Baines to cut holiday short
(CNS): After concern over escalating crime levels came to a head in the Legislative Assembly this week, Cayman’s top cop, David Baines, will face the music in Finance Committee, having reportedly cut his three week leave short. With calls from both sides of the country’s parliament for him to take responsibility for what veteran PPM backbencher Anthony Eden described as "poor policing" and a failure to keep the people of Cayman safe, Baines’ vacation has been sacrificed. As legislator after legislator called for him to answer for rising crime levels, the premeir confirmed Wednesday that he would not hide behind the constitutional divide of responsibility and intended to have more input in police issues.
CNS has requested the exact dates of the police commissioner’s planned leave and we are awaiting a response, however it is understood that Baines had been away both last week and this. While he was expected to be absent next week as well, it appears he has been ordered back. The CoP had taken leave at a time when Grand Cayman is experiencing a disturbing spike in gun-related crime andthree murders in a space of less than four weeks.
Legislators were clearly at the end of their rope this week regarding the need for serious action, with violent crime and burglaries on a continuous upward trend — despite the not insignificant annual police budget, some 400 officers and substantial investment by government over the years in modern equipment, from CCTV to the police helicopter and boats.
Ahead of the start of the Finance Committee hearings on Wednesday afternoon, Premier Alden McLaughlinsaid he did not want to get into a fight with the RCIPS but throwing money at the problem was not going to be the solution. In his closing speech on the budget debate, the premier said that, given the changes in the constitution and as his ministry now had control of the police budget (moved from the portfolio of the deputy governor), he was not going to take the responsibility and “the licks” that would come with the management of police administration without more say.
He said he had made it plain that his acceptance of the new level of responsibility meant the elected government must have a real say in what transpires and its role could no longer be limited to just voting the cash in vacuum because, McLaughlin pointed out, the budget underpins policies and plans.
“While there have been some recent successes with the arrest of suspects … we are going to have to look at the whole approach to policing,” the premier said, adding that he had heard the legitimate concerns of the members for North Side and East End about coverage in their constituencies. “We are not prepared to accept reasons and excuses why there is not adequate coverage in the eastern districts," he said.
However, he said that if he was not able to exercise some influence, "they can take it all back” to the governor’s office and he spelt out his intention to effect some improvement and accountability from the police.
The direct criticism that came from most legislators was aimed at the commissioner, as the head of the RCIPS, who they suggested had to take the rap. East End MLA Arden McLean said that government had broken contracts before, implying that if he wouldn’t resign he should be pushed.
North Side MLA Ezzard Miller also made damning criticism about the poor level of policing in his district and said that the police had failed to provide the Bodden Town police station with an armed response unit for the eastern districts, which was why it was regular unarmed uniformed officers that ended up chasing an armed gang of robbers recently. Speaking at a press briefing on Tuesday, however, Chief Superintendent Kurt Walton said that a permanent armed support unit for Bodden Town was now in place.
Crime figures up to the end of September that were released by police on Tuesday, which did not record two out of the three recent murders or several robberies that happened this month, paint an unpleasant picture for Cayman. Overall serious crime has risen by more than 33% so far this year and will likely be far worse by the year end. Between January and September there were 540 burglaries, an increase of 45.5% on last year, and robberies have increased by more than 26%.
The premier stated that he was not prepared to concede and accept that this was just the price of progress.
“We need to find an effective means of reducing crime and especially gun crime,” he said. McLaughlin added that the police had to pay more attention to prevention because despite the resources at the RCIPS’ disposal, its capability to deal with serious crime was lacking.
He said the show of overt force in the wake of the murders should be more common and more officers needed to be trained in the use of firearms. While he said he did not want to see all police armed, clearly more had to be done to disrupt the known criminal element all of the time, not just when there was concerns about reprisal killings. He said the “bad men who carry guns with impunity” had to believe that there was a greater chance of being stopped and searched and apprehended by armed officers.
The premier said he could not promise to fix everything but pledged to take internal security seriously. McLaughlin said this was not just to ensure the safety of the local community but if they could not “ratchet down serious crime” and burglaries, Cayman’s reputation on the world stage would change from being one of the safest places to live and work to a place where there was serious concern for personal safety.
Pointing to recent disturbing posts on the travel forum TripAdvisor, he said, “We can’t allow the perception to grow that visitors can’t walk on Seven Mile Beach ona moonlit night without fear.”
Committing to get crime under control, McLaughlin said that while there were other underlying social issues that government was also addressing, he said it was the police that had to deal with what was happening now and they would be required to deliver.
Category: Crime
Standard government practice is that all Department Heads are to schedule vacation so it does not coincide with the Budget Debate. Department heads including the Commissioner of Police can be summoned to the Legislative Assembly at any moment for questioning. Baines knew this. The real question is who approved his leave for this time of year?
Anonymous 17:01 (Thurs) makes some interesting suggestions about police training! The Marl Road says that the previous police instructor was given his marching orders earlier in the year, so maybe the RCIPS is trying to address the issues raised? Maybe there is also some sour Gravlax being eaten?
