Shots fired at George Town home
(CNS): Police received reports of gunshots being fired in George Town in the early hours this morning and have now launched an enquiry. Police said the home in the vicinity of Saturn Close was damaged by bullets around 2.00am today, Friday 8 October. Police say no one was injured in the incident and that forensic examinations are currently underway at that location. Detective Constable Valentine Reid said, “There were a number of peoplein the area at the time of the incident. On hearing the shots they scattered and ran away."
Reid added, "At this time it is not clear whether anyone was actually inside the house when the shots were fired. We are in the process of carrying out forensic examinations at the scene and attempting to trace and interview everyone who was in the area at the time. It’s essential that we trace the person responsible as quickly as possible and we need the help of the community to do that.”
If anyone was in the area at the time and saw or heard anything suspicious they should contact George Town police station on 949-4222 or the anonymous Crime Stoppers number 800-8477 (TIPS).”
Category: Local News
15:10. I read what you are saying and get your point – being that you agree with the social problems, but want these wild spear chuckers away from the community at large in the short-term.
21:04.
You make some good points but you seem very aggressive towards Mr. Baines and the Police in general. I can feel what you are saying but the fact remains is that there are a lot of people in this country that are not imported labour that are causing the havoc we have. I do not believe that a Police from the US is going to help this. Police from anywhere will not help this. We have a Police Service that is working, perhaps has some short-coming but they are here and get the job done. There are some fine men and women amongst them and great minds. They do arrest people and charge them. People do walk but nothing is perfect. The problem is a social one and until that is addressed the dam will keep leaking.
Thanks for your acknowledgement, however I made no differentiation between local of imported criminals. As far as I am concerned all violent criminals need to be dealt with more aggressively if we are going to stem the tide.
You are right that social problems are a contributing factor, and addressing this will lessen problems with future generations but will do nothing to solve the current violent criminal situation. The decisive action that is needed to prevent the death of innocent people and the death of the tourism industry is not being undertaken. This is why we need people who are brave enough to to do what is necessary, and Mr. Baines does not seem to be one of them. I have nothing against him personally, I am simply tired of people who refuse to take action and rather try to talk the problem away. Putting ideology first and refusing to accept the grim reality will never solve the problem nor will it provide the security we are accustomed to and deserve in this country.
Mr. Baines methods have not caused the escalation of violent but the have allowed it to escalate unabated.
How many violent criminals have the apprehended for the crimes committed?
How may violent criminals have they caught in the act or the same day of the crime?
Has violent crime increased or decreased under his watch?
How many convictions has been obtained with the evidence collected under his watch?
How many violent crimes have been prevented with intelligence obtained under his watch?
The answers to these questions show Mr. Baines methods are not working. I don’t have to say that he has failed, the results of his policies prove that he is a failure.
I am angry not with him personally, but rather that professionally he refuses to adapt to the situation, change his policies and take decisive action to protect this country and its people, due to his ideological beliefs.
If he truly wants to perform his duties he will accept that this is not jolly old England, keep his personal feelings and ideology to himself and do what it takes to accomplish the job. If he is so connected to his ideology that he can’t go against it due to personal principals, I can respect that. However, if that is the case he should resign and let someone who else do the job that he and his policies have failed to do.
I agree with 15:10. The Commissioner has made some statements in the past concerning Crimes and the number of dangerous criminals operating in the Islands that has since been proven wrong. He needs to look at the geographic location of Cayman islands and the the nature of criminals in this part of the world and not stick slavishly to his theory of policing methods in the UK. While there are some common denominators to policing in any part of the world, specific locations and and individuals will vary and one must be willing to change. It is not just a matter of of theory or even academics. We want the high crime figures to go down so we can feel secure in the islands again and whatever he has to do, do it even if it is unorthodux.
The Police will be blamed for this too! The real question that needs to be asked is who is living amongst us and what are they? This has become a society that there are many, many violent people that are ready to cause harm to anyone that comes into their path. While the Police are like a three legged ballerina in a dance show, they are not the cause of the violence that we are seeing. They are not shooting people ( how can they, they do not carry guns..lol. ) or robbing stores. They are arresting suspects, even though the people they arrest may not be in jail for the crime they have been arrested for, they are in jail, and all too soon, there is another crime taking place.
