Business owner robbed 7 times in 18 months
(CNS): The owner of Reflections has reached the end of his patience when it comes to crime and has said that there is no point employing security guards when they can’t fire back. Prentice Panton’s (left) stores have been the victim of robberies seven times over the last year and a half and he said the CCTV footage during the last hit at the 24 hour store on Godfrey Nixon Way demonstrates that without a baton, cuffs, or even a bullet proof vest the guards can do nothing. In the CCTV of the robbery the guard at the store is shown running to the safety of the rear of the store when the robbers began shooting at the door. (Photo Dennie Warren Jr)
In an interview with Cayman 27, Panton and his operations manager, Cassidy Jackson, said guards should be able to properly protect the stores, staff and customers.
The latest robbery at Reflections happened on Tuesday night, 19 July, when two masked gunmen fired at the door, which was locked, and threw stones at the glass to break it before one of them rushed in and stole the cash pan. The unarmed security guard, who was by the counter at the time, retreated to the safety of the store’s back room.
Category: Crime
Like I stated in a previous comment regarding the Roy. Palms robberry; there is NO CRITERIA for the security guard services here….. the owners of these companies are rotten rich overnight for nothing… these guards ARE NOT trained in Weaponry/Martial Arts etc…. they have no knowledge of how to disarm a person and subdue them…. they are not allowed to carry a gun/billy club/nightstick/mace….. so….. like Mr. Panton said…… they are USELESS… the security guards we see around here are there for 1 sole reason; to collect a paycheck and that's it….. they come here 'looking a living' and are willing to work for min. wage or less…. and the co. owners laugh all the way to the bank becuase they collect the 'lion's share' of what the merchants pay…. so….. we get what we pay for…. something has got to change in that regard…. in my opinion…. being in a position where you are person who 'protects'… you have to WANT to do that kind of work…. you have to WANT to face the bull head on and fight without fear like that is your passion in life… i.e. police/security guard facing off a thug with gun in hand calling his bluff because he has a gun pointed right at them too…. or… the pol/sec start firing of their gun because they are being shot at and try to take out the thug… which is such the case here… this is a scenario we will never see in Cayman because these security/police have too much fear and have no rights to firearms even if they were fearless…. so… to sum up my comment…. people who are made to 'protect' here can't protect atall because we have a gov't that restricts us from the right of the proper self-protection we need and police remain at the mercy of criminals for the same reason…… the people, the guards and the police need the rights to bare arms…. CHANGE THE LAWS NOW!!!!
Nope, no change of law is necessary. Security guards, if they are trained in the use of sprays, firearms, batons…, can be issued those devices as their equipment. That is a fact.
Perhaps the commissioner should post a response stating how burglary has dropped.It would make us all feel so much better now wouldn't it
I remember during Ivan all the SOS's being sent out because of looters and people could not defend their property.
I know Prentice and Cassidy and I think they have gotten enough of dealing with crime in Cayman. I won't be surprised if they end up closing down their businesses and invest somewhere else. Things have come to ahead on assault in Cayman where innocent people such as Kemar and Ms. Connor being wounded by arm robbers. 2010 was the year of gang and drug murders and 2011 is the year of arm robberies, home invasions and car jackings. Yet the RCIPS and Mac will say crime is down or isn't a major issue, get real and pay attention or wait until its your family or friends before you'll address it. Baines needs to go xxxx and I plead that we have police officers that are armed/trained and aren't afraid to shoot, pay a security guard at least $20 an hour a let him have at least a gun, mase and a baton to defend himself and the business he's guarding otherwise its no use in employing him.
I suggested that the best thing would be to impose a curfew just like after Ivan, age up until 17 won't be allowed on the streets after 11pm and adults 2AM and that's Monday to Friday. Bars and nighclubs close at 1AM and get military police to patrol the streets. Go to Cuba and see how they deal with crime, Cayman has become a lawless land and crime sadly has become the norm. We'll soon have vigilantees on our hands and then the police will try to become forceful by then it'll all become a civil war. Anger breeds violence and we only have to look at what happened in Norway to realize that weapons in the wrong hands can be deadly.
10:17
You forgot earlier this year an attempted robbery at Meringue Town (top of Walkers Rd) ?where the robbers shot the glass door open, when the occupants realized what was happening with the gunmen. And how did you forget the famous….Not today BOBO? Please add these two to your list.
I'll say it again; it's past time to properly train and arm Police, Security and Law Abiding Residents.