I believe that a lot of comments on here are disgruntled ex police with axes to grind over some matter or other.
Couple that with the politics, the Nationalist / pro independence lobby, the ant immigration / anti expat bandwagon and the unemployed carnival, it is difficult to see the wood from the trees.
The last time I saw any sense of impetus or motivation like this is when cash was being distributed.
I pour another gin and tonic, sit back and watch the scheming unfold.
Spying for the UK should remain a top priority. There is little point in having these types of territories if we aren't using them to gather intelligence.
In reality what does anyone think will happen. Mr. Baines will go and get grilled and be told of how upset and scared the people are. He will lay his ideas and plan out. The elected Governement will posture a bit more and he will acknowledge the issue at hand is bad but not to panic. Walton will go on TV again not looking at unshelved as the the last performance as Baines has taken the heat off him for a while. The Deputy CoP will not been seen and Mr. Baines will still be answerable to the Governer and the Security Council to a degree. There will be road blocks and a few more cops holding automatic arms to intimidate the thugs. They will swiftly arrest a few people, but not lay charges for an extended period if even. While this is being done the community still is rearing loads of undeducated, broken home creatures that will strike at the earliest chance they get. The education system will remain broken. Another point is that while the is a cry for Policeman from NY Miami and Jam,(which we have loads from Jam) we need to examine and notice that these places are still crime ridden. NY IS NOT CRIME FREE and has violent crime. It is just somewhat controlled in areas. So we really want to model a community that is getto? Jam???????????? This is by far one of the worst places for crime on this earth. We need to dig deeper and really examine that beyond Mr. Baines, what are our problems.
Some good points, showing that a rounded approach from all parts of the community and government is needed to tackle this issue. Short term RCIPs can be more active and at least get the killers/burglars off the streets. Long term, we all need to contribute to put the base problems right.
I agree with 11:17 that there needs to be more activity in the RCIP to look like the enforcment branch of the Government, but there are so many hurdles that the LA has to jump over to even get a reaction from the CoP as he is almost untouchable in regards to them directing his office in any direction. So they need to control what they can which is Customs, the Prison and EDUCATION. This will also help the developing expat war of "dey took mu job"/ If you have people that can read and write and do math at a basic level, in many cases the rest takes care of itself. We need to bring more focus on morals in general. Not just church values but being a good man/woman/person. You need people to feel invested in the community and not sucha divide. If you have a select few locals and a high number of expats sitting along side a load of people who cannot read or write a sentence, who' does not even know what let alone who their father is, you are inviting trouble. Baines is not the big picture.
To bring in a whole new CoP will bring a host of trouble. While the office of CoP and certain tactics may change, for the most part you will have the same Police Service with the same people on the streets. The Governement may terminate or be willing to terminate Baines contract and get a legal action started, but there is no way they will terminate the whole a majority of the service. The RCIP needs to be refocused. It would be great to have a swift sweep with NEW OFFICERS but this is not a real and workable idea. To bring the old time cops back is inviting a whole new set of problems and let us remember when all of this type of culture was brought into the mix. While Baines has proven incompetent in most areas we have a lot of other problems that are causing our crime issues in which he has no contol over. Education at the basic level is key to people functioning in a community.
In reality to our crime problem . We have to not only be able to fight crime, but also fight corruption .I say the ones in Goverment that are above the police department put their feet down , and make new laws that give the police power to carry a gun with high training , and good legal training to up hold the law . And to be able to investigate them and their bank accounts , and be payed a good salary. And if the Goverment cannot do the above then , i say that every caymanian march up to the LA and tell then you work us and we are here to tell you what to do. Because we want cayman to be what it was like in the days . When every tourist that came to the islands and said why they love cayman because of no crime, and you could sleep with your windows & doors open. All you worried about was black mosqitos , today you have worry about black gun in your face. Thats not a good way to live !
"What I see here is pure unadultarated beauracratic harrassment"…end quote!
Oh wait…."N a hope he trip up n pop he mout"….end qoute again!
Oh, oh…."we doh hawe gangs"…..dis time i really gah end.
Goin get lil coffee
RCIPS – stop spying for the UK and focus on local crime issues.
Spying on what, the recipe for rum cake, pepper jelly?
You have a really over exaggerted opinion of your own self importance. Banking laws are already in place, what else have you got that the UK could possible want information on?
They already know that you are incompetent and that you can't run a country the size of a small town in the UK
Why don't you get on with sorting out the social and economic issues of your own making, instead of blaming everyone else for your lack of back bone.
hahaha what a sap you are. tell me again, how is miss england doing lately; she still runing errands for big brother usa?seem she cant run a chip shop by the look of your economy. and how about your politicions. everything nice and neat there too?
no-i didnt think so. but im interested, please tell us all why london and the rest of the uk are in such a worst state than cayman. i mean i hear that everybody smart over there-if thats the case then why you suffering, and have such horrible social issues.
did you know your cold smug london was just recently voted worst place in europe to live? i guess no one understands the value of the british.
so try again buddy-cayman and the rest of the over seas territories are your only chance.
