Cops battle with burglars
(CNS): There have been 78 burglaries so far this year and police have rounded up 31 different suspects in connection with the crime that continues to plague the local community. Although there was a more than 11% drop in the number of break-ins in 2012 compared to 2011, the problem of burglary is one the RCIPS said it wants the community to know it is tackling head on. Chief Superintendent Kurt Walton said that most of the crimes are being committed by repeat offenders breaking into property to find easy things to sell, in most cases to feed a drug habit. However, he said there were also many first time suspects emerging, as he warned residents to stay vigilant.
Speaking at a police briefing with the media Wednesday, Walton said he wanted the message to get out to the public that burglars are opportunists and by following crime prevention tips home and business, owners can cut down their risk of being targeted. He said burglars want to get in and out of a property and away from the scene as fast as possible without being detected. He noted that currently burglary is a priority as it is the most frequent serious crime and the only offence already in double figures for the year.
Walton appealed to the community for their help by reporting every crime or suspicious activity to the police, no matter how insignificant it might appear.
“You may not think anything of an incident but the information the public gives to the police could be the last piece of the puzzle we are looking for," Walton said, as he urged people to call 911. “A man knocking at your door and asking for someone who doesn’t live there may very well be a burglar targeting your property,” he added. Someone who calls and reports that immediately to the police with a description may prevent someone else being burgled, he added.
He pointed out that a recent burglar rounded up in North Side with five TV sets on the backseat of his car was as a direct result of a vigilant property manager calling in saying they had seen someone near an empty condo that they believed shouldn’t be there. He appealed for people to look around their neighbourhoods and stay alert to people checking or knocking on doors and people on the property or in a neighbourhood that aren’t usually there.
The senior cop stated that daytime burglars are using the cover of hedge rows and shrubbery in yards to gain entry, usually at the rear of the premises where they are seeking a way in to quickly grab things that are easy to sell, such as cash, jewellery and electronic items. Warning the public not to make it easy for the criminals, he directed people to the crime prevention tips on the RCIPS website.
He said that the police would continue with the crime prevention road shows and would not let up on their pressure on suspects. He said that the 31 arrests made this year for burglary had led to several charges before the court. He pointed to the burglar who was bitten by his victim and arrested shortly after the crime and charged as an example of how burglars can be brought to justice quickly. With overwhelming evidence, the burglar pleaded guilty and is now in HMP Northward awaiting his sentence.
While the police always ask the courts to remand burglary suspects, they are still released by the courts. Walton said the electronic tagging system was helping a lot but some persistent offenderseven managed to commit burglaries while wearing them.
Walton stated that the police were tackling the burglary issue from all angles and using intelligence to find out where the stolen goods were going. He said the police were also keeping an eye on the emergence of pawn and second hand shops, which are an obvious place for offenders to fence their loot. So far, no one at any of the shops has been arrested for handling stolen goods but if the police were to gather sufficient evidence they would not hesitate to bring in those who assist burglars to sell the stolen property.
While pawn shops may be where some goods end up, others are leaving the island and the police are working in partnership with customs and informing them regularly of things which have been stolen so that when they scan containers that are leaving they can look for potential stolen goods heading for Jamaica, Honduras and other destinations.
In the end, he said, the community’s vigilance and security precautions were the best ways to fight burglary, as he urged the community to help the police by not making their property attractive to offenders and by reporting everything that is even remotely suspicious.
For more on crime prevention go to www.rcips.ky.
Category: Crime
There are several reasons for the increase in crime and hopefully we will have anew Govt in May that will make the hard decisions needed to fix all that has been broken for years. Our unemployment shoul be zero, however our education system, especially in some of the public schools has fallen over the years to way below standard therefore some graduates cannot even read or write or speak properly much less make a decent impression in an interview, much less get hired for any job. These are some of the people who resort to drug use/crime. What do we expect with an alcoholic Minister of Education who is charged with DUI? Then we also have an Immigration problem whereby persons are granted permits for family/friends/others and have no work for them nor do they pay them and then they also become unemployed and resort to drug use/crime. What do we expect when the Heads of Immigration Dept. are "controlled" by the Premier who is charged with 11 crimes including abuse of office? Then there is the Police Dept. who made a huge mistake when they did away with a Traffic Dept. which in any civilised place is necessity and is not a commodity that should have been done away with to save money and even with that they still do not have enough qualified or competent officers to handle the upswing in crime. The Police Dept. has also resorted to hiring persons from Third World countries where crime is the order of the day so "working" here is a cush job and to be honest many of their credentials are questionable. That is one reason many crimes do not get prosecuted because of shoddy Police work so the criminals get released back on the street. I actually had the Police bring a suspect to my house after I was burgled and they called me out to their car and asked me in front of the man to identfy him as the one who entered my home? Hello? All Police men and women should have a college degree and proper Police training and experience to be on our force. We need to clean up and improve our Government first and then our Education, Immigration and Police/Judicial Systemsand revise our laws and policies in these areas before taking on any other projects. Then our crime will decrease again.
