Gunmen rob GT Burger King
(CNS): Three men armed with a shotgun and a hand gun robbed the George Town Burger King at around 10.00 last night (Monday 7 June) police have now confirmed. A spokesperson for the RCIPS said that one of the employees in the restaurant sustained a slight head injury when one of the gunmen hit him with a weapon as the robbers demanded money from the tills. There were no customers inside the restaurant at the time the robbery took place, although it appears some customers were at the drive in. Police said the three young men all wore hooded tops and dark clothes and witnesses said they spoke with Caymanian accents. The gunmen escaped on foot with around $300, no shots were fired during the incident and no arrests have yet been made.
Category: Headline News
they are not expats they are caymanians doing this through hard times because no one want to give them work and mckeeva is not helping his own because all he can do is fly first class
Am I the only one who thinks it’s actually WORSE if the robberies are unrelated? That means there are dozens of armed robbers running around the Island.
I preferred it when they were shooting each other.
XXXXXX
The Premier was right when he suggested outsourcing prison sentences-jail in Cayman too sweet for these perpetrators. Problem is that discussion got railroaded by none other than the Premier himself when he said the problem with Cayman was "we have a thing called Human Rights". That evolved into an unnecessary distraction from the valid point he made that criminals just don’t fear the "punishment".
Who Jah bless, no man curse.
It is fascinating to note that historically on CNS many posters have been exceptionally keen to stress the unique and readily identifiable nuances of the Caymanian accent, but as soon as a suspect to a gun crime is identified as having a "Caymanian accent" suddenly it is impossible to say that. . .
Unna got to get unna story straight.
Pit Bull I have to agree with that.
Pit Bull you dont see they naw Caymanian.
You may not legally be able to shoot them on the spot but how about pulling a "Home Alone" on them? Free "weight loss shake" made with fresh Ipicac for "hungry" robbers. For robbers concerned about their appearance a nice "hot oil treatment" withevery theft. To ensure public safety a warning sign should be posted about the build up of "static electricity" for those running out the restaurant. And last by certainly not least a nice 5 gallon buck of paint for the get away car? Would that be illegal? 🙂
Why isnt there a button to touch that rings a loud sirene on the roof top and the doors close atomatic when a robbery is in place?
These businesses are insured if they loose a can of soda. Only the name Cayman Islands is getting robbed.
The situation is that the current events will play out until either the robbers are caught and jailed or killed. They are not going to stop. They have no morals, no principles and to them it is okay to rob people. They were probably raised without discipline and were never taught to respect other people. They were probably taught to fight and intimidate people, so the reality is that they are now playing the same role out, but on an extreme level now. They cared nothing for school when they were young and are unwilling to be trained now.
To change this will take immediate steps to instill discipline and respect for others into the little three year olds in Pre-School right up to those 16 year olds in High School. Standards have to be set and they must be taught and consistently maintained. You cannot bend the trunk of a 10 year old Mango tree. If you didn’t shape it when it was young, you sure won’t shape it 10 years later.
I say to deal with this problem now, train and arm Security Guards so that they can defend themselves and the people who hire them. When they low lifes are properly dealt with, and the young are taught respect and standards, then Cayman will eventually return to where we want it to be. Politicians can influence that by setting the standards and showing respect for others and ensuring that discipline is maintained in school. To the good parents who try, there is no need to say it to you. To the parents who don’t live the example, that is where Gov’t needs to step in. If your child has behavioral problems, then both the child and the parents need intervention and perhaps they should both be removed from their environment to a place where they can both be trained and monitored on a daily basis until they get the hang of it.
The Police heads can start by putting back in the old Caymanian officers they took out for the new ones!
Dont re-marry the one you just divorced, they are not going to change.
$300 divided equally between the 3 individuals involved (naturallly assuming that they were fair with eachother) results in a Net Earning of $100 KYD each.
But then we must take in account our incrimental costs: fuel for get-away vechile, get-away vechile licensing and insurance, depreciation of get-away vehicle, upfront cost of masks, depreciation of masks, purchase of firearm(s), depreciation of firearm(s), cost of illegal subtances consumed prior to the event (an essential required to result into the team thinking that this "project" was actually a worthwhile idea that could inadvertingly land them in Prison…)…
Now, I could be wrong but according to my figures each individual may have just about enough Net Profit to buy them a small fries from the $1.00 BK Value Menu. Well done!