The Criminals and the Rich and Powerful have armed security….why not the people? Are we not important enough to our Lawmakers?
Mercy Lord Mercy. What has Cayman come to!
So only the bad guys can have weapons. Makes alot of sense. DA…….what will it take to clean up the once wonderful island????????
Jamaica is so interesting that you cannot have a conversation for once without mentioning them. Yes the situation is bad there but at least the security forces work hard and they do solve crimes.
There are many posters on this and other forums who are not aware of what the laws regarding firearms possession for police officers, security guards and civilians are so they assume that it is the law that is restricting the possession of weapons by security personnell and law-abiding civilians for self and property protection.
Nothing could be further from the truth; the laws in Cayman do allow for legal firearms possession.
It is the governemnt's policy in applying these laws that restricts firearms possession through its licencing regulatory process by the RCIPS.
Many civilians have never seen or read the Private Security Law 2007, under which all security companies and guards operate now; this law was passed in 2009.
Within that law, there is provision for the possession and use of security tools, including firearms and a training requirement and licencing provision as well but…
Those sections of that law have never been implemented or even made public and I can guarantee that any security company that has tried to access those provisions have been denied by the RCIPS security regulatory body.
They have made sure to enforce the licencing and fee regulations on companies and guards and that is all that this law has done for the security industry…licence and tax, nothing more.
I can almost guarantee as well, that some of Cayman's highest net-worth residents XXX have been allowed armed ssecurity and bodyguards under this same law but then again, that is not publicised either.
This one rule for some and another for others is what has contributed to this mess in Cayman in the first place so the gunmen's victims are logically going to be the segments of Cayman's society that are being denied the right to self-protection.
They are simply being sacrificed by and on behalf of those who already have that protection, under the very same laws that others are being denied.
Absolutely correct!
And what do both Mac Mac and Alden have to say about this? Nuttin….thought so.
I know one thing for sure…if I were a security guard armed with all the guns in the world, I sure as hell weren't going to be firing shots and risk getting capped by thieves for $3 an hour. I was not shocked at all the guard ran for cover along with the staff/customers…I would have done the same…..life can’t be replaced. I can almost guarantee that 100% of the security guards employed on island took the job becuz they expected a walk in the park. I once spoke to a guard (ex-military in Jamaica) who told me his job guarding the bank was pretty easy compared to Jamaica where it was customary to dodge gun shots even once where he missed 7 bullets by running around a light pole. The thing is how often do we hear of such bank robberies in JA? It's much more common here. Every1 fend for themselves….it's a dog eat dog world and no security guard/police etc…. is really gonna risk their lives for you.
Along logical lines of thinking, leaving out all other considerations and focusing on the one most important issue of the moment….
If someone is blazing away at you with a firearm, I mean licking shot like rain at you…and you have nothing with which to respond and fire back at them….what is your natural response going to be ?
Run like crazy and find the nearest covering protection.
At that point the gun-firing robber can cart away the entire store if they wish.
Based on the existing conditions, anyone can see that if the CI Government and RCIPS are or can do nothing more to catch, convict and jail these gunmen, disrupt their operations and find their weapons caches….but still are restricting security guards and civilians from legally possessing their own weapons with which to respond and protect their lives, homes and property….
The CI Governemnt and RCIPS are definitely not doing anything to solve the immediate problem.
The firearms law currently allows persons to own firearms for protection of self and property, and the protection of others and their property.
Prentice is a good man and one can understand his frustration at the out of control criminal assaults upon his businesses. It is a good thing that he speaks up.
Blame the police all day long and continue to ignore how "junior" without a job has money to spend.
Look in a mirror before simply going on about the police.
Worse case a police officer is shot dead, then may be the commissioner will speak out and tell us exactly why things are so bad, I think his hands are tied, I'm quite sure if he could run the force the way he wants to then this would not be happening as much as it is. When you’re ready to leave our islands commissioner, please tell us the truth.
I don't think they were there to shop!
They were there to shop alright, just not to pay for goods 'purchased" I have to hand it to this guy, I.ve heard of businesses closing down under the UDP government, not because they've been robbed at all, but simply because they can't afford to pay their electricity bills! SOMEBODY please help us…
All stores open past 10 should have their doors LOCKED. In order to be let in, the customer should take off hats, glasses, etc in order for the security camera to get a good picture of them.
Yes, welcome to Jamaica!
Whilst it is a good idea for security of the staff, it doesn't address the issue at hand. Can you imagine if every 24 hour Walmart in the USA would have to deal with customers after 10:00 p.m in this manner?
