Mac calls for regional prison
(CNS): The premier is going to suggest that all the overseas territories pool their resources to build a regional prison for serious offenders in a non-OT jurisdiction. McKeeva Bush said that as the criminals didn’t seem to mind going to Northward he would approach his colleagues in the territories about buying, renting or building a facility that all the territories could use to send their most serious offenders that would be in a completely different country. Speaking at a public meeting in West Bay, Bush was also clearly frustrated by the lack of control elected officials have of the police and the rejection of his ideas by the commissioner to bring in an outside task force to address the escalating violence in the community. (Photo Dennie Warren Jr)
The country’s political leader said that although he had asked the police commissioner to bring in a task force to give the criminals a “kick where it hurts”, the commissioner had not agreed but had said he was taking an aggressive approach and would be rounding up the criminals by use of existing legislation.
“I have talked about a task force and I think we need that but the commissioner does not see it that way … he does not think a swot team will work but that greater government, community and police cooperation is the answer,” Bush explained, emphasising that elected officials had no power over the police, and when he had tried to change the way things were in 2003 people had marched against him and accused him of seeking independence.
Speaking about Northward prison and in particular the security problems and the conditions, Bush said he didn’t think the people were afraid to go there and that Cayman needed somewhere else to send its serious criminals. “I am going to propose to my colleagues that we develop … a regional prison for serious crime that will be in a country outside of the territories,” he said. “All of us would put our funds in to get an outside prison … a place where human rights don’t bother them so much.”
He blamed the introduction of human rights for the problems the country faced, as he said it was making it difficult to address the crime problems. “We have this thing here called human rights now … it is a hindrance to the hard way of dealing with the bold face criminality that is hitting us today,” the premier added, suggesting everyone who voted for the Constitution who thought it was going to be a great saviour to humans were now seeing that it was making things more difficult.
The premier pleaded with people in the community to help the police and said they needed the evidence to convict the criminals. He said mothers and girlfriends could save a life by telling the police where guns were hidden or if they thought a crime might take place. The community had turned a blind eye for far too long claiming “not my child”, but Bush said it was somebody’s child that was killing someone else’s child. He also offered his support to Police Commissioner David Baines, who has threatened to prosecute hostile witnesses.
He announced that he was requesting the deputy governor suspend parole, as he suspected the crimes were being committed by repeat offenders, who were being let out on license to come and commit the same crimes.
Both his West Bay legislative colleagues who were present at the meeting echoed the sentiments. Captain Eugene Ebanks said he knew some people didn’t trust the police as they had been known to leak information, but he said he thought they were past that now and people had to start to trust them.
The Minister for Education and West Bay’s second elected MLA Rolston Anglin emphasised that without forensic evidence the police relied on the community. He asked people not to be fooled by TV cop shows, as it was often the case that the criminals left no forensic evidence at a scene. “If you don’t have hard evidence from the scene and you don’t have evidence from witnesses you cannot prosecute,” he said, adding that it was easy to blame the authorities or the politicians but pointed out that he had not witnessed the crimes but someone out there who was remaining silent had.
He also announced that the government was asking for a telecommunication block at the prison and stop direct contact with visitors for serious offenders. He said that the prison would be introducing glass panels which would physically separate the prisoners from visitors.
Following the presentations by the MLAs, the community raised their concerns in the question and suggestion session that followed. People reiterated the long held belief that the police could not be trusted as they were leaking information, and one suggested “giving the drug to the young people” in the community. The popular sentiment was for harder and more punishments and some warned of vigilante justice.
A survey was also circulated asking what people wanted to see implement to fightcrime, such as the finger printing and DNA sampling of work permit holders, a national ID card, the publication of photographs of those people accused of crime as well as those charged, the wider introduction of CCTV and other issues relating to the limitation of civil liberties or crime fighting tools.
Category: Headline News
Good idea, build the prison at Stingray City, next to the floating bar! That will be the perfect solution.
Honestly, I believe this is the Honorable Premier’s most faulted idea to date. If you take the hardened thugs from the OT’s and put them all in one place do you know what is going to happen?! What will happen is that they will gain International ‘friends’ throughout the world, and instead of correcting their past behaviors, they will get involved in crime across International boundaries upon their release. They will teach each other their various criminal tricks and eventually what will result is a MAJOR Overseas Territories Mafia. That is definitely not what we need! Please Mr. Premier, just improve Northward and restructure that facility to penalize criminals rather than rewarding them for their misdeeds.
Having never been a resident, I am not aware of exactly what life is like for prisoners in HMP Northward. Over the past thirty years, I have heard about all kinds of things like AC, TVs, cell phones, intimate visits from girlfriends etc. Can anyone enlighten me as to why exactly Northward is often described as some kind of resort hotel? I’d like to separate fact from fiction, you understand.
A good vocational school is what we need and if this is not acheivable why don’t we spend the money to send our young people to an excellent regional vocational school in Barbados or Cuba.
I am sure that our Premier is aware of the fact that Barbados and Cuba have the highest literacy rate in the Caribbean of 98.9%.
Cayman needs more trained and educated people not more facilities for prisioners, we can improve the way that Northward is being run.
Please give our young people a chance, how about a proper education and not more prisons.
I say YES to a regional vocational school in Barbados and NO to a regional prison.
I saw the funniest sign outside of a restaurant today. It said:
"Politicians should serve 2 terms….1 in office and 1 in jail."
I shake my head more and more at the utter stupidity that comes of out this man’s mouth.
England, please!!!!! Stop him from ruining my home!!!
Talk talk talk pray. Talk talk talk, pray. Mac is Gods way of punishing the Cayman Islands.
why do they have to setup a prison in overseas territory, why can’t they just make northward a bit harsher, i bet if they did that, the criminals won’t want to go back once they are realesed.
I agree. A very sensible suggestion.
Because that would actually take LESS money it won’t happen here.
He he he he he!!!!!!Ha ha ha ha ha !!!!!!!!
pretty lil shirt Miak got on! Surprised that it’s blue:)
Build a prison on the Brac.
It would provide work for the people of the Brac, a steady payroll as well as construction jobs. It might be good for the local economy.
No doubt there will be a big uproar from those few who complain about no job for the Brac but don’t want change.
‘Human rights’ does NOT mean we have to give them airconditioning, TV’s, weststar boxes, DVD players, radios and cellphone’s.
START HERE – CUT THEM OUT !!!!
RUN A PRISON – NOT A LUXURY RESORT !!!
I have a cheaper solution:
1 Put all the convicted gang members of the various gangs in the same complex/cells. That should reduce the number of prisoners naturally and society would not have to pay for each and every of them to be maintained in Northward for the rest of their lifes.
2 Have the less serious offenders (small drug possesions etc) sort mount trashmore by hand. Green glass goes in one bucket, white glass goes in another. Perhaps there will be finally a solution in regards to recycling if you can get the trash sorted relatively cheap.
