Cayman Reef & Treasure Island burglars’ top condos
(CNS): According to information revealed by Inspector Anthony White of the RCIPS at a crime prevention seminar on Tuesday morning, Cayman Reef Resort and the Treasure Island are the condos that have been most frequently targeted by criminals this year. White told tourism stakeholders that the majority of burglaries were committed at properties where doors and windows were left unlocked. He also revealed that the area around Captain’s Bakery, Helen Drive and St. Matthews University residencies on the West Bay Road is where the highest number of robberies, have taken place in the Seven Mile Beach tourist corridor.
White said that was not a particularly bad neighbourhood but there tended to be a lot of people out late drinking making it a choice spot for robbers seeking easy victims. He also noted its close proximity to the Watler’s Road area which has been a source of problems for the police.
White also pointed to what he described as an anomaly as he said the number of female robbery victims had gone up which he said was unusual as women although considerably more fearful than men of crime they are generally for less likely to be victims. “This is a new trend that seems to have surfaced,” White told representatives from the tourism industry. He also stated that more assaults were now taking place during these robberies.
Category: Local News
The problems with break-ins at TI is very old news.
I lived there for my last year on Cayman and it was well known that the place was an easy target, particularly the ground level areas. TheTI site is completely open and the sliding doors in some units either did not lock, or if they did, could easily be forced open with a screwdriver. It took me nearly two weeks of persistant complaining to find someone who could/would fix the doors in my last apartment there.
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I am also saddened and angered as a young Caymanian that there are people in this precious country Caymanian or not (those who commit these crimes), who do not understand and appreciate what Cayman use to be like, and the life we, the law abiding citizens are still trying to sustain for ourselves and to offer the temporary enjoyment of our visitors. It was quiet and peaceful, we left our car doors and house doors and windows unlocked and open day and night, and we all slept soundly as the breeze came through our windows to keep us cool. If we wanted, we could take walks by ourselves all hours of the night and not have to watch our backs and fear being harassed by a low life idiot who acts like they don’t have a mother. If we ventured to lay somewhere to rest, wearing valuables on ourselves we could rest assured we would be undisturbed and wake up with everything still in our possesion and unharmed. We lived in peace and we respected eachother and understood by our good upbringing that if it isn’t yours, don’t touch it. If you didn’t honestly earn it, it was not yours to take, leave it alone. If it is not your house, do not enter. Have respect for yourself and for others. I hate that such a simple lesson is so hard for some idiots to understand and learn, but I guess that why they are idiots.
For our dear visitors who say they are going elsewhere to spend their hard earned vacation money and find somewhere safer,I’m sorry you feel this way and I wish you good luck, because you must obviously be planning to go on vacation on an uninhabited island with no people .Try Antartica, but even then you will not be safe.Cayman is still a whole lot safer than the majority of the world’s vacation destinations and like every single country, it has its bad guys.
And yes, to some of the comments, the police are a big part of the blame. I sit and wonder sometimes why they became officers.But It is obvious, that although they are subjected to rigourous training,some parts unpleasant such as being peppersprayed themselves, their incentives are largely the money and allowances and being given oppurtunities to abuse authority, like speeding down the middle lanes with sirens blazing knowing full well there is no emergency they are tending to, they just want to get in front of everyone and get where they want to go and sometimes parking on the side of the road to chat to fellow officers, laughing and giggling and heehawing while obstructing traffic. Their uniforms are outfitted with egoboosters, so they feel almost above the law and can do what they wish,which is to come to work and have an unevenful shift and hope they don’t have to do anything. Part of the excuse I hear alot is that the reason they don’t do as much is red tape and that everyone knows everyone, well my suggestion (which is the only time I going to suggest this) is to get more Foreign officers that nobody knows and so they won’t be bias, because they are your friend or know your parents. Maybe even hire some US officers minus the guns as some of them have proven to be trigger-happy. That is my two cents…let’s get proative not reactive.
If they know where and when its happening, why cant they catch them?…………………………….Oh I forgot they get off at 5pm also.
They need to start going undercover and staking out these places!!!!!
This is a disgrace. The RCIP should be looking at these trends daily and resources should be applied at the intial signs of a trend, not after it becomes a cancer. Oh this is bad!
One way to protect the tourist condos (without giving guns at the airport) is to turn all of the tourist venues into "all inclusive" resorts that are surrounded by high fences, multiple rolls of razor wire, guard dogs and armed (AK47s) security guards. The tourists would never have to venture out into the dangerous areas of Cayman like the seven mile strip and Georgetown.
yup we know the crime is happening in X spot….but oh no we not going to do any proactive policing and do stake outs or even dress up female police constables and bait them to try and catch them in the act. No no….that would be asking too much…
aye boy…wha a mess.