It’s true, these idiots probably not exactly world-class thinkers. They appear to be incapable of thinking beyond their immediate needs. They probably went to Wendy’s straight away. Thick as two short planks. Is there a deep hole we could put these morons in somewhere really far away?
Time for burgers and baseball – bats that is… Sooner or later it is going to happen…
I come from a place where if a store is open past 10 or 11, they will lock the doors and will only buzz people in after they have a good look at them and that they are not masked in anyway.
It seems times are changing in Cayman and this may have to be an option to keep our people who work late safe.
So if the police are correct & the 5 robberies in 5 days are unrelated, there’s only so many food shops & gas stations; eventually 2+ sets of robbers will arrive at the same time; perhaps have a shoot out over who gets the cash.
Come on RCIPS, do some stake outs, patrol the streets, do drive bys & road blocks & more car searches. Search all cars with young males in after a set time of night. Do something at least.
Everyone needs to do his or her part to prevent crime and ensure that criminals are caught and punished. That includes the politicians.
Despite the rapidly increasing violent crime that is threatening every aspect of our country, the government has failed to bring in the new legislation that is needed immediately as PART of the solution to violent crime.
It is not the police that can fix the revolving door parole system and eliminate parole for violent criminals. Only the elected government can do that.
It is not the Governor that can increase the prison sentences for violent crime. Only the elected government can do that.
It is not Mickey Mouse that can pass laws to make Northward effective. Only the elected government can do that.
It is also the elected government that needs to implement long term solutions to keep illegal guns out of the hands of criminals and to ensure early intervention that will keep young people away from the influence of the criminal gangs.
Government refusal to take action against against crime and criminals = more crime.
I would have to agree with you 100%, it is the law in place right now that is impeding the deterrence on crime here, plain and simple, it needs to be thrown out and a robust, no messing around, make you think long and hard about the repercussions before you act put in as a replacement.
The law in place right now is no deterrent, if it was there would not be such a dramatic increase in gun crime, plain and simple.
Make it life if you are caught with an illegal firearm, no matter where you are or what you are doing with it, simple. If you then committ another crime with that unlicensed firearm, you get another life sentence added on and so on.
Make it life if you committ an armed robbery, plain and simple and tag on extra long term sentences for aggravating features etc.
Simply put, tell these people that are ruining this place, that they will be given life sentences. Not 10 years and you are out in 5, LIFE.
Get some real police who know how to deal with this down here NOW, not later, NOW. Call those 14 UK cops back NOW, call the US , NOW. DO SOMETHING NOW!!!!!!!!!
The Governor needs to act, because clearly neither the police nor govenrment have any idea whatsoever in how to deal with these issues or catch those that are committing the crimes.
And is it just me or does the trend seem to be that these pricks are robbing places that are open after regular business hours, in busy paces / on busy roads and at establishments with no cameras? Simply put, that narrows it down quite a bit in terms of these pricks hitting another place.
LOL! Gun Amnesty? Whata joke! Next time any of you cross the police station, please count how many cars are parked in the lot.
My point in saying this, is that why sit and wait for these thugs to bring you the guns? I said in a comment a while back when we had gun fire everyday to get down and dig dirty, septics, metal detectors in the criminals yards, search the attics, studded walls… these people aren’t as stupid as you think. They are going to hide where you’re afraid/too proud to go.
This gun amnesty is a joke. Police need to go and take away the guns from these thugs!
The police should send a clear message to the criminals.
"Since you guys think you’re bad ‘SHOW ME JUSTHOW BAD YOU ARE, BECAUSE RCIP HAVE SOMTHING TO SHOW YOU!"
If you donot fight these criminals on their level of badman, and gunman, whatever they are, how do you think you will subdue them? by being nice, "come on now boy boy, turn in your guns to the church now like a nice little boy , we won’t question or detain you just come on and we’ll buy you a pizza afterwards!….This is nonsense! Police grab your rifles and hunt down these brazen criminals who are terrorizing our society and are now in deliberate DEFIANCE OF YOUR AMNESTY CAMPAIGN, AND AS IT IS CLEAR THEY ARE TELLING COMMISSIONER BAINES AND HIS RCIP THAT THEY THE CRIMINALS ‘ARE IN CHARGE!" They are "mocking the RCIP with these recent brazen robberies!