3Repeat offenders go on 23 hour/day lock-down for the first while. No interaction with other inmates, no weekly visiting hours. No TV, radio, etc etc.
4Train your prison staff to detect smuggled good (especially cell phones etc).
All of the above should make Northward quite a bit less attractive.
too funny. how does this XXXXXX come up with these ideas? when mommy and daddy tell you to go to school, there’s a good reason for it.
This dude XXXXX needs to read the article in Viewpoint offering an explanation for solutions not creating more problems. A pentitentiary with a wing specifically for power hungry greedy inept and corrupt politicans is need at Northward. no support for that one a bet you.
It’s a shame that many parents refuse to do their job. The RCIP has essentially become the backstop for bad parenting. Police should set up regular nightly roadblocks just before the yacht club’s "dyke road bypass" and search all vehicles based on these simple subjective criteria:
Obscured/tinted license plates or tinted headlights(?), missing tail lights,
window tint exceeds legal limit, driver/passenger seats reclined more than 110′, cost of rims/headlights/stereo exceeds 20% of car’s blue book value, ground clearance less than 3 inches, operator wearing sunglasses/dew rag or more than an imperial ounce of brass jewellery.
Send a clear message that those that strive to emulate the gangster personnae will receive the same punative treatment that wangsta’s deserve. If nothing else, this exercise will generate thousands in ticket revenue, and hopefully shock some sense into the wannabe punks.
‘Put me in a J’can prison, please!’
CNS: I posted this story in World News
Great Idea in theory, but the REALITY is, we need HELP TODAY!!!
I say, outfit the prisoners in all PINK, give them TENTS to live in. Buckets to bathe with, AND NO MORE TURTLE MEAT DINNERS, give them bread and cheese and if they are eager, let them grow their own crops, such as potatoes!! Let them have to bail up water from a cistern to flush the toilets too!!
But, THE BIG KICKER IS – THROW THEM IN A CHAIN GANG AND LET THEM WORK ON CLEANING UP THE ROADS!! Let we the public, not have to be paying for clean up crews. And furthermore, lets see their faces of shame sweating on the streets!!
SHAME THEM INTO NOT WANTING TO GO BACK THERE!!
They want to be ‘hardcore’, well give it to ’em!!!
Betcha we won’t hear anymore of this foolishness ’bout "I just come back from vacation for 2 years hahahaa"!! SHAME ‘EM UP!
And Mckeeva you of all people should know all too well ’bout shaming up people, cuz yah making me shame NOW being called a West Bayer!!
Oh, and stop throwing people in jail for stupidness like ganja smoking and bounce cheques!!! Penalize ’em yes, by making them pay fines!! That way we won’t see all the child rapers, murderers, theives, corrupt politicians, police and businessmen getting out or being sentenced to probation because ain’t no space left in NWP!!!
Mckeeva – all this shouldn’t be too hard to do NOW! Cuz am sure it would get done a look quicker than GETTING A BUNCH OF COUNTRIES TO BUILD A PRISON TOGETHER.
And by the way, with this big foo-fool idea, where are you planning to build sumtin like this?? CAYMAN BRAC!?!?!?!
PLEASE STOP TALKING FOOLISHNESS AND DO SUMTIN THAT WORKS!
And Eugene glad to see you – hadn’t seen or heard from you in awhile!!
Is this an April Fool’s joke?….
everyday feels like april fools when mackeeva opens his mouth…..
In the previous meeting of the Legislative Assembly the opposition (PPM) brought a Private Member’s Motion calling for the appointment of a "National Crime Prevention Strategy Group" comprising of a cross-section of business & community leaders, law enforcement & other civil-service personnel & legislators from both the UDP & PPM.
Mckeeva Bush & the UDP refused to hear it. It was not mentioned or debated.
This motion would not be the solution to our crime problems but it would be a start. Leaders putting their thoughts together would go a long way towards finding solutions.
But what did Mckeeva Bush do? He refused to allow the motion to be debated in the LA! This says it all. He is more concerned about politics & political "one-upmanship" than trying to solve the escalation of crime under his leadership. This says everything we need to know about his thought process. This says everything we need to know about Mckeeva Bush.
Instead of joining forces with the PPM as well as top law enforcement personnel & community leaders, Mckeeva Bush decided that it was better & more productive to hold a meeting in his district & call for an OT’s regional prison, & to publicly criticize the Police Commissioner.
Way to go Mac! Between the OT’s prison & the April fools public prayer gathering I am positive that our crime problems will be solved! I feel so much safer because of you Mr. Bush. Your stupid, thoughtless suggestions have taken the fears out of me. I am sure the criminals are shaking in their boots!
I therefore suggest to Mr. Bush to put aside party politics, put aside his stubborness & work with all interested parties for the betterment of Cayman. Mr. Bush should try & solve the crime problems instead of looking ahead to the next elections.
Can we also send corrupt politicians to this offshore dungeon?
Then who would we have to run the country, because they would all have to go then.
oooh me pick me. Me teacher. I have a few names I would like to suggest….pick me please!!!
So, what is being proposed is Cayman spends more MONEY that it does not HAVE instead of just pulling money back out of Northward. Prison shouldnt be so comfortable for them, cut out the luxury package sentences and make prison an institution again, the high rate of recividizm shouldn"t be so high….No one should want to go back…then again, if i knew all I had to do to live highly for free was commit a crime, what should stop me?
A prison, or conditions there, matters not to a criminal element that doesn’t believe they will get caught. For crime to cease, society needs evidence and testimony to expose and prosecute the criminals (and remove the weapons and ammo from the streets). All efforts and enducements should be focused upon that objective. The sooner that happens, the sounder we all shall sleep! All this other talk is classic politicking.
1. I have heard comments by prisoners that they are not afraid to Her Majesty’s ‘Hotel’ so i do think a REAL PRISON would be a deterent. I the mean time please reduce to cost of food, we can spend a lot less on food and still not be "violating their human rights".
2. The other part that Mr. Bush suggested that needs to be put in place URGENTLY is police patrolling with ‘dogs’ as many of the succesful discovery of weapons or drugs has been done by the ‘dogs’ after the police/customs search of the person had missed it-but the dogs don’t. Police should do patrols with dogs all over the island every week-set a roster if they have to, but get it done.
I really feel sorry for Cayman and poor Mack. Alot of those people employed from foriegn that have to deal with these criminals from the very beginning did not care about anything more than just their pay checks. We used to have quite a few Bajan Police and Prision Officers from Barbados who was res[ected in the Community and that respect was reciprocal. Ihave always wandered why more Police from yhere have not been employed. I also understand that we have over 140 Jamacian Police in the force. Caymanians dont care whether they have status or not but when employing police they should look on COUNTRY OF ORIGN. There should not be too many of no nation, that is not good. Cayman want to see People that they can trust or else they are not going to come forward with information. It is a known fact that when information is given that it is not kept confidential. Also Police that have relatives that get in trouble should not have access to their information or file. The Public is aware of of quite alot of wrongs. We are sorry that Policing does not come under Mack. Mr Commissioner needs to listen to the little people because alot of them can give advice. They are the people that he need to listen to. It would do him good to go around in the Community visiting their homes and get to know some of these people who can advise him. The English Police from Bodden Town goes around and already the people there has respect for him.