I seriously doubt
Yep, the same bored operative is at this moment sending out a burst of high speed morse that simply says –
'Nothing to report'.
Get over yourselves!
LOL I guess you weren't around at the time of the Eurobank affair. You wouldn't be so naive if you were.
when mr elmers list is provided, we will see who our leaders are.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQTqCRCsG3s
Perhaps I over simplify but here are some suggestions:
1. Start by working heavily on the fact that we are the equivalent of a small city with a village mentality, in other words we allow for "untouchables" because we know the heads of criminal conduct and woe to anyone who goes after them. Step up and make them touchables.
2. In a village or small city officers are kept on a particular beat until they "know" pretty much everyone and have been given training in developing rapport and trust and they actually get out of their vehicles and walk with another officer patrolling door to door, perhaps we should consider the same idea.
3. I'm sorry but our parochial approach to sex education has got to stop. Our young people are getting pregnant earlier and earlier introduce the system that forces teens to carry the fake babies for a week and make it part of the academic program and in conjunction make social services much harder to get I.e. spend money on day care and make the young mothers do workfare not welfare in fact make all people except disabled and elderly who receive social services do community service or workfare or enrolled in school and achieving a certain grade or no social services. Places that have done this have seen a steady decline in teen pregnancies and abuses of welfare which is what social service is.
4. Bring back chain gangs. Hard manual labour is an effective deterrent, and also makes the convicted person too tired to do anything but sleep for 8 hours and repeat the day, day after day, make them earn privileges such as tv, listening to music and control it. In addition look at privatizing the prisons, it has worked very well in other locations.
5. require all police officers to maintain a standard of fitness and make it part of their job duties and provide the facility for them to work out a good half of the force could not do a foot pursuit if their life depended on it.
6. For juvenile offenders under 16 make the parents monetarily responsible for their entire criminal conduct process including confinement if they knowingly withhold information (I keep thinking about that one young girl who keeps running away that we keep paying to be found ). Parents will suddenly start turning in their kids.
7. Provide free birth control to people over the age of16 who are on social services and if they have several children give the girls options to have a paid for tubal ligation.
8. Legalize ganja but make it "state" controlled and tax the hell out of it and part of that money goes to early education and substance abuse prevention. Take away theabilityfor the little thugs to make money by dealing this substance. And because it is available then most people will try it once and go eh and leave it be but make it forbidden and suddenly everyone wants it.
I am sure to get plenty of hands down on all of these but our country has to take a multi-pronged approach tothe situation, not just yell and stamp our feet and point fingers because they happens to be us,we are all responsible if we do not hold ourselves and each other accountable.
i bet Maderson, Bush and Baines regret not taking up Bradys proposal to start a special task force to fight serious crime some 7yrs ago.. WOOPS should say this, as the public were never informed… Well guess what gents to late, We cant just blame Baines it is also hisbosses,and this include two of our own, yes the above two gents oversee Baines and he reports to them.. beleive me when i say alot of this could have been prevented years ago but NO, Mr Brady, Haines and others were not wanted even so certain members of the public indicaited they would assist in funding the units start up cost bringing back the good old school cops that had respect on the streets. This is the truth!!!
So Baines holiday is cut short? Does that mean his 5-year jolly in the Cayman Islands is over and he's finally returning to the UK?
They arrested 3 murderers alone this week, while Banes was gone. Perhaps we need to tell him to stay home and don't gone back!!!!!
Sorry, I don't want to sound too negative, but considering the catch and release program going on on a regular basis and seeing how many people are set free by the courts……….I am not making and cart wheels down the road quite yet!
GOOD BUDDIES
First for all of you who don’t know, it is only in emergency situations that any POLICE COMMISSIONER take leave when finance committe meets as this is the time that the monies you want to spend is scrutinized to grave extents. Hence the COMMISSIONERis being very disrespectful to the Government of the day. So don’t go off thinking his return is any favor he is doing for this country he should not have leave in the first place.
Sorry….. when who meets?
All of the arm chair detectives now telling the cops how to investigate without having a single clue about evidence.tell you what! go and ask anyone who has been thru law school and let them explain evidence before you go off questioning the level of training the police receive.
The problem behind poor policing is poor training. Perhaps the Government should scrutinise the training regime for the RCIPS and ask relevant questions such as "How did the current incumbent get the job?" "How much experience of basic policing do the trainers have?" "What training is being given to officers to improve their policing abilities?" "What training do cops get in initial scene attendance and management to enable them to secure and preserve best evidence?" Cutting crime involves creating a rapport with the communities being policed to build trust. That way the community are more likely to provide information that can help the police in preventing and detecting crime. A proper grounding in providing crime prevention is also required, enabling officers to provide the public with appropriate and effective crime prevention advice. All of these things require training, and as with all other careers, a cop is only as good as the training he or she recieves.
Some people are missing the point here, we hen $hit hits the fan the big boss has to take the blow! that’s why he gets the big pay cheque! Bracka
It doesn't matter how many times you change the Commissioner, Cayman for the love of God stop living in fear…you know the major problem, you say it behind closed doors.