Baines, you can’;t take anymore of these insults coming from these punks! s do somthing about it. Bring back the British Police and keep them here until the country is stabilized whether for 6 months of 6 years we just want peace again in our communities. What’s wrong with keeping the police here ? We thought that was your plan, please do not announce when they are leaving either. If they do leave let them leave secretly not to alert the criminals who obviously were waiting for their departure!
Maybe I should just have stated that GOV should get persons capable of dealing with the situation then.
There will be crime if we start a National lottery or legalise gambling. Looks like its here already!
11.48
you make no sense.
Gun amnesty a total waist of time, shows desperation.
RCIP really need to get to the real matter of this and stop this window dressing BS policies such as the Gun Amnesty. When I seep policies futile policies like that being pushed, it alarms me because its indicative that the police is completely bewildered in what to do.
Gun Amnesties DO NOT WORK, anywhere they are tried!!!! Never has, NEVER WILL.
Reason: the bad people will never give up their arms for what they use to "profit with"! That how bad people gain. Whether that is via direct armed robberies or simply gaining street authority or dominance.
Please RCIP, hire someone with a clue from the States. There are lots of expertise there on how to deal with rampid crime. gang or otherwise.
Let me guess…police are going to be stepping up patrols after this stuff gets out of hand. When I feel they should be out there already all day everyday, is that not part of the job? Only time I see a police is when something goes down and then they show up driving around fast back and fourth "being active".
Presence might = prevention.
Please stop riding the police back for no reason.
Sorry, but who are you to tell me "No Reason" that is how i feel about it.
But better – enforcement = deterrent.
Solution: Get more jobs available, not only for people with 5 – 10 years experience, some people cannot afford to go to school and aquire professional experience in the working field, therefore if everyone wants 5 years & more experience who do you think will have the biggest opportunity of being hired. A foreigner. And secretly thats who they all prefer. Everyone gives advice and no one takes action. This island is obviously going down with the rest of the world, everyone is fending for themselves with their selfish attitudes when there are people out there who need help, sick members in families who may need medical attention with no job and no pay, what do you think they will do to keep their family going on when everyone else is living such a wonderful lavish life. The poor is fed up & this is the result thats all. Lock them up for as long asyou please, just get extra cells because there is a worse generation every year with these same intentions. It will continue to go on so be safe, or go somewhere you think you will be safer or just accept the fact that things will be this way because no one is changing anything for the better here, just for the worse.
I applaud your positive outlook.
One person asks for descriptions – please see below
Kman to the bone, my dear its a pity you could not sign your name, because every word you say is true and we need Kaymanians to the bone like you to step up to te Mike, and say Hello, dis wha happening ya. Thanks or a good comment.
Thanks Mrs. Vargas, my name is Betsy
This is PATHETIC! To these worthless scumbags — Go get a job you low lifes! I don’t care who you are, who ya mama is, if we family, friends or not.
If you want money so bad, do what the rest of us do – get off your butts and go find work, and actually go to work each day. I’m sick of hearing the excuse of not being able to find work. Go work on the garbage trucks! Sweep roads! Pick up garbage! Make beds! DO SOMETHING. Stop blaming society for your pathetic choices, and go look a job. Do something constructive. If you want something bad enough you will make an effort to get it, even if that means begging or working a low-income job till something better comes along. You made an effort to buy/get the guns, machettes, and dark clothing you so easily seem to find, didn’t you? Those things cost money, so therefor apply the same principal to work. You want it – make an effort and go get it.
Stop being burdens on an already suffering community.
I hope you know that if I ever come face to face with you, I will say this much, I will *die* trying to uncover who you are, and ensure that marks are left all over you so the public knows who you are. So come on down to my nick of the woods, and see what you get.
It is now time they need to post officers in stratgic positions by stores, gas stations, and places easily be robbed. We have over 300+ police officers!
Are you telling me that the 300+ camaras will do all the detection of crime for you???