It baffles me how we cannot seem to understand that we are swiftly transforming this once paradise into any given shit-hole of a 1st world metropolis.
Every negative thing that is taking place in this country today can be attributed to that hopefully unintended reality.
We have a diminishing middle-class, a disenfranchised and ever-growing lower-class, and worst of all, an upper-class that is either in denial or simply refuses to give a crap about the rest.
I see people emigrating here from all countries and walks of life, bringing with them their hopesand expectations of a wonderful future.
It is not going to happen folks. It will not … if we continue along this destructive path.
Cayman is rapidly changing, and it is changing into the very crime-ridden, over-priced, and or segregated hell-hole that you are likely running from.
Sadly, it was an inevitable reality as the architects of our present and future are of that foreign mindset – therefore, what else should we have expected?
However, the blame cannot be placed solely upon the aforementioned, but primarily on my fellow (older) Caymanians.
Caymanians were not wise enough to accept the reality of this world for what is was, and realize that, as a collective, we were not deemed worthy of this economic miracle.
The ultimate plan, be it subconsciously or wickedly, was to build upon our natural beauty, tranquil environment, ideal location, warm sunshine, clear-blue waters with little to no regard for the actual people of this country.
Granted, some of us were all too happy to trample upon our fellow man by way of; denial of opportunities, importation of cheap labour, absence of training and preparation … all in the name of rubbing shoulders with the newly arrived powerful and connected.
It is very saddening to see what has become of my country. Very sad indeed.
*To those of you that do not fully appreciate or understand these words, then you have no idea of what was – but worst of all, you probably never will.
The spirit of this country is now hanging by a thread – I am only thankful to have experienced what I have in this short lifetime in this beautiful country known as the Cayman Islands.
For that I extend a heartfelt "thank you" and big hug to my fellow Caymanians and to the rest of us that "get it".
It is not the expats fault that you have an underclass that has fallen behind.
I am not an expert, by any means, but my personal experience doesn't jibe with what people say about the police on these boards. Our burglar alarm went off in the middle of the night about a year ago. We immediately called the police, and they were on the premises within ten minutes. They stayed to help us ensure no one was lurking around the house, and came back the next day to take a statement and to take fingerprints from the door that had been breached. I can't imagine you'd get quicker service anywhere else, really. I suppose it would be true to say that a lot of harm can be done in ten minutes, but short of having personal guards out front of your house at all times, I'd say this is as quick a response as it is likely possible to have. Does no one else have a story like this to report?
Very sad but burglaries and gold chain snatching are increasing since these cash for gold businesses opened their doors here. They should only accept jewelry once you confirm you are the rightful owner nothing less.
Well from what I have found out after being broken into and its been two months with no word from the police and trust me I have tried to contact them many of time with no return calls or emails!
I even had the person that broke into my place come back a week later and still the police did sh#t….
Had two guys checking out my place this week and called the police and nothing!!!