First there was denial about gangs, got over that hurdle.
Now denial about make-up of who the gang members are.
Based on most arrests/convictions & observation, it is the opinion of many that the majority of gangs are made up of Jamaicans, Jamaican-Caymanians, Caymanians, Honduran-Caymanians………do you really believe that a police service and legal department are first going to vigorously arrest their own and then to give them severe sentences, including deportation? PLEASE address the elephant in the room….. if we don't change the make-up of officers in the police service the crime will continue to increase, jobs or no jobs!
I say a recruiting AD for more Police
My question is, will they waive the criminal background check, mandatory drug test and the police record check.
Oh my, will we have the fox watching the hen house or will we recruit outside personnel who cannot be intimidated or co-horsed because of family ties or close relationships.
Sorry – scratch that we have suitable candidates here who will not hesitate to arrest anyone who breaks thelaw irrespective of position or relation.
Without discrimination, the English style policing has not work, what we need is more NY or JA style policing with tougher laws, like a two strike rule then it is mandatory 15 years.
Doors need to be kicked in at all hours at the night. They should not be allowed to sleep in peace. If a gun is found on the premises, the owner is charge unless they give up the person who is hiding the weapon. This sounds harsh but it is necessary
Mandatory 15 years for possession of an unlicensed firearm. Mandatory 5 years for an imitation firearm no question asked. Ban the importation of imitation weapons at this time. Mandatory 5 years if you knowingly harbor a criminal. No excuses, just do it. There will be fall out, but it is better than losing this beautiful Island to these wan-a-be thugs.
My, you would have done well in Nazi Germany! The secret to end all this is for those who they know are carry out these deeds to step up and speak up. The silence allows these people to carry on their criminal unimpuned. Over the last several weeks there has been reported a number of armed robberies by two individuals armed with a hand gun and a machete. This has to be the same duo carrying out these deeds. Someone knows who it is! Speak up.
These are all good points and clearly fall in line with policies already seen used in the world.
There should additionally be a law enacted where it is the duty of all members of the State to denounce anyperson that has engaged in crime or anti social practises.
To not do this, this will render the person who didn't renounce the offender just as guilty.
Additionally, all intended marriages should be vetted by the immigration department to establish if they are bona fide and acceptable.
Work permit holders should gather on a daily basis in public. Those that are nearing the end of their time should be marched to the Labour office for 'exchange' with one member of the unemployed.
Additionally, a Caymanian Youth movement should be formed to encourage Cayman's youth and get them ready for any prospective employment in the future.
The police cannot fix a broken culture.
Listen u arogant ass, how about the retireees from the UK. you think the officers from the carribbean is sess pool worthy try calling some of those UK officers that are here on a vacation making more than the officers that have been here through thick and thin, including some of those so call sess pool country officers.
true, but there are many imported broken cultures including the culture of our police service, used primarily to employ friends, even from the private sector to avoid the immigration law/regs…we have several men hired as cops who were gardeners, security officers (no real skill needed here for that job, most wont even be polite to locals).
The CoP is hardly to blame. The qualitiy of the officer on the street is to blame. We've hired to many rejects from other caribbean nations and now we're paying the price. Filling the RCIPS ranks with officers from Jamaica, Trinidad and other sess pool nations has only increased our crime rate not dropped it.
And who is responsbile for hiring them? Is anyone at home?
Has anyone ever asked the question, why exactly are they here?
But "we know where all the guns are"
Them couple of guns sure getting around and not being traced back to stop any of thes crimes.
Think about it. While he is not the most stellar of CoP he has around 400 people working in this department and CCTV along with equipment. They are being ran around by a bunch of uneducated thugs. What does this say for the rank and file of the RCIP. Mental competence comes to mind or the lack of. And the community is what is PRODUCING these creatures. While he is not the best, the community is at fault and the education system. It is a failure. You could get the very best CoP and you would only curb the problem.
Well Well
Finally someone is going to deal with this madness. Baines needs to go and the commission that gave him the 4year contract needs to be made to pay him off for the breach of contract. That commission should be ashame of them selves.
The poor man should be allowed to take his leave. Why does the police have two deputy commissioners if they are of no use and cannot take the reins when the Commissioner is on leave? For Christ sake, call on his deputies! Let them stand up to the plate too.
If this were a Caymanian you would be calling for his scalp but because he is English he is "this poor man" who should be left alone to enjoy his vacation while Cayman burns. SMH. Did you not hear that captain is responsible for the ship?
I wish I could afford to go somewhere to be "called back" from.
Ending sentences with prepositions probably hindered you.
Ending a sentence with a preposition is something up with which I will notput.
I'm going to end this sentence with a proposition: piss right off. Ha!
You ended the sentence with "off" which was modifying "piss" and is an adverb in that sentence.
For someone who is drawing a pension and receiving a salary, wonder when next we'll hear from Tony Eden?
13:43, could you tell us what is wrong with the fact that Eden earned a pension, collects it, offered himself up for election again (he could have been rejected) gained election and now collects a salary? In his shoes, you would serve as MLA and not collect the salary, right? Bullsh##! You are just jealous or politically motivated or both.