Mr. COP deploy your officers mannn!
Stop this Gun Amnesty, second-chance initative!
IT IS TIME TO BE A MAN AND KICK SOME BUTT
Do the math Lorna: 300 officers divided by 52 weeks per year leaves approx 6 officers to be deployed each week and that in 7 district Police Stations, including the Sister Islands. With shift work and administrative roles, there aren’t enough officers to be out watching for crime to happen and trying to solve those that have happened. I am not a Police Officer by the way, but I am Caymanian.
The thing is, our Police force is NOT a security firm. They are not supposed to be "posted" at locations, believe it or not, that IS NOT their job! And as many have said; the police can only do so much. We need to stop this mentality where we blame the police for everything. They are NOT putting guns in these peoples hands, they are NOT sitting by watching them sell drugs out of the family home, smoke weed on the front step and idle away their days while they loot and pillage at night. Yes the gun amnesty is a joke BUT how quickly people forget that it was THE PUBLIC screaming for a gun amnesty! So the police did it…it may not STOP crime, it may not PREVENT crime, but it also didn’t do any damage and at least it was SOMETHING. If you want to look at it as a PR stunt then fine but don’t undermine their efforts, regardless of how basic.
I’ll admit I’m a little tired of hearing people chastise the police in one breath for doing something and then turn around and cuss them more when they try something else. This is exactly why there is a crime problem here Cayman; very quick to point fingers and lay blame but won’t look within your own home and behind your own doors to see what’s really going on.
"Stop being crabs in a bucket and do sumn nah!"
I really hope the person behind the till asked, "would you like fries with that?" before handing over the cash.
Another brilliant day without a description by the RCIPS. The only thing they can provide is a "Caymanian" accent.
Height, Complexion, possibly closed circuit television images…anything else…..????
Joke, Joke, Joke, you can’t even provide a description, let alone catch these daily robbery suspects.
To ‘Another brilliant day without a description by the RCIPS’
Wha? I don’t suppose for one minute you realise you are being critical of the poor Burger King Employees do you?
I may be wrong but I always thought it was the witnesses to the crime that supplied a description TO the police of the perpetrators of the crime,( such that they were able to recall having been subjected to what in anybodys standards is a frightning situation). It amazes me that people really believe the police are responsible for supplying a detailed description of individuals they have not encountered. Hey why don’t you supply the description if you think you can do better than the police following their interviews with the poor victims of these crimesKBa5M?
It is unfair to say that nothing is being done.
I understand that this very morning the order was given to double the height of the Great Wall of West Bay and to triple the speed at which it is being built.
Are the criminals not scared or intimidated by these "new officers" in the Police Service???
Then bring back the old Caymanian cops!
IT IS NOT TOO LATE
They are retired, I believe the best thing to do is let thm enjoy the golden years they ave left on this planet,the stress, it would kill them one by one. Educate the Young Caymanians, give them jobs. Parents need to execise their parent rights indealing with their children. The Family and Children services need to understand that these young parents are able towork. Instead they pay their rent ad support them. They need to help the old folks who built this county. Things will never get any better, because this department want to take away old people homes before they can help them. Ever heard such a thing. Cayman will never get any better until some changes are made.
some of the old timers were quietly let go for selling drugs and various other un-policeman like behavior
and… some of the old timers were quietly let go because they were so good at what they do, they kept Cayman safe. Now because they are gone, we have to rely on officers overseas to do the job for us – lol… they don’t even know where dog city is.
Pathetic!
It is time for the RCIPs to be feared and not the jokers that they are. Criminals do these crimes because they know the cops are useless
When was the last time anyone saw cops on the beat?
Riding around in cruisers or standing on street corners checking license coupons is not effective against these kinds of robbery
As soon as the UK cops left the thefts start again, It does look bad on the local cops. This is like a drug, once you get started you cannot stop and besides its easy money. Everybody needs to stop this madness,not just the police, the community, friends and families its time to step up and take a stance to get rid of thsi disease.