I wonder why no one has any respect for them 😉
It comes from the top down and I believe they need to clean house or something, because what they are doing is so not working!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
79 it should be. we got burgaed and didn't report it
The whole police force consist of Jamaicans, barbadians, Trinidadians with the exception of the one or two other nationalities. Have you ever researched the crime statistics and the success rate in prosecuting crimes in those jurisdictions? They are here making the most cash they've ever made whilst conducting the exact same style of policing which they are accustomed to (3rd world). Another reason for this crime, and i'm sure those of you who know your history will agree with me, is that Cayman is no longer a place which is valued for its great food, friendly people, beautiful beaches and great tourism but more so its coveted CI Dollar and Gullible and self serving Politicians, which people fly from all corners of the planet in search of. When a place as small as this is second place in the whole world only behind New York in a mixture of nationalities one has to wonder what great treasure these people came in search of. When you allow the ultra rich to get concession after concession under the guise of economic stimulation leaving only the small business owner, the first time home builder, the not so educated laboures etc. to live hand to mouth, pay high duties, high cost of living and high cost of doing business, you allow discontent and separatism to flourish. Everyone nodds their heads in great approval when some big development is happening ( Dart deal) as if they are reaping millions on the deal themselves. I guess if we listen to all the people that pass in and out of these islands and allow ourselves to take on the views of these incompitents why should we not expect our island to be plagued with the same nuisances that plague there countries (high crime and high unemployment with huge gaps in the financial stature of their people). I bet i will get alot of thumbs down for this as some people hate the truth an seem to be passified by a pack of lies. Caymanians memory seems to be very short, because when Big Mac was going to tax the expats all of a sudden "Cayman and Expats united" was the slogan they chanted. Now they laugh at you clowns because they achieved their goals with your help in a forgein land and you cant even hold on to your own public land. Where are they with thier signs and facebook pages in support of your cause?. Guess what, i'm laughing with them! Maybe next time your memory wont forsake you!
Who has recently been released from Northward??? These crimes are generally undertaken by repeat offenders. They round them up, put them away, let them out, round them up, put them away…. you get the picture. 78 reported burglaries is probably the tip of the iceberg. I know of 6 people who have had their cars ransacked in the last two weeks – not one has reported it to the Police as they feel it is not worth it as nothing will be done. More patrols are needed. These thieves tend to target residential complexes where they have more than one lock to try before they get success – get some Police patrolling these places all through the night if need be – they will soon see something suspicious. Prevention is better than going through the same old merry go round.
Why don’t we just give the drug users their drugs and save everyone a lot of trouble?
Coming to an island near you….gated communities and resorts that are surrounded by razor wire and armed guards.
Razor wire and armed guards are ugly; such a shame that they are needed in what used to be a peaceful, low stress paradise.
I think your overlord is building one now
The more built the sooner the better. I'll buy.
i pity the one i catch in my home
The Police allowed it to get to this. Home invasions were happening and being swept under the carpet. They were seldom reported in the news when really messages should have been sent out to householders to be on their guard and report anything suspicious.
Now they have a situation they cannot cope with. I was the victim of a home invasion nearly two years ago and was very disappointed with the police. They took nearly 3 hrs to arrive, then when they did were very unprofessional, sweet talking on their cell phones and just showing a general couldn't care less attitude. Our statement was not taken until 3 days later – at 11.30pm as the officers were off duty. Needless to say, nothing was recovered and no-one was arrested. All I was left with was one almighty mess to clean up after the fingerprint lady.
We are 80 days into 2013 and we have had 78 burglaries?? Its a disgrace.
Agree that the police contributed to this escalation, @12:49. Theyrefused to admit that although most of the 'Caymanian' normal suspects were locked up they didnt want to go after their own and only when certain people come out they are profiled and arrested to make people think they're safe but the crime continues unreported until the same Caymanians can be rearrested with or without sufficient evidence, but claism of reasonable suspicion because of the past criminal record.
Some blame rests with immigration too, unfortunately.
I had the same experience as you and so did plenty other people I know. I also know that people have reported suspicious behavior and it was never investigated. Sorry but due to personal experiences with the RCIP have lost all faith in them and unless they make drastic changes and get on top of their game, I am afraid that barb wire around our yards and grill on the windows will be a reality in Cayman in the not too distant future!
Does this 78 burglaries include all the car break-ins that are happening too?
No. Those are categorized as Thefts, not Burglaries.
and the muggings, armed robberies, etc.?
"reporting everything that is remotely supicious" we live in a country that the pizza delivery man gets to your house quicker than the police.
I have a Rottweiler who is a fantastic family dog but is itching to to get hold of one of these a**holes. Dogs are one of the best burglar deterrants. All the more reason to maybe take a visit to the humane society and kill two birds with one stone. Adopt a pet and help secure you house. Since its deemed an 'offense' to own almost anything which you could use to protect yourself (pepper spray/hunting knives and even certain dogs, including mine which is a joke) we're working with limited resources.
I Have two lol
Many times I defend the police but have to say that they recently left me wondering on their investigative procedures. Jjust recently my neighbour's house was burglarized during the day. There are about three retirees in the neighbourhood and not even one was visited by the police when doing the investigation at the home burglarized!!!!
Hear hear.
WHO within the RCIP is assigned a s accountable for these 78 incidents? Name please CNS.