And you're the kind of idiot who allowed him to.
A governmental pension is meant to provide an income at the time one retires from a job. We all pay monthly for it. It is not an investment or private insurance.
It is unethical to have a job and take the governmental pension also.
This is not where the pension is designed for.
Only here!
How will they be able to tell?
So what….he has been here over how many years??? OUr crime here has not declined, it has increased since he has been here, hasn't done a thing to try to stop it other than ask for more money from Goverment. I am not saying the police can be everywhere, but for goodness sake the island is only 27 miles and we have over 400 police officers..come on everyone, you picket for everything, picket on that question…
12;45
I dont blame Bains.
Dont the law makers not see that they need to do exactly what the UK are doing? bring in private security contractors that are not afraid to move in the dark, and afraid of these punks. it's the only way we are going to rid ourselves of them.
In the UK they have recently created a crew of Elite officers numbering 5,000 just to deal with these hoodlums. They are not sitting on their lorrels either, they are out hunting down the criminal.
This is where we are going wrong Mr. Walton. We all know who the criminals here are. go and sweep the areas for the guns and drugs. get them off the streets before they commit the crime.
Is our standard of Police is at the level of neighbor hood watch cops?? it would seem so!
Yeah. … privatize the police. Brilliant idea. (Roll eyes). The uk wouldn’t have had to do this if they actually had effective policing in the first place. They have become too reliant on technology that basic policing has gone through the window. Its all about “service” rather than actually getting criminals off the street. I would be so immbarrassed to ask the general public, who I have failed in one way or next to help catch criminals, especially when I am the one who is getting paid for my “experience and knowledge” on how to catch them. Total rubbish, any other job and people would be fired.
My suggestions. .. change the contracts to a yearly one and access the commissioner harshly. Actually find someone who has dealt with gangs and has an actual back ground with accomplished policing. Have them access and get rid of the flakes in the rcip.
People on here are blaming the public that know and hide criminals. while I agree that is happening, part of the blame is on the police. They have failed miserably to protect the identity of witnesses and fail to secure evidence in the proper way to capture these criminals. Effective policing would be, to hold these same people who hide these criminals as accomplices to crimes. Time to get tough on bad people for the betterment of the country folks.
Five police commissioners have been at the helm in the equivalent number of years.
Each of them have come with credibility, proven experience and were interviewed as the best person for the job.
Something tells me that if it aint working by now, there must be something wrong with the machinery that they have to work with.
Or did five experienced candidates and five interview teams get it consecutively wrong?
Experienced how, is what you should ask yourself. With a little checking, you’d be surprised to know that these experienced commissioners come from towns where the most crime they see is from someone molesting sheep. You need people who know how to fight crime, fair, yet strict to officers and who is willing to get their hands dirty. Not some pencil pusher who can only fill out forms and locks himself up in an office all day long creating stupid policies that is unproductive in today’s society.
Damn idiot.
You total moron, typical of the uneducated, uninformed local mentality. Baines comes from a county force with far more diverse issues than the failure, (by a small population) to get a grip on their own kids and horizontal baby mommas.
You obviously know nothing of the UK and its policing, only what your small minded, small island mentality allows.
…and you put your own foot in your own mouth. If he has deat with far more "diverse" issues and is a top brass, which has done more work in harsher and bigger county conditions, then why is cayman giving him so much grief? He has been here over 4 years and what has improved? How has he shown that he can step up to the plate and deliver? Please answer that.. since locals are apparently uneducated and a uninformed.
I think you should take the moron throne and sit on it with a stupid smug look on your face, as you have glorified this commisioner, who can not get results in the smallest community he has worked for..
Maybeit is too hard to work here, with all the sun, beach and great salary he gets here. Maybe where he worked before in the UK had less crime and less parental issues, hense the problems he is having of not being able to handle far more dangerous situations that little ole cayman has tooffer vs, manchester or any other "big" time county he has worked before. Then again, your Uk news says different.
The bottom line is, he can not hack it. Four+ years, 100+k a year salary and nothing is better.. You sure make a lot of sense. smh
The only thing that is consistent is the culture.
I am sure all of them have had an uphill struggle.
Yes, they all came from England.
I have not taken an indepth look at the careers of the various police chiefs that you mentioned.
However a few points should be brought up
First no police chief has had to deal with the current level of crime in the Cayman islands.
Second, no police chief has had the level of support as the current chief when you consider the fact that while the rest of the Government agencies hirings have been put on hold while the police continues to grow.
Third, be careful about experience.
Is that experience all as a regular beat police officer? This might be lacking in terms of management experience and training. We have heard in the pass that msny of the police that come from overseas recieve a significant promotion once on island. They direct traffic elsewhere but are inspectors here.
Also is all the experience local? To deal with the level of crime we have in Cayman it would be wise to visit other countries to see how they deal with the problems.
So this means that without Baines nothing gets done.
And with him nothing gets done.
Sounds like the Police Review needs to happen sooner rather than later.