Summer time is coming around… and the kids will have nothing to do, and parents are having it financially tough and probably wont be able to consider the option of a camp.. so the kids will have lots of free time to do anything. Can’t the businesses sponsor a major camp for the older kids at Kings Sports Center/Lion Center for the older kids and one at Kidz Zone for the younger kids? I dont think those locations will be able to accomodate ALL the kids, but if some businesses team up to sponsor kids camps and give discount fees, perhaps $200-300.00 for the month, it will not be entirely FREE. And for the older kids, they can have volunteers from the company sponsors to educate kids on Jobs and what to expect in the working environment. I am just throwing this out there and hope to hear something in the media soon. Perhaps the Police Service and Fire Service can volunteer some time, I know kids love the Fire Trucks and Police cars. This can be a positive thing. Also offer free pickup service with the School buses. Come on Cayman, we can do something positive.
Dear Mr. Premier,
You remember the days when we left our doors unlocked and the car keys lying on the floor of the car.
Armed robbery for $300.00. I guess it is useless to say it "one more time", but here goes, "time to stop shaking hands and flying around the world first class". Time to come home and take charge of this crime situation. It is not the Governor’s or police’s or UK’s responsibility. It is yours ….you are the elected leader of the country.
Time to get control over our crime riddled country.
The RCIPS and National Security of the Cayman Islands falls directly under theGovernor and the FCO. THEY ARE DIRECTLY RESPONSIBLE and there is no IF’s AND’s or BUT’s concerning this. Every week, the Commissioner of Police has to visit the Governors office and appraise him of security matters as it relates to the weekly incidents of crime, arrest’s etc etc.
In case you didn’t know, the Commissioner of Police is English, the Deputy Commissioner of Police Operations is English and the Chief Supt of Specialist Operations is also English. These three individuals are the command/control or the "nerve centre" of the RCIPS and what they say’s goes, whether the result is good, bad, terrible, ugly or beautiful.
These three individuals run the RCIPS on a daily basis and are directly accountable to the people of the Cayman Islands as it relates to the police being able to or not being able, to properly control and prevent such incidents from occuring day after day. The buck stops with them, end of question.
What has happened is that the UK policies and procedures to tackle crime were so ineffective since 2005 when they were first introduced here, the results of such lawlesness today in the country, is directly as a result of this.
Put plain and simple, it’s a failure of the UK standards of policing in the Cayman Islands; that have got us to this point where armed robberies and crimes against the person is becoming the normal way of life.
Premier Bush didn’t create the mayhem/havoc we see spilling out on our streets; but instead, is trying to carner inward investment from overseas to try and save our sorry asses from turning botton up.
Or would you prefer those in the FCO to represent the Cayman Islands in overseas matters and take on the full responsibility of bringing inward investment into the Cayman Islands for us ??
I tell ya, dag namm ya suppa then for sure !!!
Anon…11:55……
Thx for the information about who is responsible for the police. With all due respect to all parties involved the crime situation is desperate. Even if the police are not the responsibility of The Premier any leader of any country should get involved when an issue as serious as armed shotgun robbery in Burger Kings and Esso Gas Stations in broad daylight continue to happen. I believe "inward investors" will look very seriously at teh crime situation.
Time for another "group prayer" in George Town……………..
The last one worked very well.
Ali louya,
Hessterical.
We need more people like Bro Bob Thompson in this Town who is out daily visiting and praying for our people. May God bless him and give him strength at this time of sadness in the loss of his brother.
Oh Good heavens no! The last one turned into an audition for Caymanian Idol with guess who on the mike? Yep, McKeeva Bush himself.
Fail
We asked our leader in the 80’s to do something about the gang development in the schools, but politicians, church and school leaders denied the existence of the problem.
Now we see the result of it and you can’t stop it.
But what can you expect from the the young kids. They are not stupid and see lawyers get paid 900 an hour, cs’s get cut by 3%, premier is busy with his own things, politicians are blaming each other, church is too busy with gambling and keeping the crowed believing in something that doesn’t exist and prevent dildo’s from being imported, corrupt and demotivated cops, underpaid security guards with no guns, etc etc.
A great opportunity for gangs to develop.
Foreign gang leaders will come and visit, recruit and take over. Then all hell will brake lose.
Those who can afford will leave and the poor will stay behind, businesses will close or relocate and tourists will avoid the island, since they are educated and read caymannewsservice.