Oh my, our "Premier" is an XXXXX! And I say that as a true Caymanian. I think we need to start by having a new Premier, then take it from there.
What a bunch of Baloney.
With so many regional Politicians dependent on gun toting criminals to keep them in power that idea is certain to attract a lot of support.
Thats just another wet dream Mr. Premier.
Discussing a Guantanamo-like prison is one thing….but first we have to be effective enough to catch and successfully prosecute these criminals.
The success rate for solving murder cases in Cayman, especially over the past 2 years is dismal at best.
I contend the poor conviction rate will embolden a criminal more than an offshore prison will scare them.
We need a better trained police force. So many in the force now are ex-handymen and unskilled labourors who were running from the roll over. Six weeks of training wont make them love country or turn them into effective police.
We need a top class forensics facility. The RCIP should realise by now that witnesses are not coming forward because there is a lack of confidentiality in the force. Relying mainly on witness testamony to convict will not improve the dreary conviction rate. The use of technology and scientific evidence is the way to go in the 21st century.
We need real border protection and control (get a fixed wing aircraft with downward looking infrared and radar that patrols regularly). Use the police boats that are constantly parked at the Bracadere or behind the fire station.
We need a national ID system with photo id and biometric data. If we find a gun with fingerprints on it lets run it through the database consisting of all residents as a starting point. – Visitors should be fingerprinted as well.
We need a gun amnesty after which there must be a severe crackdown.
We need an immigration amnesty after which there must also be a severe crackdown.
We need tough legislation to prosecute the parents/guardians who aid and abet these thugs, especially if these thugs are minors.
Mac, thats my wish list of needs. Please try to deliver on some of them before we all need to move somewhere else or resign ourselves to live in Cayman as a gang turf war zone for the rest of our lives.
I concur with the majority of the posters here. Mr. Bush respectfully stop the rhetoric…..take action. Double the size of the prison in Cayman. Take away cells phones and TV’s. Create work teams with prisoners and get the "warden from hell" from the UK. Action….clean up Cayman.
1. Why are’nt prisons doing the work for goverment projects and get rid of so much staff in PWD-CUT COST and in fact most of them are in prison because they do not want to work so they rob, steal & kill to get want they want-THIS IS WHAT THE DRUG WAR IS ABOUT. I actually mean SUPERVISED PRISONERS!!
"Cell phones need to be taken away from prisoners" Well, you had better check with the deputy governor because he may not agree.
can someone please confirm that the Prison’s budget for the next budget is 16 mil
I respectfully disagree completely Paul.
Putting the responsibility for the violence on the Commissioner is letting the people that actually commit these crimes off the hook and those people who know the guilty party or parties involved off the hook as well.
People tend to dodge responsibility and we cannot allow that here.
Regardless of the flaws to the police service the ultimate responsibility cannot ever be shifted from those who kill and protect the killers.
That is my take on the deal…I stand to be corrected.
Another prison would suffice, but due to Government’s budget constraints at this time. It would be a superb idea to undertake a study from the Los Angles prison on hard core criminals and types of work force to manage and deal with such prisoners. Maybe, the UK Government could assist with manpower of trained/specialised and equipped staff to deal in such capacities.
My suggestion would be that Northward Prison "Hotel California" referred to by some inmates be utilized for minimum sentences of up to 1-4 years. The second prison for hard core criminals from 5 years to Life located in a remote area with a gated check point half a mile from the prison for monitoring inward and outward activities.
Criminals in here have not experienced the true taste of a TRUE TO LIFE PRISON that is why they commit crimes over and over, if, such had happened they would never want to return. We have to become tough and let them accept that they are not there for joy rides and recreation, it is hard work for their crimes.
Presently, Caymanians serving time in the US or elsewhere for crimes, there treatment is you are a prisoner and not our guest-that is why we need to send a message loud and clear to our Caymanians or anyone else in prison and the would be cirminals,that we no longer tolerate or condone in crimes, "JUST ENTER, AND YOU WILL NOT BE OUR GUEST".
For every loss of life the Commissioner must be held accountable.
I dont mind putting my name.
Paul Nelson
Dear Paul,
I disagree.
For every loss of life; the parent who failed to raise their child (men and women), the parent who fails to interject on their kids thug lifestyle, the parent who fails to share intelligence with the police, the parents and family who are aiding the criminals in hiding out, the friends, aunts, uncles, cousins who are covering up for the thugs, the spineless people who hide behind their Christian values and turn a blind eye need to be held accountable long before the Commissioner.
If you truly want to hold the right people accountable- start there. Incarcerate all of those aiding and abetting these gangsta wannabes, and let them spend a few years closer to their ‘nice’ son- in a penitentiary sharing the next cell block.
The shootings will continue until the peeps grow some gonads and turn their own in.
Paul one of the most sensible post for a long time.Iagree with everything that was said
Great idea. Having declared that there were 15 criminals on the spree, maybe the commisioner could now state what the revised number is.
If the number is reducing by the killings then the commisioner should be given credit for allowing them to self destruct. My feeling is though that before this is over the guns will be turned on everyone decent citizens and the Police as well.
We already have one infant death that certainly can not be counted in the numbers.
We also need to blame every person on this island who do any amount of illegal drugs. It is drug money that finances the gangs and the middle manager sitting complaining about the crime while he has is once a week joint is part of the problem also.
Anyone partaking of any illegal drugs, in any amount, is in effect giving their money and Blessing to the gangs that are taking over our Island.
LOL!!! When i read about the April Fool announcing a prayer meeting I thought nothing would top that….well Mr Nelson you win the prize for the most short sighted. narrow minded and ridiculous comment of the last few days.
Ever thought of running for Government …you’d fit right in.
So much for the country being in a severe deficit….but now we’ve magically stumbled upon money to contribute to a regional prison? What’s the point in building a regional prison for "offenders" when there isn’t even enough evidence to convict them? The police basically have to beg the public to come forward with information because without it, criminals can’t be convicted. So we can’t get the criminals to Northward Prison but can send them to a regional prison? I must be missing something here…
No wonder this country is broke…
Mac needs a new advisor. Either Mac is very uneducated or he’s constantly being misquoted by the media. And I think we all know that a lack of education is what’s at hand.
Maybe we should all pray for Mac to resign on the National Day of Prayer.
Why don’t you get together with your regional countries to form a witness protection program?
