example for the minions at the bottom I assume.
The Governor’s car has no tint whatsoever.
RCIP can you tell us the truth do you still have anybody holding or charged for the bank robbery yet .Things got mighty quiet after you all said it was not who the public thought it was.I hope there is no buying out on this .I thought after so many days they would be charged or released.What is going on dont tell me you all messed this up???? .I hope not !!!!!!
Is this just a phase? After a few weeks are we going to put the cops back on the street corners and roundabouts checking licence coupons?
I really dont know why this is news. This is what they are paid to go. Must we congratulate them on doing what they are supposed to do?
Well done Commissioner.
I would like to suggest that the current "gentlemanly" practice of not naming people arrested for violent crimes until they are formally charged, is a luxury that our society simply cannot afford. Could we please use the American system, at least for people arrested for crimes of violence, whereby upon arrest the name, address and "mugshot" of the person arrested is made available to the public.
I understand the human rights issued involved but such rights always have to be balanced with societal rights and in the present circumstances I am convinced that things are terribly out of balance – with the law abiding people of Cayman on the loosing end.
Being identified to the wider community is something that the criminal scum do not want. That makes it essential that we make their names and faces widely known and easily recognised by the general public.
Dear ‘Strip the Tint’,
Actually, it does destabilize them, why?
Criminals like to operate in anonymity, hence why they wear ‘masks’ and typically operate at night.
Take away that ability to move around without being noticed, and like an exposed cockroach or rat, they soon meet their ‘Waterloo’.
Keep up the good work RCIP !
Now the Govt. and Judiciary both need to follow your example, and overhaul the Justice-system, to apply harsher Punishment for these Crims, and stop ‘slapping them on the wrist’ or letting them get off ‘Scot-free’.
Finally, I applaud this Governor for ‘starting on the right foot’. So far, his attitude and demeanor are Positive and Encouraging, especially when compared to the performance of ‘Dim-wit’.
well done on the window tints… please keep this up, this thug mentality must be nipped in the bud and the action against the window tint puts across the right message
maybe to help the police, can members of the public take down license plate numbers of offending cars and give them to the police?
I am happy to hear this as many times i cross cars with EXTREAMLY DARK tint you cant see a thing .If i knew exactly who to report this too i would start taking Lic plate numbers down and help turn them in,as my job is driving up and down all day.I see alot in one day and wonder how they get by with it .I heard one guy in a white honda CRV boasting to his friends his was so dark i think he said it was 5%.When i looked at it i thought it was spray paint on the windows it was so black you could not see one thing .This is dangerous in more ways than one .Keep up the good job RCIP and may i suggest that you keep a record and do follow up checks on these vehicles as they will reaply it .
Where do these kids get this stuff to tint their windows? Is there not some
way to outlaw selling it on the island.? The only reason to use it is for the
purpose of hiding ones identity. Who would use it legally? Can’t think of
anyone unless maybe an armored truck driver or something like that.
House window tint? It is the same material.
You are doing a good job RCIPS. Keep up the heat.
BTW, which clubs and bars are you talking about???
Doing a good job??? Don’t you think this come a little to late. If one can give a number of how many people are committing the crime, all of them should have been caught before all these crimes took place. .
If the police catch and CONVICT the ones for the killing of Jermiah, if the police catch and CONVICT the ones who beat the two indiviudals, if the police catch and CONVICT the ones who did the other killings (to many to name), then I will be the first to say GOOD JOB!!!
"all of them should have been caught before all these crimes took place."
Excuse me how do you catch someone BEFORE a crime takes place?
If you read the article you would note that police know who is responsible for the crimes but because of the caymanian public refusing to speak up and say what they see, they are powerless.
I hope the Police start harassing the criminals from the top.
absolutely. and that would solve one large part of the problem… people are rightfully terrified of the low-life scumbags running around with guns, but forget about the ones at the top who are responsible for many of cayman’s ills…
they are taking issue and are making formal complaints about harassment and sending letters in from their solicitors
Excellent news. Now the question is, are these formal complaints subject to Freedom of Information requests? If they are, then the media should definitely put in requests and print the names of those who are complaining about such excellent police work. Even if the media does not want to print those names there are things like Facebook etc that can be used to inform the interested public.
If information regarding who is filing these complainst is not available through FOI requests, then I guess that it will be necessary for us to wait until one of these individuals feels it necessary to actually start some form of litigation. At that stage the public definitely have a right to know the names, and many of us are eager to know. Hopefully they start their litigation soon.
Well done to the Commissioner for starting the "in your face" policing. Please keep up the intense pressure. This is what Caymanians want to see!
Good start and I applaud the police for their efforts. I did read that the police would be ceasing vehicles with dark tint but it looks like they are stripping the tint instead. The hard core offenders will only go home and put it back on again. Ceasing the car and charging a stiff fee for its return plus a ticket for driving with tint would send a stronger message.
I passed through a police road block last night and witnessed a low rider civic with very dark tint and blue lights go through the road block without being stopped to my surprise. They did have one dude handcuffed which did make me feel very good. Well done!
I appreciate the workload to tackle this dark tint problem but if promises are made that vehicles will be ceased then it should be followed through and maybe that will get the offenders attention.
Keep the pressure on these worthless scums and thanks!
Harassment is a wonderful thing! They should file more complaints. All the complaints they want! They should have attorneys and go to court! They have rights. We all have rights. That’s the wonderful thing about justice.
And, when they do press formal charges of harrassment let’s have some photographs of these "harrassed citizens", descriptions of their vehicles, where they live. That sort of thing let’s make them famous.
Stripped the tint from the windows on the spot! Wow, that’s sure to drive fear into the hearts of all the criminals out there.
This should have been a long time ago!!!! There have been cars driving around the Island for years with dark tint and NOTHING HAS BEEN DONE ABOUT IT!!!