This person needs to sit down with the data,dates,times, and a giant white board to find a pattern!!!
THEN- he needs to get back out there with his lazy force and reinterview ALL homes and neighbors!
The investigations and preventions are flawed and RCIP heads should roll over this.
Ever try to organize a Neighborhood Watch? A joke!! This needs to be stepped up and managed much better. Sorry Ms General, but the program is lame and not well organized.
Daily Newspaper reports like we used to have are needed too. If the police won’t prevent then at least the public should be aware and on guard.
Daytime patrols in neighborhoods? Nearly non existent – a stupid shame.
Folks at home need to start calling in plates of slow moving cars that are casing out the homes.
Daytime robbery? Should be easier to eliminate.
I usually support the RCIP, but they are out of their depth and skill set if we have 78 robberies in Q1
Maybe 78 reported…most likely over 1000 due to all of us who have lost respect for the police and refuse to call them any more. After having my back window smashed through with a stone, the police told me that it was my fault that I was burgeled because I didn't lock my interior bedroom doors????
My neighbour's car was broken into and when the police arrived they asked my neighbour if they had cameras on the property, and when he replied no they said well then there is nothing we can do and left without investigating at all.
How can we expect any better. Look at what the leaders are doing ?
Maybe if Immigration weren't just letting any and everyone walk through our "doors" I can guarantee you we wouldn't have as much burglaries! Of course there are Caymanians involved too but the majority are from our neighbours to the east and neighbours to the south!
This is a tired and racist myth perpetuated by morons. Take a look at the court records and the nationality of those occupying Northward. The truth hurts.
Yes, a disproportionate number are not Caymanian or recently became Caymanian.
I don't think you know for sure who the majority are – hence they're unsolved crimes. Let's stop with the sweeping generalisations and start looking at our own kind hey?
Caymanian
9;52 and your proof for that statement is……???? Ah, I thought so. You have none. Cayman denial is alive and strong.
Hey stupid, here on Northside we are getting an increasing amount of break in's and even beach robberies on unsuspecting tourists. And guess what, they are committed by local crack heads and drunks who are well known to their own community. They are exactly the same individuals who steal conch and lobster from our marine parks and the very same who are responsible for the poaching of turtles.
Until you stop this ridiculous notion that this localised crime is being committed by immigrants and confront the scum that are your own, then this problem will continue for ever more.
Instead of Ezzard Miller whining about matters in West Bay, why doesn't he deal with his own neighbours who make the decent residents and visitors of Northside feel so vulnerable.
The problem being there is that the vast majority of decent people can't vote or are too intimidated to identify and press charges.
It's the typical Cayman way to blame everyone one else for your own problems, why don't you grow a pair and deal with your very own home grown scum? Stop being cowards and admit you have lost control of your own people.
Hey stupid.
Its people like you that come here and infringed on the poor people of north side by proclaiming that you want to be one with us, but on the other hand you are hopeing that we never come around. Ask any north sider if they have ever been to your house, or been invited to have a social drink with you.
The days of MR Don Dise is long gone, that was a man of integrity, when he looked you in the eye and talked to you , you could feel the true meaning of mingling with locals.
Its a shame that we have come to this in our lil Island and especially here in north side. We want to be your friends not your enemy but remarks like "Stupid" don't go over too well. Hate is hate whether its from the Caymanian side or the expat side. You just further inflame the situation. At the end of the day its still Cayman and we can still all get along.
Its not Ezzard Millers fault for a few air heads, we all feel the same about the burglary's.
Immigration Enforcement DOES need to do a sweep (and prosecute the Caymanian permit holders who bring in part-time workers who are scraping by and then tempted to steal)
Easy = Advertise for construction / Labor needed $14 per hour and round up applicants who apply for investigation, immigration questioning, and fingerprinting!
Idle hands are the devils work and hungry men steal.
There is a huge trickle down problem with Immigration.
Every single Work Permit renewal is being shamefully rubber stamped at low level,
Mid level, and professional levels – so this is creating a GOOD portion of the 12% Caymanian unemployment rate!
This in turn created families that once had dual incomes into single or no income- adding fuel to teenagers who have no pocket money for video games (or ganja lets be realistic ) and creating an existence of criminals we did not have before.
Yes, immigration reform needs to START with the big companies that are rubber stamping ex-pat jobs (sorry business staffing plans have completely killed the local middle class!)