I’m sorry but it doesn’t matter how much of a hell hole the prison is, people will still commit crimes. They are still committing crimes in Mexico.
While a witness protection program is a good idea, let me ask one question.
How will people react when a "new" Caymanian suddenly shows up on the island and takes a "true" Caymanian’s job?
But would this be at all viable? I mean, these programmes normally involve changing your place of residence within your home country, not leaving your country all together. Not sure how relevant this is to Cayman. It might be of some use with foreign nationals, I guess. Certainly what is needed is enhanced evidence gathering capacity by the police and trials before a judge only if it is concluded that a jury might be fearful of returning a guilty verdict.
Yeah I hope you got plenty money for a pile of QC’s
First one you try and ship overseas to a foreign country will take you all the way to ECHR and they will win.
What a stupid idea.
Cayman is responsible for its prisoners no matter which way you look at it.
All these people do is blame foreign nationals for everything when its the caymanians committing majorty of crimes. The police should focus on gettin the bad guys off the street rather than check vehicle stickers and insurance.
Hmmm, we used to send them to Jamaica (G.P.) but the conditions there were deemed to be ‘Inhumane’ for our Local offenders ….. so we built Northward, and our island went to Hell.
Anyway, I recall that there was a ‘Private’ Prison to be built in Jamaica a few years ago. Perhaps they can be contracted to provide the services there (in Jamaica) for us?
The last ‘Caymanian’ prisoner who was returned from Jamaica ‘kissed the ground’ when he came off the flight …. he must have learned what REAL Bad-man is …. I hear he still has problems when sitting-down.
We need to send expats committing crimes home instead of these long sentences as we are going to deport them anyway, so do not spend all this money on them first-just get rid of them (no return) ASAP-REDUCE COST, as they are not repaying to society because there is no real work in prison here so they are a further liabilty to the community.
HOW about this idea
We cut a canal around West Bay give it to Mac and give him his own COUNTRY TO RULE
WOW! Now why could’nt I have thought of that first.
Great idea. He could then build the Prison on his island and take care of all the regional criminals.
To the writer of Mon 03/29/2010 – 09:00
You’d better watch what you wish for. If that should ever happen you all in the other districts may find that the majority of killers are left in your area.
And I suppose there are no criminals in your area? Don’t be smiling and making jokes about crime in West Bay…because guess what…it will be in your neighborhood before you know what hit you..XXXX.
If i didn’t live there:( i would agree.
Finally, a decent idea. It’s common in the US for the authorities to send their overflow prisoners to other jails and penitentiaries in another distant state or even a private prison. These private prisons operate in both the US and the UK and charge a per diem rate for housing the prisoner. It’s much cheaper than building new prisons and it provides you with surge capacity as you only pay for what you use.
What a bunch of morons.
Listen people, if these gang banging idiots are not afraid of being shot down in the street, what makes you think a scary prison will scare them into behaving themselves? Get real.
These losers are stupid and can’t see past the next 30 minutes. They live the gangster life because they are dumb and think they will get away with it. A hard-edged prison will not change them.
Look for real answers, please.
You write with such authority. It is too much to ask for actual suggestions?
Thumbs down. I guess it is too much to ask for. If you are not a part of the solution, you are a part (of the) problem – m.
Get the Warden …from hell. Get a hard lined Expat with the credentials to run Northward that knows prisons and prisoners. No bias, no BS.
The meeting betwixt the politians and commissioner heard many people saying they want a much more harsh prison and to treat prisoners more like prisoners, well am not saying a prisoner should not be treated like one, but we have to remember he/she is still human that did something bad that many humans are capable of doing, so while they are in prison they must be treated as a humans.
I suggest a rehab prison where they are given a chance to learn a trade or qualified to do a job that a WP holder has, and when they finish their sentence a job would already be appointed for them, they will be subjected to strict monitoring and will have to continue to work the job appointed to them, if they quit there will be ramifications (we can come up with ideas of what the ramifications will be)
My point here is: everybody wants harsh conditions for those who go to prison for very serious crimes am not saying no to that, but if we treat them as if they are not humans while in prison that will only make them worse, and when released they may treat others the way they were treated, we need prisoners to come out better not worse, who is going to help them when they come out much worse than when they went in? we will only be doing the same as we been doing all along sending them to prison until their release and then after being released they have no place in our workforce and mainstream society so what will there choice be?
Reality check: for decades now we sent or youth and adults to prison for various offenses some very petty like smoking herb, and first time non violent offenses, sending them to prison was the answer for decades far as the law was concern, now decades later we have more criminals from those same prisoners, all because they were sent to prison to be released after their sentence, only to come back into a society that looked at them as a prisoner, they could not get a job after they were released, so they were still prisoners in the street, so back to crime was their retreat.
I agree not all prisoners can be recycled but those that can be, we have to recycle them back into our workforce. Do we want to build more or another (regional prison) to create more criminals? have we not learned that we will only be repeating the same process fore mentioned creating more criminals, criminals need to be recycled to crimeless, then we will see progress, and have less criminals and crime.
Joseph Yates
The biggest criminals of all are the thugs in the civil service who refuse to cooperate with any sound judgement and protect their paychecks without giving value for money.
Don’t worry, your day is coming.
20% of Released Guantanamo detainees go back to fighting
A classified Pentagon assessment measuring the recidivism rate of released Guantanamo detainees indicates one in five – 20 percent – of them return to jihad. Previous reports in Dec. 2008 (11 percent) and April 2009 (14 percent) shows a trend as the more dangerous terrorists are released over time.
all this means that
A more brutal prison without rehab programs means more brutal prisoners will be released to return to our Islands. Is northward really that good? Has any of your posters been there?
Well, brutal isn’t really the answer but it’s pretty much a dormitory you can’t leave. If we could get convictions to ensure they will stay in Northward for their entire lives, it’s simple to fix the prison to be fair punishment.
Yes, I’ve been there. As long as you put your name on the list to visit a prisoner ahead of time, you can visit with them on designated days. I’m not sure if it varies for the type of prisoner or good behavior etc, but this particular person got about 2 hours visitation time. You could bring them whatever you/they wanted (it got taken apart and fully searched) including TVs and DVD players, and DVDs. (A lot of minimum security prisons allow you to do this for certain persons who’ve demonstrated good behavior for prolonged periods of time, but it’s my understanding that all prisoners here get this privelage). They get good meals – well people on site cooking usually local/jamaican dishes. Standards for food on the island for mass-service has always fared better than the states though (for example, cafeteria food in childrens schools are extremely poor) but less money should go into this luxury in a prison, for sure.
They get rewarded for good behavior by being allowed to sit outside the prison grounds, or going on work sites (like the agricultural grounds that is now banned). It’s when they’re off sites that it’s not really difficult to connect with outsiders. Most guards turn a blind eye as it’s not usually that big of a deal, most are in there for numerous years and they almost feel sorry for them – for the most part it’s only a little weed here and there, a cell phone and sexual encounters if they’re lucky. But obviously this slackness allows them to get away with bigger issues every now and again.