Boy things bad when Mr. Anthony is sufficiently motivated to come out of hiding and deliver a…………..hiding.
Poor old Baines will know his goose cooked when Cap Eugene decides to join the fray!
Who?
Good show by Bianes. Even Big Mac wouldn't cut short a trip to come deal with our problems – and look – they only got worse.
Agreed Mr. Premier!
The performance of the Police here has NOT (by any stretch of comparrison) kept pace with the levels of crime. The levels of excuses from the Police has become an art form!
More trained and armed Police have long been needed. And law abiding residents need, and should be encouraged, to be trained and able to properly defend themselves and families / properties.
The criminals have long been armed and getting away with impunity!
No, what you need are more law abiding citizens who have a strong work ethic and civil pride.
Oh dear, Ezzard wants them all out, better make do with the one's you've got then, because that's working so well for you.
Your cynicism is reflective of your mentality. Go home.
And your mentality is reflective of your culture, you always stay at home.
I will go when I am ready.
You'll go when we say you must.
No, sorry. I will go when I am ready.
Hear the cries of the people of these islands – It is a shame that they only open their eyes to the growing level of crime when it starts to affect the tourism industry. People in Cayman have not felt safe for a long time.
1 – Your mind is on getting robbed when you go out to dinner or come home from work.
2 – You go to work all day to come home to your house being broken into, valuable taken and items are ramshackle after thieves "visited". Or you wake up to someone standing over you while you sleep. Your peace of mind is gone and you will never feel safe again in your home.
3 – Businesses are broken into on a regular basis or they are being robbed in broad daylight. They have to continue to spend loads of money to increase security, insurance and to fix damages – these costs move on to the consumers.
4 – Expensive CCTV cameras are down and cannot catch thieves in action. Re-work these contracts and get monthly reports on inactive cameras.
5 – Men under house arrest are using aluminum foil over there ankle braces to avoid detection. Who is doing random checks?
6 – Criminals are getting off for crimes because not enough forensic evidence or lack of police work was carried out. They need to divert more resources on police crime scene training – they also need to learn the criminal laws to be more effective in evidence collection.
7 – Who monitors these cash for gold and other places that sell items from random people? Do the police check these places for items reported stolen? Or do they provide them with a list of items reported stolen so that they can alert the police when someone comes in to sell them?
We can go down the list of the many more issues which are affecting the "peace of mind" of persons living here in Cayman. We need to see some action.
or even better, we need to see a population that is law abiding and will work to get an honest days pay
No vacation time UNTIL crime is under control.
Does that include everyone? I was hoping to get to Tampa on the Cayman airways special and do some shopping?
I think it would be more productive to ask the parents of criminals to come and "face the music" at finance committee. Is it really the job of the police to ensure that people do not become criminals or is their job to detect crime and prepare evidence for prosecution?
Like most law abiding citizens my parents brought me up to respect the law, my neighbours, my community and myself enough not to become a criminal. There was no need for the country to spend 1c on police to "prevent" my criminality – because this was the job of my parents not P.C. Plod.
Until parents are held responsible for their children's actions and what their children become crime will continue to increase. There is no amount of money that you can throw at police helicopters, boats or any other equipment that will stop crappy parents from producing crappy citizens and criminals.
Effective policing elsewhere deters the thought of crime before it's ever contemplated: knowing there is a good chance you'll get caught for trying is effective deterent. Here, it's the opposite. The "catch me if you can" attitude permiates society.
The Cayman crime problem . This is out of control for a little Island the size of Cayman . Remember in the past when the visitors to the Islands said why they prefered to come Cayman was because of NO CRIME ,AND THE PEOPLE WERE SO FRIENDLY, AND THE ISLAND SO CLEAN . All the other destination did not have these 3 components .If we continue to be like the other destinations , then we would be like them, All we would have left is the banking, Then crime can take that down too. I say to the leaders of the islands the ball is your court ,if you are above the police department tell them what has to done, or you are fired/ terminated. when we loose it , you have to work 2 times harder to get it back. Do anyone know how to make thatch rope ?
Proper thing… he should be working and dealing with what is going on right now. He can take another holiday, another time.
Why should he cut short vacation? If criminal want to kill criminals then the result is less criminals.
Think you forgetting about the robberies and home invasions etc
"Poor policing" mr. Eden ?
What about having an 12k MLA income and taking a pension ontop of that ? How would you call that ?
Irrelevant to the issue at hand?
Yes 12;52 but some of these jerks on here can't resist using any excuse to be nasty, negative, jealous and totally unhelpful.
7:36, jealousy is a horrible thing to be overwhelmed with. Try to avoid it, bobo. My bet is you haven't done a miniscule (hope you understand that word) thing to help Cayman compared to Mr Eden.
Finally!
This is what happens when our former Governor and members of the security council, (Caymanians included) decides to give the CoP an additional 4 year contract !!!
Not two years but a whopping four years.
Now that the contract has been signed, if you have to sack him, you'll end up with a lawsuit or pay out enermous sums of public funds until the end of the 4 year contract.