This is the beginning of the end.
Thanks to our leaders and partially ourselves for letting this happen.
Just one question Mr/Mrs. Anonymous? Are they the GOVERNMENTS CHILDREN? STOP BLAMING THE GOVERNMENT FOR THE CHILDRENS FAULTS. The Government cant fix EVERYTHING, Parents are responsible for THEIR children! We need to teach our children about the CHOICES in life and the cosequences of such, good and bad! Lessons start at home! I’ve witnessed parents laughing at their 2-3yr olds curse to allowing a boy to sleepover with a 14yr old girl! WTF do you expect with this type of parenting?!
I have to agree with you. Parents need to step up and take their roles more serious. Many times the parents are so busy pointing out faults in other people children that they don’t even see the road their own children are heading down. Stop waiting for your child to become a teenager and think you can start disciplining them then, its too late, this should start from an early age.
I am shocked at the way some parents are neglecting their roles, too many have come to feel that they are the only ones who can discipline their children and no one else has any right to say anything to their children. This is why so many young people know a days have no regard for authority (be it their teachers, police, or eldrs in society). All of this starts from an early age.
Parents are neglecting their reponsibilities but garantee you as soon as they child gets in big problems they are the first ones to blame everyone else (educuation system, goverenment, society or church etc….).
At the end of the day parents need to take their responsiblities seriously, parenting is not a part-time job, its full time.
Correction: Government can’t fix ANYTHING
There are undoubtedly many problems leading to these robberies. The problems that the government could fix immediately, if they would actually get off their first class airline seats and other places they park their lazy backsides and pass clearly needed legislation include:
Reform of the revolving door parole system – no parole for violent crimes – period;
Reform the prison so that prison time is seen as a punishment rather than a reward; and
Harsher penalties for all violent crimes – double the current sentences.
What will it take for the government to actually do something?
Ok, McKeva, Kirk and all the MLA’s
We are sick and tired of this political wrangling, whose right or wrong, right now I dont give a damn as you have all have failed us.
Yes in the late 80’s/90’s when Mr Bodden was in chargeI remember when asked about the gang activity in our schools that government at that time denied that we had such a problem, I heard students saying that if you wanted ganga/weapons you could go to the bathrooms and find them, tied in plastic and taped to the top of the toilet tank, the parents that tried to let them know this was made to look like fools, thats 20 plus years ago, so now we have full fledged gang members. Once in a gang its like the maffia, you cant get out.My message to the gangs you are a bunch of CHICKENS, dont have the ambition to take care of your self, must have another mentally demented one to assist you, poor fools.
Caymanians we have to show the thugs and politicians who are in charge, we need some one with a set of c*****s to organize our next step, march to the glass house, police station and let them know what we WANT.
Yes I beg all of you parents and friends that know who these thugs are to turn them in. When there is no tourist coming here, no banking what else will there be, no jobs no money so what are you asses gonna do then, just go around and harrass the people. Poor,poor pityful me, the world owes me a living as I cant get up and go to work but I can harras the real DECENT people and make their lives miserable, I cant tell you on this blog what I would really like to do with your kind.
I can agree with much of what you said, but I really see many of these robberies as some slackness on the part of business owners and staff. Much time is spent on the cellphone and talking with their friends and not observing people entering their place of business. Furthermore most of these business places are being managed by foreign staff, who cannot tell the difference between a donkey and a cat. Hire some hardcore Caymanians who will make it their business to know your business and see if there is a change. How many business places that have been robbed that you can tell me that it was a Caymanian running things to report what took place? Not one!!. does that tell you anthing?
If you see three young men walk into your business place in these days, with hooded shirts on, ye mean te tell me ye naw pay attetion te dem. Trust me this robbery will continue to happen te everybody unless changes are made in these business places. Ok there is suspicion that they may be caymanian youths, an I aint saying Nay about that. But trust me again, if that is so the Caymanian youth will rob a foreigner quicker than a Caymanian. Ye think Caymanian easy o wha.
Normally I would agree with hiring caymanian in reference to a different topic, being a caymanian myself. But dont think it will help stop the robbing.
Maybe you are right, but I believe that we fail only when we stop trying.