Maybe there should be a reduction in the stamp duty of these two complexes since the police know that these two complexes are "burglars top condos" and have been for more than many years! In the 1980’s I was told never to buy at Treasure Islands because of the design and easy access for intruders at Treasure Island. I owned and lived at Tamarind Bay and never had a break in. I have a mirror image apartment at Cayman Reef and have had several break-ins whilst I was actually in the apartment asleep, with all of my doors and windows LOCKED on several occasions! Many tenants of mine have been broken into while staying in my apartment at Cayman Reef. By the time the police arrive to take fingerprints, too much time has lapsed and the fingerprints are useless! Many years ago, the police would have patrolled the beach on foot at night, usually a policeman and a policewoman together. I don’t see them any more. The police have told me that they know who is doing the burglaries at Cayman Reef – the suspects are from Watler’s Road. The last break in I experienced at Cayman Reef, I knew who broke in. The police failed to follow through on the case. I once had an intruder at my house. I scared him away and called 911. They asked me if the intruder was still there. I told them I chased him down the road. The response was "We’ll send someone in a couple of days….." Nearly six years later, I’m still waiting for the police to turn up to take a description! After the MC Restoration robbery in January 2005, I chased an intruder from the vacinity three house lots down the road. The police caught someone two hours later in my neightbour’s yard and never asked me to ID the person they caught! I still, to this day could describe the man I chased down the road. But the guy has probably been rolled-over! I think we should legalise firearms, but so far I haven’t needed one. I’ve been able to chase away the intruders myself. I sharpen my machete every night before I go to bed!
Just what everyone around the world needs to see. Better wake up, Cayman and stop these thugs from ruining your entire country. From what I read, it looks like the RCIPS is doing a great job of solving many of the burglaries and crime, but they really should give some thought to carrying firearms, since the criminals certainly do.
For all you dumb criminals out there- you live on an island, not a continent, (duh??) Where do you think you can go to pawn or spend your ill gotten loot? Do you really think your wonderful friends and families that made you the way you are will not think twice about robbing or telling on you? You are so fortunate to live in a nice land where there are no taxes, and the climate is so warm and favorable. You have great mass transit, and don’t even need a car. Why don’t you just try getting a job.
To the Cayman government- Since you import most of your beverages anyway (except that great Caybrew), why not follow the lead of the state of MI in the US and put a deposit on all marked beer, soda and water containers, both aluminum and plastic? An additional redemption value of .05 cents could be added on (you add on import duties anyway) that the purchaser would get back when they return them. (or pick them up along the road) Recycling centers could either be privately (preferred) or government run, with additional monies paid for the service. This program should help clean up your island and provide some income and possible employment for many people.
I used to visit for 2 weeks each year since 1995, in part because of the perceived ‘safety’ of walking the streets during day and night.
This year our hard-earned vacation money will be spent elsewhere…
If all tourists had this logic places like New York would have no tourists.
New York is cheap compared to Cayman. Plus, it’s better.
NY is a city with millions and millions of people. You almost expect crime and are more protective about where you walk/ride etc. GC is a very small island with 50,000 people(my figure may be off)- virtually a small town in the U.S. Also, crime is being committed with no rhyme or reason in G.C. (not just a bad block or few streets) and that is what, I believe, causes many of the tourists to be so leary. With so many reports of crime all over the island in the past year and with the local and media reports, how do you expect tourists to respond? People remember how GC was a few years back. Many tourists remember walking without a second thought, feeling the breeze at night etc. like a Caymanian poster described above. We(tourists) remember and this "new" GC is shocking/disheartening to us also.
Regarding your third comment, what will the gov do with all the bottles? There is no economical way to deal with them right now or some private company would surely have jumped on this opportunity.
If a deposit is to be added it has to be sufficient to cover the costs of either shipping the bottles/cans off island or to buy/build proper equipment here to process it.
To tag on another 5 cents would simply provide the government with more revenues (which is not the issue) and would continue to offer them an excuse to avoid addressing the real problem which is the gov’s out of control expenditures.
That’s a good point about what to do with the bottles, etc. One thing for sure, there has to be a better solution than Mt. Trashmore, regardless of what it would cost.
There has to be a viable solution and the sooner the better. A clean (and crime free) environment is essential to Cayman’s prosperity, and turning trash into cash would benefit everyone.
Perhaps your government could get some ideas from Waste Management or other companies that specialize in this sort of thing.
I travel to Cayman about twice a year, but don’t like reading about the increase in crime, which may steer me elsewhere until you get it under control.
So if the cops know this is a "hot area" I hope they are placing adequate resources there…