Absolutely F$%^&#* amazing what goes on in the Cayman Islands.
So…er…if we appointed a Caymanian Police Chief, 00:57, then the crime problem would be dealt with? But we did that a few years ago with that very nice man Mr Braggs. Massive celebration at the first ever Caymanian Chief of Police. Then came Ivan. And…………………………
It took a very good Brit to police the streets, armed, stop the looting (Caymanian stealing from Caymanian) and put order back in place. Talk about cool under fire.
Yes Derek Haines was hounded out of the job, but you would love to have him back now. He is in a happier place.
The wave of gun crime (one of which next to the wb police station) implies that criminals are not deterred by the current sentences and imprisonment conditions. So let's outsource imprisonment to Mexico or Jamaica for serious crime which attract 10+ years sentences. That should deter anyone from committing a gun crime knowing that they will spend the rest of their lives in a Mexican max security jail, without any cell phone/Facebook privileges and without an unlimited supply of weed to smoke along with their gang buddies. Let's see how tough these guys really are when placed among hard core Mexican or Jamaican criminals.
I also bet you that the fee cayman govt would have to pay the foreign governments for housing these criminals is also much lower than what is spent locally.
Yes I guess some of the blame lie with the police but what part of it will government take. After all if Cayman people were being looked out for by all these mlas that are now pointing fingers at the Commissioner crime would never have escalated to where it is today. I guess he is just the scapegoat because trust me this started long before he arrived and its only been since he arrived that they they were any convictions in crimes here. Murderers pretty much walked free. So my advice to all of them is assist the police with a solution instead of pointing fingers. Are any of you willing to risk your lives on a daily basis? Please! Yes police made a pledge to protect and serve but in case you haven’t realized it they are only human too! Does Arden and Ezzard visit any of the troubled youths in there district and see if they can offer some guidance to them or do they just consider them nuisance and sit around waiting for them to be arrested or killed. Would really like to know what they do to assist with keeping crime down other than putting up CCTV’s.
I bet none of the MLAs have ever called social services to see which children need help and gone to either assist them out of their own paychecks or mentor them. I really have to laugh at some people on this Island, they all got dolled up to go to the Cancer Gala as they only support a charity where they are recognised and can be seen but i bet none of them have called social services to see which children they can help. Pathetic. All trying to keep up with the Jones!
Baines whats up with the VAN that was stolen, surley in all of your officers searching for the ESCAPED PRISONERS they have not seen this VAN. Accountability is demanded for this piece of equipment that was in YOUR care,I think YOU should be made to pay the Caymanian public for this Van as YOU lost it, again we have sat and said nothing but now the time has come to do the job your paid VERY WELL FOR or return to the mother country, I will be keeping a close look on the develoments on this matter as will not let it die, this is only ONE of your FAILURES that we know of, so lets get with the matter of GOOD POLICEING XXX ENOUGH IS ENOUGH.
I don't think he lost it. Again, if you are a mechanic and tools are missing or deficient how are you ever going to get a job done properly?
sounds to me that he is not qualified. at my place of work we except no excuses, especially from the leaders with the power!
I'd rather not walk on smb at night.
Mr Bains – if police needs more funds let's jack up fines. Everyone seems to run the red light including school busses full of kids (almost got hit by one this last Monday. There seem to be cameras at very intersection. So let's use them to snap shots of cars running red lights and fine the owner of the vehicle 1000 for each offense or no renewal of road stickers, driver licenses etc unless paid in full. Let's do the same for speeding, failing to stop at four way stops, failing to signal, improper driving through round a bouts, passing in no passing zones etc etc.
the money will roll in and all you need is two admin people to print tickets and mail them to vehicle owners. Sit back and watch the money roll in. Use it to beef up your other departments to tackle serious crime.
also equip the cop cars with access to ticketing database and if tickets are outstanding impound the car. Charge a fee to release the car upon full payment of fines.
Don't forget illegal parking, hire some of the unemployed people as "ticket warden" type police. Give them a bicycle or have them just walk around town, they'll make their salary easily by just walking around and giving parking tickets, tickets to the cars that aren't licensed, no number plates etc. etc. No need for roadblocks for tint if we know a good 50% of the cars are going to be parked in town :). Also, has the added benefit of someone for tourists to ask directions and the appearance of a police presence which could deter crime even if they aren't full officers.
Levy fines on people taking 11 items or more through the 10 items or less queue at Fosters. That will cover any operating deficit for the RCIPS.
Its about time our representatives made some serious enquiries into the operations of the RCIPs. Something is terribly wrong and its important for it to be learnt now before crime is totally out of control and those who were paid to make a difference has left our shores for hopefully greener pastures.
… and how is ruining this poor man's (admittedly long) vacation going to solve the real root of the crime problem in Cayman?
Government must decide that working to ensure EVERYONE has access to jobs and wealth – not just an elite few – is the answer to crime. Adding wings on to Northward to put away the bad apples (and chasing them when they fall out of the basket) is a endless cycle that will simply. keep the island moving down the path of frustration she is on now!