Why the 'welcome to Jamaica'? This is Cayman Islands and we have a problem to deal with here, so let us stop pointing fingers and start working together to finding a solution to our problems.
Secondly, I think this store has it's doors close at that time of the night. The owner of the store is no dummy, he has done all he can under our laws to keep it asafe as he can. Please take note of what he said as one of the possible solutions and a lot of us have been sharing this same thaught. This only need a little change in the Law Makers heads to make little changes to the Police/Security Laws so we can start to work on the big solutions.
This is very true. We are becomming an uncivilized society very fast!
the doors were locked, the robbers shot through the glass pushed their hand through and unlocked the door. if you watched the video there wasn't much time for the security guard to ask them to remove their "hats, glasses etc" between the gunshots…
THey shot through the glass. I don't think that an unlocked door was the problem.
In this case it was and it did not help. Hence the stones and gun fire at door.
Everyone also needs to realize that young people are becoming more and more violent with gang culture becoming the norm,unfortunately it is not just Cayman.
I lived in Cayman for 10yrs and I am really sad to see what is happening but my home country the UK were police have no guns have the same problem. My current country Costa Rica were the police and security have guns also have the same problem.
I do not know what the answer is but here in C Rica it’s come to… The smaller banks locking doors with security having guns and metal detectors. Most business’s have metal bars on the window and doors for protection and in areas with not many people you need to ring a bell to enter the local grocery shop !
Maybe the laws need to be really tough, more police and more protection and like you have already seen more cameras. This of course will change the way people conduct business and the way you all live, it’s up to the individual to protect their home and business at no expense and bars on windows and doors are not a pretty site.If larger governments cannot control the problem what chance does Cayman have !
Good luck Cayman !
There is some truth in what you say here but there is also a defeatists attitude to your comments.
The big difference between Costa Rica, the UK and the Cayman Islands is that both those countries have much larger populations than Cayman, and by Cayman, we mean the population of one island, Grand Cayman. When has anyone heard of firearms, robberies and shootings in Cayman Brac or Little Cayman ?
While the UK has similar laws to Cayman re firearms possession by police officers and civilians, those laws are applied differently and the UK has specific programs in place to address firearms crimes…a lot more than just a gun amnesty and the incidents of firearms usage in the UK is not anywhere near what it is in Cayman, per head of the population.
If the UK had the number of unsolved firearms incidents comparable to Cayman's the outcry for more action from the UK's citizens would be overwhelming; the UK is keeping its gun problems in check so there is no need for the population to either be more armed or make vocal calls for more action from the UK government…I live in the UK so I should know.
In countries like Costa Rica, Jamaica, the USA etc etc, the arming of police, security personnell and civilians is meant to be a deterrant and means of self-protection in a situation that is admitted to be a norm for society…it is meant to do as much as possible to limit the number of incidents and to have people able to respond effectively to save their lives or stop an incident in occurrence…many, many criminals have been shot in the act by police, security guards and civilians in these countries, at least those criminals did not have a free hand in their actions.
In the Cayman Islands, absolutley nothing is restricting these criminals in their actions.
They are not being apprehended or deterred by the police and security officers and civilians are completely at their mercy by having no means of deterrent or response available to them.
I would certainly not like to be living in the Cayman Islands under the current set of circumstances.
I feel my comments were realistic no defeatist and yes I agree with some of your comments also.
Reg population size…. We can see that whether a country is as small as Cayman or as large as the UK that they are not escaping these crimes. Cayman is close to the US,Jamaica and Central America and and with the shipments of drugs comes guns so just it’s location alone makes it extra difficult for the marine police.
You seem to be blaming the law/ government/police (like many others do) …. I know personally the police here have been trying to keep a check (like the UK) on firearms entering the country, I was told this over 5yrs ago before all these incidents happened.
Being realistic and not defeatist, yes change the law or give security/police firearms but will this stop the criminals completely and more importantly do the people of Cayman want this ?
We can delve into many areas- How much money Governments have to put towards crime, gang culture, location, unemployment, cultural upbringing and more !
The criminal element in the UK can obtain a gun in 10mins but are the British people as violent as another country,I don’t know and we can all argue about how to tackle this problem but for each country there are factors to take into consideration.
To comment on you words “you would not like to be living in Cayman under these circumstances” ,where I lived and worked in Cayman I actually felt very safe and I think many still do. Locals and many expats still enjoy living in Cayman but what do you think the answer is ?