I overheard someone at the gas station who worked at the prison say they were nice to them because most of them hadn’t been treated nice in their life and he wanted them to be released with a sense of being appreciated and rewarded. Which would support your theory, but it’s the definition of "treated well" and just being fair in their jobs that needs some clearing up.
Basically, they need to actually be restricted, good behavior should be rewarded but as per the system put in place, not by guards who feel sorry for them, get to know these guys and just let things slide every now and again as it gets out of control and these prisoners don’t actually lose control of what they’ve built outside of Northward hence locking them up is pretty pointless other than the fact the public rarely sees their face or name anymore.
Bruce
It should be pointed out that many of those incarcerated at Guantanamo were originally innocent. So the term recidivism doesn’t really apply. By innocent I mean many, if not the majority were handed over by other civilians in Iraq and Afghanistan in exchange for rewards. Sometimes upwards of $20,000 U.S. That’s a lot of money in Afghanistan. And then whisked off to Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo, kept in inhumane conditions, and tortured. Until they confessed under those circumstances. Ie. waterboarding. Or didn’t because they were innocent and could withstand it. Then they were sent on to Guantanamo as "combatants". And after being held without trial for years, and without any charges were released. With an inborn hate for the U.S. and everything it stood for. And then… they joined the Jihad. So where the U.S. could not find real terrorists, they succeeded in creating them. As they have been doing all over the world for years.
As you can see this is not actually recidivism as many were non-militant. Ordinary people who turned militant.
The U.S., in it’s “War on Terrorism” is actually it’s own worst enemy. By bombing innocent people excuse me collateral damage and invading other countries at will, the U.S. is propagating another form of terrorism. Only with a much larger budget. But to people who lose their homes to smart bombs, and loved ones to extraordinary rendition it’s still terrorism.
One administration after another is too ignorant and/or conceited to understand, people don’t care who is terrorizing them.
It is my belief that many people know who has committed these crimes and are keeping the secrets in West Bay.
West Bay is an incredibly small community and the people who live the know what is going on.
Until the people decide this will end by pointing to the guilty. People will continue to die.
I hoped that the death of the 4 year old would wake up the people of West Bay to taking back their community.
It is shameful that the murder of that child was not enough.
Perhaps you should not generalise by saying that the people of West Bay are not assisting the police. Friends and relatives of these criminals who have information on their crimes are the people to blame, not the "people" of West Bay.
How many crimes have you witnessed? If you live in George Town, and have not witnessed a crime, does it make you accountable for the criminals there not being turned in to the police?
more talk from mac…zzzzz… just like the last 10 months…all talk no action…
Maybe Mac should ask a few friends about his ideas before he engages his mouth. They might stop him saying crazy stuff like this.
I find it very sad and without merit that the most prosperous island in the Caribbean with the highest standard of living cannot figure out how to take an existing prison facility and make it into a real tough prison that will not allow wifes and girl friends to smuggle dope, booze and sex into boyfriends who have unlimited use of cell phones.Human rights is not the issue. The real problem is the firm desire to do it.
OMG we are supposed to be a modern, democratic, stable and developing country – for the size of this island, in the financial/offshore world – this is a pretty good place. Not for too much longer……..if we let this carry on.
Obama was appluaded worldwide for wanting the closure of Guantanemo Bay – and here is seems Hitler and Sadam Hussain have been ressurected.
This man MUST be stopped and now, I for one am going to write to the UK and let it be known this reckless fools public opinion about Human Rights. This is nothing short of disgusting.
His uneducated, inexperienced and archaic ways mean that he actually has no idea what human rights are!!!
Without respect for civil liberties and human rights this country wil never ever suceed. This country is going backwards……
Crime needs to be adressed, changes need to be made, people need to be punished. But all is say is when you have a 100% fool proof, totally trustworthy police, judicial, prosecution service (which no country can claim to have) THEN consider no human rights. They are not a luxury or a get out of jail free card, they are needed for a functioning society.
I for one want to sleep at night knowing that the person who shot Joe Bloggs is the one in prison serving time, those that need rehabilitation recieve it etc. What i don’t want is to be up all night thinking that the wrong man was arrested, he confessed cos he was beaten up, he was locked up for days without a lawyer, food, water, evidence was planted etc and that the actual culprit is walking free and able to kill again.
It’s human rights that helps towards this, we all need to feel safe that we live in a protected society, protected from criminals, protected from a wrongful arrest and protected from crazy behaviour of the country’s leader – does he not have advisors?!
making a comment like that about human rights has SO many dangers…..
i’m disgusted and worried for the people of cayman.
lets just stick together and try and just make sure there is peace, justice and morals in our own homes – cos this country’s leader is not promoting or elping that that. And then between us hopefully we can get some progress.
good luck!
If the Commissioner doesn’t want to do what the people of this Island feel is the right thing to do, then maybe we need a new Commissioner. Obviously, many of the police here cannot cope. Why are they still here? We are paying their salaries and if they cannot do their jobs, they either need to go, or give them real training to deal with these crimes, as in either bring an instructor here or send some of the Police away. Some Police officers can barely read and write. Why are they here? Surely you need a basic education to be a police officer and the will to fight crime. I have seen some police in person and on tv who can barely put a sentence together. I would imagine it would be very difficult to solve crimes.
Weed out the bad ones and get rid of them. They are no help and are making the problem worse. Replace them with real police with experience. Get people experienced with gangs. The public’s perception of the Police is that they are not to be trusted and a joke. Itis not a totally undeserved perception. Once again I do know that there are good officers and I am not referring to you. I am truly grateful to those officers who do a great job but very frustrated with those who do not.
Here’s a suggestion, cut the prison budget by 50%. Do what prison’s everywhere else do, serve whatever food is on the menu. Who doesn’t like it, goes without. I personally find it more and more expensive at the grocery store and resent having to provide better food for prisoners than I canprovide for my family. Put them to work in the hot sun in chain gangs every day from sunrise to sunset. Give them bread and water during the day. No more cell phones. Who knows what they can get up to with unlimited access to their cell phones. One call per week. Make prison a punishment not a hotel for the criminals.
Get radar, fingerprinting and do proper background checks on all work permit holders. Contrary to some comments, there are Caymanians and non-Caymanians committing crimes. For example, the 2 Honduranians recently arrested for kidnapping. We have enough problems with the Caymanian criminals. We certainly do not need non-Caymanians committing crimes as well. Of course, I know that most work permit holders are not criminals but we have to face the fact that unles we do proper checks, we won’t know until its too late.
The Police need to be up in the faces of those known gang members. Keep them on their guard. If they never know when the Police will show up, it will be a lot harder for them to commit crimes. Stop letting people know when you will be having road blocks. Make sure you have Police strategically placed in both directions when you do have a road block so that you can catch those who try to avoid being stopped by the Police.