Working men (and the women that used to have the management jobs too) need to support their families.
Unemployment from the top down is the problem!!
So your position is that the unemployed are entitled to steal? Or if you don't have money for video games or ganja then helping yourself to other peoples property is ok – its all "the big companies" fault for not giving you a mid management job?
Being unemployed does not make one a thief. It should make one motivated to "hit the pavement" each morning to apply for a job. There ARE jobs in Cayman. Lose the pride. Get a job. Any job or jobs that will Support the family until one in your field opens up again. Stop blaming others. Stop whining. Stop saying crime is the only way because it is NOT.
And maybe if Caymanians learnt the value of birth control, two parent families, responsible parenting, education, selfnessless and hard work. Dropped the attitudes of entitlement and blamelessness, racism and envy then you may stop your own people from abusing drugs, drink and the possessions of others.
There has to be improvement in the responses to reports of burglaries and the Police need to be more serious about making arrests and bringing convictions. Otherwise we need to ge serious about cleaning out the Police Force. My neighbors had their car stolen in a rash of burglaries all in the same neighborhood in one night. They found the car themselves after a week and when they did the Police never even questioned the persons inside the home where the car was found, much less took fingerprints of them to see if they matched with any in the car. Is there any wonder our problems not only continue, but continue to grow exponentially?
Sadly, Cayman is no longer the little place that you didn't need to lock your windowsand doors in. We all need to remember this. Let's not get paranoid but don't make it easy either.
So you acknowledge that before all the expats arrived Caymanian society so abhorred theft that it was extremely rare. Thank you. All of you who do not believe here is a substantial expats element to this, think about that fact.
The fact that Caymanian society used to abhore theft is not the same as saying that expats are the major cause of current crime. The hard statistics of the nationalities of those convicted seem to suggest that it is primarially a Caymanian issue (unless you want to argue that the expat criminals are the ones that dont get caught)
Correlation is not the same as causation, but I would suggest that there is the possibility that Caymanian society has changed its attitudes to a lot of things over the last 40 years. 40 years ago Cayman did not have a drug problem or youth influenced by TV and media glorification of gangsterism either. Think that is a wee bit more plausible than suggesting the crime is largely committed by expats who forthe most part remain uncaught.
Perhaps the reason there was no theft in the old days is that no one had anything worth stealing.
what about the recent spate of car break-ins?…where certain developments have had numerous car-break ins in one night??
Legalize drugs . . . . .
Pretty sad way to spend your Earthly days, and the quickest route to shortening your stay!
ya, thats a brilliant idea. ya come up with that while contemplating your bong?
While it may seem as though the RCIPS are keeping crime down, you only have to look at the statistics in this article to see that they're using flowery and positive language to cover up the fact that there hasn't really been any substantial change in crime in the last few years.
There have been a staggering 78 burglaries so far this year and the RCIPS has only rounded up 31 different suspects in connections with any burglary crimes. 31 people out of 78 crimes – that is only 39% of the burglaries that have happened this year. Some might say that there could be cases where the same individual may have committed multiple burglaries, and yes, I agree that that could very well be the case – but it won't make up for the fact that 60% of the burglaries committed have no one to answer for them.
On an island as small as ours, with a population as small as ours, the RCIPS should be absolutely appalled with these figures.
Other posters are complaining about a spate of burglaries in one neighborhood on a particualr night. Do you really think those are unrelated incidents commited by different persons? Could be, but logic dictates that it is much more likely to be the same person or group of persons committing each offense.
There could be more than one offender per incident. There could be more than one incident per offender. There is no good reason to assume 78 reported burglaries means 78 different criminals.
''31 people out of 78 crimes – that is only 39% of the burglaries that have happened this year. Some might say that there could be cases where the same individual may have committed multiple burglaries, and yes, I agree that that could very well be the case – but it won't make up for the fact that 60% of the burglaries committed have no one to answer for them.''
In fact i'll think you'll find these arrests more than likely DO make up for the 60% of burglaries that you say don't have an answer for them. The article doesn't say they have arrested 31 burglars for 31 of the crimes. I can tell you that these 31 people will have committed much more than 39% of these.
Also, a good idea to keep your car keys with the "alarm" panic button close at hand and next to bed at night. If you see orhear suspicious activity outside, press your car alarm to alert neighbors and scare off criminals.
Trim hedges (and for gosh sakes mow the lawns of empty houses landlords!) and speak to your neighbors too.