Just to finish, most people’s ideas/comments have good intentions when it comes to violent crime but like I said before, if there are changes they would have to be big and everyone would need to adjust accordingly.
The police can't even look after the guns which the already have (see the article on the Compass website), so giving them more guns surely is not the answer!
Hey Commissioner! I took the past hour to compile this list for you. Just in case you haven't seen it. Now I'm fairly certain that it's incomplete. I invite others to add to it where necessary. One last question before I type the list… Where's Anna! Or do you think we would forget.
OMG, this compliation is devastating to the eyes (all listed together). Do we have to start butting bars on the windowsand doors of our businesses and homes like what they do in Jamaica?
And in Puerto Rico and numerous other Caribbean islands but thanks for pointing the finger. At nothing.
What about the multiple home invasions that are happening daily and when the police arrive to take the report that say "there is nothing I can do today because I'm too busy…I will be back later to take down your report." Then they contact you 3 weeks later to tell you that they will send a finger print guy by and not to touch anything.
It Is A HUGE JOKE! I guy gets shot in the eye and the Police can't find any shell casings yet 50 yards away a police dog finds a loaded Police Issue hand gun…does this not seem strange to anyone? WAKE UP PEOPLE! You are being hunted and charged fines for speeding, expired tags, false 911 calls, smoking in public, parking tickets, ect. No one is getting caught or charged with real crimes because YOU are the Milk Cows and the Government Police Force are the farmers milking you for every drop! If they stop the major crimes there is no need for them and their numbers will reduce and they can't survive!
Is this really people's experience? I only ask because I had to call 911 not so long ago when someone opened the back door to my home in the middle of the night. Our alarm went off, so I called for the police. Someone was there within 10 minutes and stayed with my husband outside for another 15 or so checking the premises. The next day another officer called first thing in the morning to set a time to come by to take our statements, and that afternoon another called to make an appointment to take fingerprints. (Granted, by that time, we had used the door and touched the handle several times ourselves, so had likely obliterated any prints). Not a perfect response, maybe, but timely and responsive, at least. I did feel safer knowing they could be there so fast. Anybody else have a first-hand experience they can share?
2 stabbings at 2 consecutive full moon parties one of which was a tourist
armed robbery of rugby club Halloween party 2010
Shooting at Next Level night club
I'm sure there is more
I recall one at a bar and grill out by waterfront where the would be robber was captured by the patrons in a freezer/Fridge I believe. I think it was Paradise Bar & Grille but not 100% sure.
I am sure there are a lot more.
As I have said and continue to say MY BELIEF is the numbers are skewed by RCIP to reflect what they want the public to believe.
At one point they were all too willing to pass criminal activity on to the media to BLOW UP the issue in Cayman. Why you ask? Well to get more funding. This is not a new tactic it has been practiced by every country on earth.
HOWEVER the whiplash is that the public then becomes aware of all the criminal issues and demand action. The media seeing its a HOT topic jump on it and makes every incident known to the public that they know of.
Now the Police has got to spin things. This is where the stats come in.
As I have said before you can make statistics say whatever you want them to say.
Tell me this. Have you noticed that all we are hearing about now are the business invasions. Remember some time back we use to hear about this home being broken into or this apartment. Do you think this has stopped? NO. It's just not being passed on to the media as much now. Instead we have to live with the businesses because they can not hush them up.
I personally do not believe for 1 iota of a second that things are any better now than they were last year. Yes maybe in 2011 there have not been as many bank jobs as last year but hey the year is not over yet. But I believe we have seen a spike in business robberies and now shootings.
THE LAST THING WE NEED IS MORE GUNS
What we need is not more guns, but guns in the right hands. Now, are these the hands of the police? Dunno… but at least if they would carry guns instead of a stick or a can of maze, then the whole point of having a police force to defend us would make sense.
I am against violence and even guns, but I am pro life, so if it takes guns to protect your citizens, defend your life and your family, then guns is the answer.
What we need is action and fast, hopefully before somebody in a high rank will get hurt/killed… or a tourism. Maybe then, somebody will react. 🙁
The sad thing about these robberies, is that it will cause people and business owners to arm themselves, and this will lead in the crooks arming themselves too, and using force in much more severity in order to rob. I just hope someone speaks out, so we can catch these crooks.
the crooks are already armed if you have not noticed ? at least give the security and all the RCIP that are not trained for live ammunition the guns that shoot rubber bullets or bean bags ! Maybe that'll make the majority of RCIP more confident instead of being strapped with a bullet proof vest and No sidearm.