Step up checks on everything coming in to the Island. The number of guns coming in is frightening.
Enforcement also needs to be out and about checking on overstayers and people here with no work.
MacKeeva for the first time I agree with a couple of your suggestions. The Cell phones needs to be taken away from the prisoners, the physical contacts with the outside world needs to be restrained and the parole system needs to be changed. I would even go further and stop all of their Medical priviledges and their TV priviledges nipped in the bud. However, building a Regional Prison is a no no right now as funding is very low all around. Please make some kind of agreement with the U.S. about the usage of part of the Guantanamo Bay facility. I am also one of those born Caymanians that will support the inactment of the finger printing and DNA systems, at the entry points of these Islands. Finally, I will agree with some of the suggestions that said to send home all those "NEW" Caymanians via the Status Grants, that have committed any crimes in these Islands, without any chance of reentrance.
Ah! One of those Foo Foos that still think it’s those dang paper Caymanians thats causing all the gang tit for tat murders!
NOT A GOOD IDEA!
OUTSIDE POLICE FORCE COULD MEAN ANOTHER LAWSUIT, RUN UP OUR DEBT, AND BAD PULICITY FOR THESE ISLANDS.
DON’T FORGET THE MET TEAM
Surprise surprise! More blaming from Macdinijad
"Human Rights" are the blame for gangs, shootings, murders etc??? Are you kidding me? Maybe the LACK of Human Rights (enforceable HR) are some of the cause why some people feel so hopeless and angry. Maybe the neglect of so many marginalized people in the community. Maybe the abuse (justified as discipline). Maybe children watching their parents fight and abuse eachother. Maybe the blatant hypocrisy that we all see/feel in Cayman (crimilization of teenagers who experiment with a little ganja…while protecting the use and open sale of alcohol which causes far more damage). Maybe the churchs who seem mostly concerns about "them Gays" while mostly ignoring all the social ills in our community. Maybe the lack of any training for those not inclined to become accountans, lawyers, bankers etc (qualified plumbers, electricians, contractors and other small business owners/managers). Maybe any number of reasons…but NOT Human Rights! That is just plain Bull Mac! A pathetic excuse!
And i wish Politicians and others would stop telling ALL people that they are NOT coming forward with info or as eye witness to crime, for the Police. Many of us are busy working and taking care of our families and staying out of danger zones …many of us do NOT know any info! ANd also that people are watching too much CSI. What about the many forensic shows based on REAL events like "Forensic Files"…are they suggesting these are lies also? Is it possible that the Police don’t know how to properly protect and process a crime scene. Or that prosecutors do not prepare and adequately prosecute the cases that do make it to court? Is anyone in government (that the people pay highly for) truly responsible…and truly willing to be accountable? Anyone???
And for the Premier, in the year 2010, to blame EVERYONE else and now blame Human Rights for the mess that Cayman now finds itself, is nothing short of lunacy. And especially as he (the Premier) is the longest serving MLA (law maker and Country planner) with much of that time as the LEADER of Cayman. Guess he was too busywith pet projects like Boatswains Beach (to secure votes) and other personal goals and perks.
This man should be removed from office for unwilingness to accept any responsibility. And so should many others in Govt. There ought to be a law!
It startles me that the Premier has so poor a grasp of law. Anyone who goes through the judicial system of this country is entitled to their human rights, regardless of where we send them to be imprisoned. If a prison is being run on behalf of this government/country, then any lawyer worth his salt would very easily have his client set free, with a hefty compensation claim to boot, if he was imprisoned in conditions that did not meet the requirements of the Human Rights legislation currently on the books.
With regards to a SWAT team, from what has appeared over the last few months, the police are reasonably successful at arresting people, but those arrests do not translate into prosecution because the evidence is not forthcoming. As mentioned by the MLA, not every crime scene is littered with DNA evidence – sometimes you need witnesses, and Caymanian witnesses are not willing to give evidence. SWAT teams are of no use for detection or prosecution – above and beyond a hostage situation they are of little if any use at all.
If you look at this Commissioner’s previous experience, I think you’ll find he is far more qualified than anyone else on the island to talk about successful policing strategies and having the community/police/government work together. The legislation is in place, the competency of the police is not of a high enough standard (yet) and the numbers are too low. 10 months in post is not enough time to turn things around, but I think we should be reasonably positive at the moment.
In other news, Venezuelan President Chavez has indicated an interest in opening an oil refinery project with the government of the Cayman Islands. Details remain sketchy at this time, but inside sources indicate that the new facility will be built in the heart of West Bayghanistan, the home of Junior MacChavez and Cheeze. This venture will be at no cost to the present Cayman Islands government, as Premier MacCheeze has indicated that labour will be freely provided by his constituents. He states, "We are going to round up every West Bayeristanian, man, woman or child to help us complete this project over the next five years. Anyone who escapes our net will be summarily sent to the North Pole, where I have received the personal assurances from Santa Claus, that a modern facility will be set up to house them indefinitely. Similar projects are in the works for the rest of the Island. We are waiting to receive confirmation from the tooth fairy that she is able and willing to also assist government, in case that the North Pole project grows too large."
Oh my, you should have left your name. You are quite the comedian.
haha……….thanks for puttinga smile on my face in such a time of despair.
God bless.
my pleasure. it’s very easy to make fun of something when someone comes up with such outrageous ideas. if it wasn’t so funny, i’d be crying. keep smiling. 🙂
In other news, Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe extends his warmest and heartfelt wishes to the Honourable Premier of the Cayman Islands, Mckeeva McMac. In a short speech to the International Press Corps, President Mugabe states "I, along with my small cadre of jackals, wish to extend my unequivocal support to our enlightened brother MacMac. In return for a "small" discount regarding some unreported state treasury matters, I am ready, willing, and able to make some of my Brother’s minor problems "disappear". Like Zimbabwe, the Cayman Islands can be proud to be the true champions of Human Rights! Long live Zimbabwe. Long live the Cayman Islands. Long live Mao Tse MacMac!"
What this??? We have a Premier who doesn’t.. want a Constitution? And thinks Human Rights are a hindrance? And the Opposition is a hindrance? And his officials have absolutely no control over crime? Or the Police? Or the Civil Service Association? And financial problems are not his fault. And he can’t do anything about it anyway. Because of the roadblocks? And all he can think of doing is praying? Alright then. Maybe we shouldn’t have a Premier. Because… there doesn’t seem to be much left for him to do.
Mr Bush fyi the Bill of Rights (which contains human rights provisions) has not come into effect as yet ;so to blame the increase in crime on the new constitution is totally misleading.By the way ,I would like to take this oppurtinity to remind you that you supported this constitution when you were in England as part of the group negotiating a new constitution.
