No charges as UK cops leave

| 24/11/2011

_DEW9181.jpg(CNS): The police commissioner has confirmed that twelve of the UK officers who came to assist the RCIPS in the wake of five murders in just over a week in September have already left Cayman. As the officers go home following the end of their six week term agreed with the forces in the north west of England there have been no further charges in the gang related shootings. David Baines said that they had, however, helped to speed up lines of enquiry, eliminated some and focused attention on others. Since the spate of gang violence the police have arrested three men. One was charged with the murder of Asher McGaw in East End but two others arrested for the killing of Andrew Baptist have been released on police bail. (Photo Dennie Warren Jr)

Although most of the officers had left Cayman by Wednesday, Baines said that eight officers will remain in Cayman until 10 December to allow them to complete the specific actions that they have been involved in.

"The further period of their deployment has arisen due to the continuing lines of enquiry that have been revealed and progressed jointly with the RCIPS detectives,” the commissioner said. “Their efforts have complimented and supported their RCIPS colleagues, with whom an obvious camaraderie and professional rapport has been established, with each benefiting from their collective effort, sharing of experiences and training.”

The deployment was always intended to be only a temporary situation to assist local officers in the early stages of the investigation with the workload and not to take over the enquiries.

"The injection of experienced detectives to an overstretched investigation team, faced with five murders simultaneously, has enabled all lines of enquiry to be progressed expeditiously, some to be eliminated quickly and others to be the focus of our attentions,” Baines said.

The commissioner thanked the forces and officers involved for the assistance provided to local RCIPS officers which he said had “worked and continue to work unstintingly to bring those responsible for the violence to justice,” he added.

Since the UK officers arrived in October the RCIPS have also arrested one man for the murder of Kerran Baker, a 25-year-old Jamaican dental practice nurse who went missing in July. The man was arrested last Thursday but no charges have yet been brought in what is now believed to be the first murder of 2011.

The gang related violence began in West Bay on the night of 13 September when Robert Bush (28) was shot in the head by at least two gun men while sitting in a blue Honda civic at the junction of Capts Joe and Osbert Road in the Birch Tree Hill.  Less than 48 hours later Andrew Baptist (24) was shot multiple times by two masked gunmen while he was sitting in a yard in Sand Hole Road. Then Preston Rivers was also gunned down by masked men in Anderson Road in the district on Saturday 17 September.

The next two victims were shot while sitting in a van in the Crewe Road area teenager Jason Christian who was shot in the head and body was killed at the scene while his friend Keith Montague survived multiple gunshot wounds and was able to stagger to a nearby police patrol car for assistance. 

Asher McGaw (21) who was gunned down in East End as he walked along John McLean Drive was dead when an police patrol car found him in the early hours of Thursday 21 September the last of the victims in the spate of gun violence. Police charged 18-year-old Chakame Jamelle Scott who was arrested before the arrival of the UK officers with McGaw’s murder in October. Two suspects were arrested by police in targeted operations in West Bay and Newlands on 2 November but both men have since been released on police bail.

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  1. Anonymous says:

    we  dont need UK police here….. WE need the US police, thats what you call really cops, bring them here and you know the job will get done.

  2. Anonymous says:

    You all make me laugh.  At all times it was made clear that the UK cops were only here to team up with the local officers and assist and support them with their investigations in the hope that it would help the local officers secure convictions.

    "The senior officers said that the UK staff would each be paired with an RCIPS officer so that they could utilize their local knowledge and the local officer could take advantage of the UK detectives’ experience. They will be involved in house to house enquiries, witness interviews, evidence gathering and preservation, they will examine crime scenes and generally help gather intelligence on the latest crimes."

    At no point has anyone said that the UK cops were here to secure convictions, just to help the local cops get the evidence they needed to do this.

    We have way too many self-proclaimed experts on the various topics discussed here on CNS!

    • WHAT IF says:

      Is it just me, or have others notice the close resemblance of Mr Baines to that of That  Great     American President George Bush? Could there be a relationship? Just asking!

  3. Anonymous says:

    Yeah I watched Superfuzz..Those UK cops kicked ass!!