I hope proper investigations are carried out to see if that bullet matches other crimes which have been committed. Where are the other CCTV camera footage to see where these criminals ran off to? Get these criminals off the streets.
Well said. The laws in these islands are allowing the criminals to have the upper hand. I don't know how much worse these situations have to get before they start changing the laws. Cayman is not how it use to be so the laws need to be amended!!
I would feel better knowing that the law would allow security guards to carry arms once they have the requisite training. Similar arms training should apply to non-taskforce police officers.
Well, the laws have not said anything against dogs protecting premises (for a lot less than $6.00 per hour). I say get a well trained guard dog from the UK and let "Fido" tear after these bad boys. A few bites around the buttocks and the crooks will think twice. Woof -woof!!
And if they shoot the dogs before they have a chance to rip into them? What then?
dog is not a human.
dog is animal.
OOh boy why did you say that? huh why?
Wait for it……wait for it………
and I suppose you think you're human?
I do not believe guns or dogs are the answer here. If I were Mr Panton I would set up a lock down system. Basically this is a steel door that comes down behind the front door preventing the would be robbers from stopping it's closure.
To me if this was in place it would have prevented this whole mess. If that was coupled with a nice loud alarm around the premises and a well lit parking lot this would not have happened.
You will have to make sure that your only area of vulnerability is however your front door because any would be burgler would then look for another way in.
Me personally I would love to be able to electrify that bugger with a flip of a switch. All you do is watch them via a monitor and switch that baby on just to watch them fry. Thenswitch it off when you think the point has been made. You may have to check out the legalities of it though.
get Fido a bullet proof vest. Its a more effective investment!
08:39
You haven't seen anything yet, wait untill 2012 when the human rights act is at it's peak.
Right here on this little piece of rock, you will have lawyers tripping over each other to return these criminals to the streets.
It's called …one World Order…straight out of Brussel. Right now mother country wish she had never joined the EU, they are dragging her down….cant deport criminals and terrorist. The EU are after one thing only, to drag every country into poverty…put all at one equal level.
Can't blame the guard one bit – I'v got a large shiny pair and I'd do exactly the same thing without a defensive weapon. CI needs to licence security guards to carry guns, and pass legislation that says that the killing or wounding of robber will not lead to any prosecution or civil action. Then hire the guards out of the US, preferably ex-military. That would be a game-changing event.
You will have to pay them a lot more that $6.00 per hour.
cayman needs a better security law, one that has nothing to do with the police force.
Then roll them over after they protect us from ourselves.
Here is something you can control: STOP LEAVING CASH AT YOUR BUSINESS!
Then the criminals will visit your home or wait for you at the night deposit.
Are the Cayman police really that useless?
Or is the problem caused by how they function and are deployed?
In other countries. lightly armed police patrol the streets, two by two, and carry two way radios as part of their equipment. The result? Crime is almost non-existent.
Cannot the Cayman police get out of their air conditioned cars and do the same thing?
A related problem is that most Western countries (although not Switzerland) actively keep guns out of the hands of their good citizens, which immediately puts all of them at the mercy of criminal gunmen who naturally do not care about the law.
Has anyone really thought this policy through? Police are allowed to carry guns, but ordinary people are not allowed to. The first thing to observe is that society only exists because the vast majority of citizens are good law abiding people. Why would society want toplace them at a disadvantage.
So why not invite good citizens to volunteer to be vetted,and trained in a police academy on how to handle criminals and weapons? In fact, deputize as many good citizens ? What is better, a gun in the hand of police deputy, or one in the hand of an unknown criminal?
Certainly, it is well past time to mount a meaningful defence against the criminals in our midst.
last week in Norway a guy sets off a bomb in one location and shoots nearly 90 children in another location, and he is arrested THE SAME DAY. If this had been in Cayman no doubt 18 MONTHS LATER the police would STILL be investigating and the public would be non the wiser as to what they were doing or what they had found out.
ahem… the police took over an hour to respond, while the guy kept on killing, then he gave himself up. Not a good example.
"In other countries. lightly armed police patrol the streets, two by two, and carry two way radios as part of their equipment. The result? Crime is almost non-existent."
utter rubbish!
Should consider getting bulletproof glass doors aswell.
Before people start calling these guards cowards, one has to ask what are they really supposed to do during an armed robbery when they are not allowed the tools to protect themselves, the store property and well as workers. This is clearly the fault of the government for not allowing people the means to protect themselves. It’s no different the sending men off to fight a war without any weapons.
Amen!