The country bumpkin yet again forgets to check in his brain before spouting off all kinds of silly nonesense – simply embarrasing…
Human rights is the cause of the problems!
The man is clueless, delusional and dangerous – very much like Gordon Brown in the UK.
Why do you assume what you say. At least 2 of the murder victims in the last 6 months were not Caymanian. Both had well known gang affiliations and both, remarkably, were out on bail. Both kidnappers were not Caymanian. Estella’s murderers are not Caymanian. The man being tried (again) for the Garreau murder is not Caymanian.
Many serious crimes, even most, are committed by Caymanians, but many are not. There is indeed an immigration issue to this mess which must be both faced up to and confronted as part of the overall solution.
Just as I figured, he had to find someone to blame for his lack of ability to control the escalating crime rate.
He blames the new constituition and the relevant human rights.
He blames those that marched against his maladminstration in 2003.
He blames the Commissioner of Police.
Why can’t he take responsibility for the rhetoric he preaches which inspires anxiety and sensitivty, which leads to anger and hatred which manifest in gang mentality and a culture of poverty and violence? The same violence that exist now and threatens our existence.
What kind of leader always have endless numbers of people to blame for their incompetence?
His solution to crime is to lock them up. He give us this outrageous idea of a proposed regional prison outside the overseas terrority, which will be illegal and of course he will blame someone for blocking his crime fighting techiques and solutions.
Another complete waste of time meeting, but he still has people conviced that he is their saviour.
I am sorry but this outside prison sounds like a done deal already. Is it just me thinking or is Mr. Bush planning yet another way to sell Cayman out? He is so slick that he wants to play yet another card to pocket money for his self. Why spend money that Cayman don’t have?
Can’t we just make deals with the other Jurisdiction and send the long time inmates to their own countries prison? And make sure that they never come back in Cayman. Let there country deal with them. Trust me the prison in Jamaica; Honduras etc. are not as pretty and caring as in Cayman.
This is one way to not make the Cayman Islands tax payers to give out more money.
There is a paint that blocks cell phone signals.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/8279549.stm
I dunno what unna people expect. Tha man is trying a ting! The premier is doing alot! He has been travelling one hell of a lot (at our expense), he has a personal driver & darkly tinted car (at our expense), he has a CI$38,000 per year maid/housekeeper (at our expense), he is building an 8 foot wall around HIS house (at our expense), he has been selling out Cayman (at our expense), & now, finally, he has even held a meeting to discuss crime (which has become tragic under his watch). I am NOT a UDP supporter but give the man credit, he has been working hard, especially on them expensive vacations. How much more can one man do? Do you expect him to govern the country as well? Get real!
12:16 – I dunno what unna people expect……..This poster is so hillarious – that I laughed until tears came – you seem to have been monitoring every movement of Bushey’s (not the US one) God Bless the Cayman Islands.
Don’t forget this week’s trip to Chicago where Big Mac and all of his small fries MUST have luxury suites at the Chicago Ritz….He is STILL wasting out money!!! No wonder he wants to get rid of the auditor, someone might ask why he is living in the lap of luxury while the country suffers.
I clearly remember early in the PPM administration(I think in early 2006) the PPM government requested to sit in on RCIPS meetings & to be kept up to date on issues of importannce in the police department. The then commissioner refused the PPMs request. Of course the PPM were not happy & let the commissioner & the public know. The opposition of the day, that being the UDP & especially Mckeeva Bush, criticized the PPM & personally attacked Minister Mclaughlin for the stance that he & the PPM took. The PPM wanted to be kept up with information by the RCIPS, & Mckeeva Bush & the UDP mocked them when the commissioner turned down their request.
At the public meeting in West Bay on Saturday night, quite amazingly it is reported that "(Mckeeva) Bush was also clearly frustrated by the lack of control elected officials have of the Police." XXXX Mckeeva Bush chastised the PPM when they complained about "the lack of control elected officials have of the Police" yet now that the shoe is on the other foot & he is the leader he is expressing FRUSTRATION!!! XXXX He thinks that it is ok for him to be frustrated by the police but wrong for the PPM to feel so? Well I am more than frustrated with Mckeeva Bush & his shenanigans XXX
I sincerely hope that his proposed "regional prison" will be available to house corrupt politicians as well.
When are these people going to get it into their heads that it is not work permit holders who are committing these offences but Caymanians. Every single time something happens, questions are being asked by what is being to work permit holders. As to the Premier’s stance on human rights, so it is human rights that is allowing the Judiciary to grant bail, it is human rights that make the girlfriends and wives and mothers of incarcerated criminals bring them guns, drugs and have sex with them in prison and hide the guns, drugs and ammunition. Give me a break. Sometimes I do despair of these Islands, I really do.
Yes, I agree, "paper" Caymanians who received that honor from Mckeeva Bush & the UDP. Of course there are a few born Caymanians involved (for GOD’s sake this is Cayman, what you expect?), but the majority of our SERIOUS crimes are committed by "IMPORTED" Caymanians. The bad influence is paying off unfortunately! "Monkey see monkey do"
Human Rights is the problem? The USA has Human Rights and there are some pretty bad prisons there. Some "hard core" criminals only get 1hour a day for exercise and the rest of the time they are alone..eating prison food which is horrible, no girlfriends, no family housing, no cell phones, no TV etc…Prison issued books is about it. Now, if they can do that and still be obliging "Human Rights" why can’t we?
Both Caymanians and expats are involved in committing the crimes. I understand your desire to attribute all crimes to Caymanians but it is of course false to do so.
Mack the name is not " HUMAN RIGHTS" BUT IN SOME CASES "HUMAN WRONGS.
Mr. Bush, Do you think about these things before percenting them to the public honestly and truly we as a country is BROKE and that is the song you have been singing from day one so if we are broke how in the world are we going to building a regional prison with other territories. I’m not sure how the other territories finances are but the way things are looking for our country surely doesnt look good what the Government should think about is deporting and send back all expat prisoners back to there country to do the rest of there time instead of us the people of Cayman having to maintain them .Or how about start treating them like prisoners like what they really are instead of living a life in luxury in NorthWard Prison.
How dare you call it a prison!!!
It’s our own all inclusive resort destination. Always running near max capacity.
Until we make the darn place more like a prison and less like a country club we will always have this problem. I see killing two birds with one stone here.
Problem #1 Cost
Problem #2 Needs to be rougher place
Solution: Take away all the TVs, wonderful menus and AC and introduce hard labor where they work to earn their keep. Make them build stuff to sell and help make money for the prison who can use it to suppliment their expenses.
First day at prison for a serious offender should be time in the hole. 24 hours of solitary confinement to "welcome" them to their personal nightmare.
The hole is a special cell placed in the center of the compound that has no windows but cameras. It has only a small feeding hole to stick some water through. The exterior wall is painted black to attract sunlight to make it hot. The room is monitored for temperature and the prisoners wellbeing.
maybe you need to get your facts before talking about sending expat prisoners to their homeland. Less than 10% of the prison population are expats
What is the cost of one prisoner held here per year? How many are not citizens of the Caymans?