Twyla – that is called blaming the victim!
No, please dont feel that way. Read my comments again, and see if truth and fact you do not agree with what I say. There is an old saying, that when someting is happening at your home or business, you will be the last to know. Think about it.
"… How many business places that have been robbed that you can tell me that it was a Caymanian running things to report what took place? Not one!!. does that tell you anthing? "
It tells me that Caymanians do not work in places like Burger King or gas stations etc. Why is that by the way? If they did then the employer wouldn’t have to hire foreigners who "who cannot tell the difference between a donkey and a cat."
I never realised the robbery problem would be so easy to crack. Just get Caymanians to work through the night for 5 bucks an hour. Yeah man, that will do it.
My apology, I did not know these businss places were robbed dring the middle of the night.
Better get this under control because the visitors from overseas are all aware of what is going on – Cayman’s "safe" reputation is now very much at risk.
What has happened to the old and experienced police officers that were one time on our streets??? Sorry, but sometimes I have to question how this Commissioner is doing his job?
Jamaica had a war going on a few weeks ago and tourist is still going there every day. So what makes you think they will not come here because of a few robberies.
Jamaica doesn’t deny it has terrible crime. It cannot. To combat this fact they promote all inclusive stays that are mainly within magnificent, albeit guarded, compounds. In others words, they try to work around their crime problem. The tourist who choose Jamaica know what to expect.
Cayman, on the other hand, promotes itself as a safe, family friendly, loving people, destination. Because Caymanians are allowed access to all places, by law, Cayman cannot have all inclusive compounds like Jamaica. This is why there is no Sandals in Cayman. Caymanian access is a good thing. The trouble is, bad people also have access and we have no way of legally keeping them out. Worse, we are telling our tourists one thing and they are getting another. This is what is called bad marketing and leads to customers being dissatisfied, if not robbed or worse.
Its incredulous that you say its just a few robberies. Perhaps you can define a few? What about the persons working in these places that are robbed? What about their safety and trauma?
Tourists going to Jamaica travel mainly to tourist areas which are secure and guarded. Police presence and security is very high in and around tourist areas. Tourists do not stay in or anywhere close to the slums. The majority of tourism is in Mo Bay and Ochos Rios, both hundreds of miles from the violence in Kingston.
It’s different in Cayman where the crimes are all being committed on the doorstep, in tourist areas and restaurants. The crime is not hundreds of miles away and the tourists are not shielded from it.
It is unlikely that anywhere else in the world outside a major warzone you could drive such a short journey and name 5 or 6 places that have suffered armed robberies in the past few weeks. I for one am astounded that so many places that I frequent have been done over in such a short period of time.
So your point is utterly ridiculous.
13.01 08jun2010
Spot On,Cayman is way to small for this,tourists will run a mile, to compare it with Jamaica is not logical. Kingston with it’s recent troubles,is not a tourist area, Montego Bay is 83 miles away, Majority of tourists who visit Jamaica dont leave the resort they booked into, if they do it’s on a private guided tour. Eeverything is right there at the resort for them.
It’s a shame really,Jamaica is a beautiful Island,stunning scenery up in the mountains,pity about the violence.
…"at risk"?????
It’s gone man, just wave it goodbye as it finally streaks away over the horizon.
I own a vacation property in Cayman, and I am NOT coming there for so long as this continues (yeah, yeah, I know: stay away, who needs you, blah, blah).
I’d sell it, but I don’t know too many people who like vacations in combat zones (a few, but not many).
Voice of reality I am so sorry you feel that way, and refer to Cayman as a combat Zone. Ever thought about a trade of your vacation property here for a vaction poperty in Tivoli Gardens Jamaica. If you have not been robbed attacted or in anyway hurted, please be careful of jumping from the frying pan into the fire. And am not going to say, who needs you blah, blah. If you felt Cayman was good enough to buy a vacation home, then pull up your socks roll up your sleeves, put on your sunhat and enjoy every minute of it.
What is a Caymanian accent? Could it be an English person with Cayman status, a Jamaican with Cayman Status, an American with Cayman status or one of us third and fourth generation Caymanians( we know that is who you mean). There is too much of a mixture now, stop the labelling!!