  4. Anonymous says:

    It's a pity that they didn't take David Baines with them as the only success he has had in this country is making the good, honest citizens of these islands dislike the police force even more than they already do. Without the trust and the respect of the public, the police force might as well be closed down. 

  5. in neeed says:

    how much did this feasco cost us here it is I need medical assistance but instead the money is given to let some british copsto  come down here for a six week vacation shame on you

  6. Anonymous says:

    I suspect their departure was hastened by the fact that they have no desire to get dragged into a repeat of the Tempura fiasco. Their boss, Jon Murphy, is also now well aware that the UK media know that Merseyside police are already stretched almost to breaking point dealing with local crime without taking on anyone else's problems and the longer they stay out here the more they become a target for adverse publicity.

    Sadly, I doubt their presence has done a thing to change the overall level of crime and the recently proposed changes in the law just seem designed to enhance the divide between public and police.

    I doubt it's outside intervention that will solve the RCIPS' problems, more likely a change at the top.

     

    • Anonymous says:

      History shows that when many of these UK cops get a stint in cayman for a short time, many of them went back to the UK and prepare an application to return and join the RCIP to the exclusion of local applicants. Information received is that at least one senior officer who came here for short term deployment came back to the Island in a senior capacity. It is highly likely that there are many more employed in the Island. Why ? Because deep down the Commissioner and and others seems convinced that local people and people from the Caribbean don't make good police officers. The least excuse it is a contengent from the mother country.

  7. Caymanian Travel Agent says:

    With the greatest of Caymanian hospitality…we hope you enjoyed your time here, got to the beach and moved around so you can spread the word about the Cayman Islands.  

    Thanks for featuring our Islands in Merseyside and in the UK papers- maybe that will transfer to more tourists on BA. Also hope you got to go out on Mr. Baine's boat to see our lovely waters and the beautiful stingrays. Hope you enjoyed the local beer (our pint), it recently won accolades as the best in the Caribbean, Sampled a patty or some conch,  A little fish tea and some cassava cake also.

    Unfortuantely, we will have to put down your trip to a FAM trip expence for Department Of Tourism rather than an RCIP police expense but that is okay. They say "no press is bad press."

    Good luck with the weather this time in Merseyside. I see it is unusually warm 14C today but getting colder and rainy. Do come back on your own expense next time. The common folks in Merseyside really did not like the fact that they need you more there while you visited us.

    Bye. Safe travels.

    • Anonymous says:

      Exactly.  An optimist.  Their trip should cost less than the money DOT is spending on advertising.  We should bring them down more often.

  8. Anonymous says:

    Well I hope they enjoyed their vacation!

  9. Uniform says:

    I hate articles praising UK officers for a job well done after the damage has already been done. Why not praise the local officers for having to do the dirty work and not be recognized for it?  These officers come down here for vacation, sun, and just a few days, and already they are congratulated for cases that were solved because they were here. I don't get it. The local officers are the brains, brawn, street smart officers behind these cases. Why don't you hear about them in the press?

    • Condor 1 Base Station says:

      Which Local officers are you talking about the force appears to be overwhelm by everybody else but Locals who are clearly in the minority now. Whilst i agree The UK police program and strategies aren't always well suited or not without some intense issues in Cayman the alternative is not an option at all. Infact the corruption monster presides and weighs heavily over the Caribbean alternative and in the other jurisdiction which we keep recruiting from it appears to be a way of life and is rampant and prevelant in all aspects of their law enforcement agencies. which then begs the question who is allowing this and why do we keep recruiting from there?

  10. Anon says:

    You guys want it done fast, or done properly? Just because they have gone home before securing convictions is not an indication of failure.

  11. Naya boy says:

    Wha ya mean the great White hope has fail us again i thought we covered this in this week's earlier topic Cayman lets down UK  No Worries you colonial loyal subjects Mr "B"aines has now come up with the "Final Solution" lets search everybodies house besides the wealthy. His new Firearms ammendments will fix all our crime problems especially for those pesky Caymanians  like Mr Warren who just does not get it that you can not challenge Colonial power and get away with it without  suffering their wrath. Yes Cayman paying for the blissful ignorance of a few loyal sheep. I wonder if sister Julie is going to wash the governor's feet again after the Premier got that FFR Financial Fraud Response from the FCO. Oh well! that how it goes in the Cayman Islands

  12. Anonymous says:

    Agreed, TRU TV on Cable is very educational. Of course everything is not revealed in these shows such as Forensic Files,First 48 hrs etc. Its just takes discussion to beat the system and come up with smarter solutions NOt to get caught.They have the time on there hands! Just sayin

  13. Anonymous says:

    When will our Gov get their prio in order??? They put me to shame boy!