I think the time we are in is one a product of a years of breeding a generation of people that are unemployable and hence we have a real crime issue now. No matter what Police you employ, they cannot do much more then what is being done now, as you cannot jail over 2000 people in a population of 40,000approx. This cannot happen. This is what would be needed to rid the Island of the crime wave that is going on now. This would never be allowed, and for all of those that bring the model of CUBA into play, keep on thinking about that in your fantasy. Cuba is no picknic, and we do not need to model ourselves after them. For those that want to talk about how great the US and the UK is, please spare me – they have more crime and worse areas then Grand Cayman ever could have. The gettos are unthinkable and infected with crime and people that may as well have a tail as they are not far from wild jungle bunny animals. They cannot curb it. So that train needs to be parked and look into your childs bedroom and ask yourself, do you know where your child is and what he/she/it is doing? Is your child becoming an it? In a lot of cases the answer is no and that is the answer to why we have the crime that we do. Either s— or get off the pot. Step-up and take charge of your children before it is too late.
not so sure you couldn’t jail 2,000. I’ll bet the other 38,000 would kick in some $$ to do it. We’re supporting the 2,000 anyway
Hate to say "I told you so COP", but I told you so. This is just the next step in the escalation of violence. If you had any knowledge of Caribbean History you would see the similarities in the escalation of violent crime here. Your policies are not going to work here as similar policies did not work in other jurisdictions.
These criminals are not going to positively respond to your pacifist approach. It seems you think they will be reasonable and not escalate the level of violence if you don’t show force. When in fact by definition criminals behave unreasonably. They see your passive approach as just what it is, weakness. As such they will continue to be more bold, brazen, violent and unreasonable. You will then get even less cooperation from Law abiding citizens as the see your inability to curtail these violent acts and protect the citizens of this country.
It does not matter who this house belongs to or who the target was, the fact remains it could be anyone next and your policies have done nothing to stop, or for that matter even slow the progression of the violence. You and your policies are a complete failure. Sometimes you have to fight fire with fire. It gets hot for a while but it prevents the spreading of the flames and reduces the overall destruction.
More innocent, defenseless people are going to be hurt or killed. How many more innocent lives have to be lost? Will it take another child being killed before you get down off your high horse and change your policies?
Be a man and a true professional and admit your failure. Learn from your mistakes and change your policies. If you need outside help, bring in officers from the US that are use to dealing with violence and this type of criminal, not more passive UK officers. Make proactive plans for shutting down areas immediately when a violent crime occurs. Train and arm more officers. Allow qualified business owners and home owners firearms for defense.
Please stop the "Superior culture mentality" come to grips with the true situation on the ground and deal swiftly with the situation at hand before it reaches a stage where the best we can hope for is containment. It is still possible to reverse the current trend of violent crime if it is dealt with now in a manner that instills fear in the criminals and instills confidence of the public in the abilities of the police to take on violent criminals. At the moment it is the public who live in fear rather than the criminal. How can you reasonably expect the public to depend on you to protect us and our families or to come forward to give information and testify in court when we know youand your officers can’t provide any effective protection. If you can’t get to multiple armed robberies within walking distance of the police stations, can’t prevent armed robberies even with advanced knowledge, can’t keep witnesses safe who are under official police protection, honestly, how are you going to get to my house in time to stop someone from robbing and killing me and my family.
With all due respect Mr. Baines, you have to take a stronger approach toward these violent criminals and reconsider your views on private licensed firearm ownership. You truly are becoming a laughing stock. Your policies are even failing in the UK much less with the criminal element in this region, where for many of the criminals, some one’s life is not worth a pair of shoes, and fear and show of power via violence is a means to generate respect and boost their egos and standing with others in the criminal society.
I agree 100% with you Anon.21:04. Its not about town hall meetings or other public forums excellent speeches. It needs action and change of approach.
It’s actually not surprising that there are no comments on a story about gunshots being fired in George Town.
This is so common-place on Cayman that if no one dies it’s not really a story.
Sad but true.
Gun-man/men a flexing their fire-power once again !!!