It’s not labeling – it’s describing a suspect in a crime involving firearms. Doesn’t matter if it’s a Caymanian accent, or Australian, or Jamaican, or Canadian – eh?
Everybody but you know how a Caymanian accent sounds. It is only the few absolute losers that will keep pretending that this crime problem is all being caused by bad overseas elements.
Pull your head out of your behind for a moment and you will realise this is a homegrown issue. It is caymanians out there shooting and robbing everyone, not foreigners. It is your sons, brothers, boyfriends out there ruiing life for everybody and driving away the tourists and expats that are paying for your lifestyle.
First Domino’s, now Burger King.
Wow, there sure are some fine dining thugs out there.
Cops…. Wake UP at least now… this is going to leave this island with no tourists.. and no expats.. and then let the locals rob each other for living…
this is tooo much in this small island.. throw all the force you have..dump them all.. the only thing they can do is ticket someone overspeeding.. u dont need police for that.. concentrate on this crime and get help from the community to stop these small offences.. instead of asking public to come out and fight against the crime.. use ur force for that..and leave the traffic offenders in the hands of volunteers..
You are not going to admit you were speeding, but will critize the police for ever for that speeding ticket,
Dear Criminals,
All for $300. Here’s a randon idea, get a job. There are some good paying jobs that pay more than $300 which will not land you in jail.
I do understand that employment may be difficult to come by if you are an Expat – be it with the work permit fees increased, however if you are Caymanian or hold Caymanian Status then there are ample opportunities here for you! And that includes positions that are not only in the Financial sector. You have a beautiful country, involve yourself in boosting Tourism, and setting a positive example.
Or perhaps start a small business yourself! No, not selling illegal substances or weapons. Or perhaps you may have a friend who has some entrepreneurial skills and ideas that you may be able to work together and both benefit. Money an issue? You can get a bank loan if you are Caymanian. You have choices here. You are lucky. Do not go down this rediculous path because all it will take is for one silly little mistake and then someone is shot. All for the sake of $300, but then again the $300 aids towards making your BK #6 Combo a Biggie Size.
WTF!!!! It’s almost like we’re onto a daily occurance of robberies now!
This is truly unbelievable! I am appalled but not surprised at what is happen now in Cayman. How did we get it to this point? I mean…..it’s a small island! Why can’t we get it under control?
It’s a sad day for Cayman!
Now their hitting employees in the head with what might be a load gun; very dangerous! The solution is simple, but it would be unwise to share it.
Dennie,
We all know that your brilliant solution is for everyone to be armed and be able to shoot back. We don’t want this place to get any worse, which your ideas certainly would.
It would be better if all private gun ownership was illegal and individuals such as farmers should book guns out for short periods from the police for a fee.
You only think you know what I’m thinking. Clearly you don’t understand what it takes to arrest this problem. People who think like you will procrastinate until things are completely out of control, and the you’ll procrastinate some more. Notice I didn’t say police…
You only think you know that I am procrastinating. I will get back to you with a fuller response tomorrow.
So in other words you are content to let only the criminals have guns, and to keep on letting the victims of violent crime be victims of violent crime. Interesting "solution".
How many criminals do you really think would rob a place of business if they KNEW that there was at least one armed person in there who would likely shoot at them on sight?
And on signing out guns: to what end? The criminals already have lots of guns and probably wouldn’t need to sign out more. Do you really think that making the legal guns illegal will somehow make the illegal guns "more illegal"? The criminals seem content to ignore the current gun laws, which are in fact rather strong if applied properly, so I don’t know how that would help anything (except to help the criminals, to ensure a set of victims unable to defend themselves).
Frankly, if making legal guns illegal helped deal with the actual illegal guns, on that logic we should disarm the entire police force and make it a crime for them to arm themselves. See how your logic translates?
Observation:
These criminals have no fear since the former Police officers with local knowledge have retired, been posted elsewhere, and/or replaced by new ones, many of them not from Cayman.
The new Constables we have now on the streets – what do they know? I am hearing also UK officers assisting, but that is even worse if they would be working side by side with new officers on the front line who don’t know anything about our streets and contacts!
SPOT ON!
Our local experienced Caymanian officers are being replaced! What is the Commissioner doing?