  14. Ricky Lawsless says:

    Anonymous at 8:53. why don't you familliarise yourself with the OJ Simpson case and it's failings. Then read your post again and cringe….! D'Oh.

  15. Anonymous says:

    UK policing does not work here. Our criminals sit and watch US TV and act out the violence that they see. The US has Crime Scene Investigators that deal with this sort of thing from a forensic investigation and do not simply sit around and wait for someone to come forward as a witness. They find the witnesses. They also know how to handle evidence so as not to contaminate it so that they lose the case in court.

    Maybe we should bring in a team from the US to train our local police. Years ago we used to have the "twin cities" agreement with Miami/Dade County which helped us in many areas and could help us particulalry in the area of crime and in particular gang crime. Amybe this is something we could look at again.

     

    • Anonymous says:

      Have you ever witnessed real UK policing in the UK or have you only ever witnessed the farce that they call UK style policing here?  If the latter, with all due respect, best say nothing at all. 

      You don't think the kids in the UK aren't sitting down, watching and being influenced by the same shit on TV/movies?  Crime here is tame in comparison to the UK and the States, not that I am condoning crime, I am just saying Cayman is very lucky crime has not reached similar levels to those in the UK and the States right now.  It only feels that bad because we are such a small and close-knit community.

      • Anonymous says:

        On what statistics and assumptions are you basing this opinion…that crime in Cayman has not reached the proportions of that in the UK or the USA ?

        A community of 50,000 people in the UK, with a total population of 62 million or in the USA, with  a total population of 300 million, is nothing more than a very small town or very large village.

        If a town or village of 50,000 people in either the UK or the USA was experiencing the amount and type of crime that Grand Cayman is now experiencing, with the same rate of unsolved cases, it would constitute a crisis of unheard-of proportions for that town or village….and attract national attention and action.

        We all know that the situation in Cayman is much more complicated and complex than that of a small town in either the UK or the USA but put some more perspective to your statement.

        You would be much safer, and more comfortable and crime free living in almost any town or village of 50,000 people in either the UK or the USA, than you are, living in Grand Cayman right now.

        • Anonymous says:

          So why do I feel much safer walking the streets at night here, alone or in company, than I ever did in the UK years ago, let alone today, because I know its worse there today than it ever was when I lived there.  Sorry mate, statistics or not, I feel and I am much safer here in Cayman.

        • Anonymous says:

          OK perhaps I wasn't clear enough when I was saying crime here is tame compared to the crimes and organised gang acitivity in England.  In speaking of the 'level' of crime I was speaking more in terms of the serious and complex types of crime there rather than statistics concerning the number of crimes. And the point I was trying to make was England does have the amount and type of crimes Cayman has and more, much more, the difference is with (real) UK policing, we don't have anything like the same level of unsolved cases, because the police there are very experienced and excellent at doing their jobs in the face of way more bureaucracy and red tape than Cayman could ever imagine – and that was the point I was trying to get across to all those who constantly go on about how crappy UK policing is – they have no idea how good and effective UK policing is if done properly!

          Whilst I admit that in Cayman the amount of crimes are similar, and the number of unsolved crimes unacceptable, I don't think what we have here is any more complicated or complex.  In fact I think its less complicated and complex and I am constantly amazed at the apparent inability of the RCIPS to deal with it.  I come from a town in England similar in size and population to Cayman and I have, and can predict the types of crimes that are likely to arise in Cayman in the future, because they've already taken place in England and have yet to unfold here, and I sincerely hope they never do.