Yes your correct but the problem is that most of the prisoners in Northward are Caymanian. A report was just done recently and in every catergory of crimes commited it was 90% or more done by Caymanians. I do think expats should be deported but they are not really taking up much resources at Northward ! Yes Northward from what we understand is like a hotel that needs to change. It is of no use Mr Bush talking because some action needs to be taken now, a regional prison will take time !
Maybe the government should look into sending prisoners to the Turks and Caicos. I have been told that the prison there is a real hell hole and there are not many repeat offenders.
If this is the case with Turks prisoners… we’ve been lied to all these years.
Mr Bush your meeting, suggestions, expressons and comments sounds like the best solution right now, but we are waitng to see if this is only talk, talk, talk, talk with nothing getting done. Please do not dragg your feet on all that you have suggested at this meeting. Please!!!!
XXXXX
Send these prisoners to Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, if not there, then Please talk with the Cuban Government and pay them to keep themin a prison in Cuba. I would prefer to have to pay taxes han keep them here. Clearly, it is a direct threat to keep these prisoners here. Too much slacknes is ing a Northward Prison, you know it an we hve proof of it. Will we be waiting for an escape, or another officer or inmate to be killed in prison?. Sorry, Mr Bush, but you are our leader, and we are expecting you to do jut that. LEAD!!!lead, even if you have to kick some asses out of the way while doing so. Remember, no one is going to get blamed except you, if you do not start kicking asses now. Do you hear anyone asking for the Cmmissioner of police to resign, No they are asking you, because youre the BOSS not the commissioner of police. Now let us sit back and see how long it will take to put all this talk, talk, talk, into action.
I agree people are not afraid to go to Northward .As far as I am cocern if you commit any kind of crime big or small and have to go to prison that is your choice and you should not have all the comforts brought to you .You should loose ALL rights .Human rights need to be locked up too as they are part of the problem.WHY??? should gang members have acess to PHONES to conduct their buisness still ????? Can ANYONE truthfully answer this??????????????????????????
1) why not use your powers to change the legislation instead
2) why not improve northward instead of spending money on another building in another country (i assume this is what he’s talking to cuba about?)
3) so this is why rolston bailed out of a function last night that was emphasizing all the good in our local employers and in support of education and handing out scholarships. instead he’s telling the people to stop watching tru tv. what is he the minister of again?!
what a bunch of coconutzzz
Quite a shame that Rolston didn’t attend the function last night! I was very disappointed & embarrased at his last minute cancellation.
He should not only be focused on the "bad" things in Cayman but embrace the opportunity to promote the good things.!
Shame on him!!
Lets get passed the SWOT team (is that a bunch of geeky clever dudes)
The police is in the hands of the Gov for good reason, can you imagine the people who would get arrested if Mac was head? It stops the police being politicised, thankfully.
While I’m sure Mac has good ideas, don’t you think the commissioner has more experience and qualifications than Mac dealing with crime.
Can you imagine if Mac was in charge of the police and stopped poeple from a having a lawyer to defend themselves.
Banana Republic
hey banana republic, sounds like you got a hard -on for Mac, yes he has very good ideas..where are yours? stop bashing him
The police are in the hands of the Governor because of control. We are a part of the remnants of the British Empire. Not because of fears of it being too politicized. The elected leaders should at the very least be able to give a vote of no confidence for a commissioner.
Good idea..and back to the idea of a Cuban prison that so many have
mentioned on here… if Cuba would even want these serious criminals?
Although I am sure that Cuba would welcome the money that they could
make on a prison set up like that…Being sent to a prison there would
be a good deterrent for crime.
Northward is too much of a ”country club” at present. Anyone in there
should only have visitors that they see through a glass shield and using
a phone to talk to each other. There should be NO cell phone use in
prison by prisoners…They should have to line up to use a prison phone
once a week if they need one. They need to seriously curtail
all the privileges prisoners have. They are not in there to have a better
life than they had on the streets!!!
Hey,
Here’s an idea. Let’s send them to Haiti. One thing we can be sure of their prison won’t be a country club one. I also believe they would love to have the money.
This is a comment from our leader???????!!!!!
“We have this thing here called human rights now…it is a hindrance to the hard way of dealing with the bold face criminality that is hitting us today,”
I hope the foriegn press don’t get hold of this or we’ll be seen as the laughing stock of the world. The man has lost the plot he shouldn’t be in charge of the TV remote never mind a country.
Thanks for saving me the bother.
I used to quite like Mac, but he has clearly lost the plot.
Human rights do NOT stand in the way of apprehending, prosecuting and incarcerating CRIMINALS.
This is just more BS from the man from WB. When is he going to STFU and GBTW?
Do not forget that some of these same human rights principles you blindly hold so dear are actually causing a continuation and worsening of crime here. Damian Ming and Matthew Reid (for example) were both out on the street because of application of human rights principles, when the entire society (OK, not you Gordon) seems to think (I say rightly) they both should have been locked up or deported long ago.
Being a witness against a criminal in a country of 60 million is fine because you can disappear into the population afterwards. Try that here, in a population of 60,000, and the only place you will disappear to is the bottom of the Cayman Trench.
Even the FCO is now realising this problem. Now we will finally be able to protect witness anonimity (the accused will not be able to fully face his accuser). Now we may have to do away with jury trials for certain crimes (it does seem that jury intimidation is a very live issue here).
Also, you are relying on systems implemented in places where there is a one in a million chance of getting shot in a particular year. Here the chance seems to be more than one in 5,000, 200 times more. We do not have the luxury of relying on the same rules as were designed for and may work in Exeter, or Bordeaux, or Oslo. They simply do not work in our present circumstances.
Please Police, stop and search me any time you want. It will make me feel safe and you will catch the bad guys. When they are off the street, then we can, and will, bring back "your rules". I for one am sick of us wearing boxing gloves to a knife fight, and a little "no holds barred" is appropriate and neccessary until things are back under control.
Are you more concerned about people laughing at us for not affording criminals human rights or our ability to survive these gun wielding gangstgers ruining our island(s)?
Why should a gangster who cannot (or claim he/she cannot) afford an attorney, be given the right to choose and hire the best attorney possible (even QC’s from the UK) at the public’s expense when someone who can afford an attorney has to hire one that is within their budget, even it is the least experienced legal defender?
I hope that your opinion on human rights holds firm when you or someone dear to you is murdered or raped by these criminals.
Is there a perfect criminal system anywhere in the world?
OK Mac, sounds like a start. So what is the commissioners excuse if he already has all the tools he needs. Why were all the criminals not rounded yeras ago, and does his threat only extend to those with guns? Are all other overt criminals (people who break the law) in our community going to continue to be left alone?