          But putting more perspective into my statement all I can say personally, is as an English woman, regardless of how good and effective English policing is (and it is), I still feel much safer, more comfortable and crime-free here than I ever did in my home town in England, or any of the other towns in England where I lived and worked.  If you bumped into a gang of kids on a night in England you had good reason to be fearful, whereas if you bump into them here, for the most part they are going to bid you 'good night miss/ma'am".  I can honestly say I have never felt 'threatened' or fearful here in the same way as I always did in England.  And most certainly I feel much safer than I felt when I was working in London, where you couldn't walk the streets at night without looking over your shoulder for fear of being mugged, raped or assaulted, and where you couldn't go to any bars for violent alcohol-infused fights breaking out.  And after being stuck underground in Euston on 7/11 with bombs going off above me, I still know where I'd rather be – right here in Cayman where I feel way more safe and secure.

    • Anonymous says:

      I totally agree. The UK police are no different from the fumbling and bumbling ones we have here. Recent history has proven my statement true, Tempura Cealt etc. We need to fight crime with the right people and the right tools or I suppose we could continue to send UK policemen out here on "jolly's."

    • Anonymous says:

      Don’t forget the Canadian Mounties – they always get their man.

    • Anonymous says:

      Are you seriously suggesting the US police are the only ones to have CSI?  The police in the UK have had separate, specialist, detective divisions responsible for gathering evidence and seeking out suspects and witnesses since 1878, and have employed professional forensic scientists as Scene of Crime Officers (called SOCOs) since 1968.  Just because the TV series CSI is better known than the UK's Silent Witness (which incidentally came about 15 years earlier) it does not mean the techniques portrayed – insofar as they are not fictional – only exist in the US.  In fact, for example, the use of fingerprints to identify individuals was first proposed by British scientists, and DNA profiling, or genetic fingerprinting, was invented in England.   

    • Anonymous says:

      You obviously don't know anything about the UK Police Force, they are better at solving crimes of any kind and more experienced with gangs violence, huliganism and terrorism than any other police force in the world. So shut up being so negative about everything that is not including you or your negative friends, family and associattes, and don"t be fooled that they Might not know what your involvement is. They are much better than you think, and far better than you'll ever know.

      • Anonymous says:

        I'm guessing we will never know….

      • Anonymous says:

        I don't know where you live but round here we have an unmotivated police force led by fast-tracked senior officers with impressive paper qualifications but no experience of real policing.

        A lot of our police stations are now called 'public enquiry points', 'service enhancement stations' or some other nonsense and most are rarely open to the public. What use is the nearest police station for 12 miles when it only opens 10am to 4pm Mon-Fri (but not Wed) and closes from 12:30 to 1:30 for lunch?

        Your closest real police station can be up to 40 miles away depending where you live and 999 calls go to a call centre where the operators have no local knowledge.

        As for law enforcement and crime solving forget it. If you have an RTC on one of the A roads round here four or five police units will attend almost instantly and then sit around for hours doing nothing but if someone breaks into your property it can take up to three days to get the police to visit.

        Crime figures round here are kept low simply because people have either stopped bothering to report anything but major incidents or started dealing with things like thefts the old-fashioned way without involving the police.

        About the only thing my local force is really good at is using ANPR (automatic number plate recognition) and speed cameras to catch vehicles being used illegally but that has more to do with financial considerations than real law enforcement.

    • Anonymous says:

      And you obvioulsy know nothing of the set up here, we have our own crime lab with an American scienitist, and also use the faciltities in the US.  SO get back to your armchair and back to the TV where everything gets solved in an hour

  16. Anonymous says:

    OMG what a waste of money again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    • Anonymous says:

      At least its not anything close the the huge money drain that is CIG, CS(especially their healthcare and pension liabilities), turtle farm, Cayman airways, the premeirs Air travel, hotel, food, utility bills, fence building bill, church pay offs, security, and on and on and on.  But I guess that as long as its not spent on expat skill then its ok.  Right?  Right!

    • Anonymous says:

      Waste of money??????. Excuse me but have there been any murders in the last few weeks?

      • Anonymous says:

        You dont think the murders stopped because those lads were here i hope?

        • Anonymous says:

          No pof course not, but there have been a few people locked up in the last few weeks so that's your clue!!!!!!!!!!!.