Tourists can travel to far cheaper places than Cayman with far larger beaches if the advantage of Cayman's beautiful and SAFE culture is not carefully cultivated, promoted and maintained. The most beautiful part of Cayman has always been her people!
The government can fuss at the RCIP all day long – but until you dig down to the roots of the problem; 1 – lack of meaningful employment opportunities for many High School graduates, 2 – a culture of entitlement that doesn't value hard work and doesn't see it paying off for them in the long run.
Cayman's leaders must cultivate some sort of industry that can provide meaningful, gainful, non-governmental employment that boosts the middle class. In years gone by Caymanian men went into the merchant marines. Some sort of replacement for that needs to be found SOON! The good news is that there is plenty of intelligence among Cayman's leaders to solve these problems, the question – is whether or not there is enough willpower to go after root causes – not Expats on vacation. 🙂
– EXPAT by birth – Cayman raised by the grace of God!
If you looked at the evidence you would find your gut correlation between employment and violent crime is without empirical foundation.
One has to distinguish between meaningful, gainful employment – and simply having a job.
http://www.nij.gov/pubs-sum/000166.htm
I am not a police officer, but used to be one a long time ago and I find it amazing how politicians and the community are so quick to blame the police for not stopping crime, yet most of them have played a role over the years in making the task of the police a very difficult one. When it suits them, they criticise the police for "harrassing" known criminals. They make it arduous to hold them for investigative purposes. They make it a pain to gather certain intelligence. They call for the police to be tough, but when they are they say that the police are abusing their power. Politicians are the ones who make the laws, which by the way, seems to give criminals all the rights and the victims none. Politicians and lawyers are the ones who come up with the crappy ideas that someone who takes another person's life should only spend 20 years in prison and call that human rights, when the victim is dead forever. Politicians are the ones who control the policy on intervention of society's problem children. The crime we experience today are not of the police's making, it is a product of a society that politicians chose not to intervene in from their early childhood days. Now perhaps the police could make life a little more difficult for criminals to commit crimes in certain areas based on their deployment strategies, but all they will be doing is displacing crime to other areas that do not have that level of presence. And as for the murders that are taking place, it is between criminals. Criminals settling scores for wrongs perceived to have been committed by their own. Police cannot be everywhere they are and they certainly don't want the police around as they will feel as uncomfortable as a fish out of water. And if the police did manage to be where they were, the politicians would be the first to cry "police harrassment" or allege the police were criminals too.
So listen up, here's my advice. The police need to improve their deployment strategies and decide what is important and where they are going to maintain a constant, physical presence and what sort of mobile presence they will maintain and where for rapid response. For example, George Town's business district is alive during the day time and Seven Mile Beach is critical 24 hours a day, so deploy officers accordingly. For SMB, put officers on patrol on the beach and on the road. Deploy a "swat" team to patrol and check out the night clubs and hang around those where the hoodlums are hanging out. One step out of line and they are locked down for the night. That will prevent further issues from them that night. Oh, but I forgot, the politicians have prevented that by passing a law called Human Rights. Sorry cops, you will have to bail them to allow them to commit murder before you can hold them for a little bit longer. Politicians, you see what you need to do. Don't blame the police entirely, blame yourselves too and make the laws that allow the police to effectively do their jobs and make the policies that allows the department of Children and Family Services to intervene and remove at risk children between the ages of 3 and 12 to a place where their characters can be shaped to respect others and decent values acceptable to society at large can be inculcated into them. And remember, they need physical accommodation to do this. It doesn't have to be fancy, but it has to be functional. We will have a better tomorrow if everyone works toward the same objective.
It is interesting how the MLAs who should be taking responsibility for the economic and social problems within Cayman that are a direct cause of these issues are now circling their wagons and finding a lone individual to effectively blame. These issues have not been dealt with for many years and the criminal justice system is the last place that should accept the responsibility. Parents, churches, teachers, role models where are you ? Get your act together and stop expecting the police to bear the weight of your years of avoidance and neglect.
Please don't deflect. Baines is being paid well to do a job. So far he is failing.
Take your own advice and do not deflect responsibility from where it truly belongs – in homes, schools, churches and the community.
its not his fault you fools. its the idiots of cayman. lol. wanna be gangstas
So the Police has a budget if $35 Million. Criminals haven budget of $300 Million…. Cayman wake up. These crimes are part of a bigger picture. This is not just isolated incidents. There are people overseas orchestrating the disobedience here in Cayman and it will get worst.
Criminals in Cayman are coming better organized and the drug lords and dons overseas will eventually start using Cayman on a large scale because they know the governments of the day are corruptible and the police no matter how big they swell their forces will never be enough.
400 police officers?? Hahaha some of these cartels have 4000 mercenaries. 4 boats of trained killers from Columbia would wipe the entire police force out and this island would be pitched into chaos with about 2 weeks to burn this place to the ground before the UK or the USA could get here to reinforce and bring order. 400 police and only about 40 of them carrying guns or with access to guns. Kill those off and the cartel has 360 sitting ducks.
Cayman what I am saying is an extreme scenario but it could happen.
if the police are going to get a grip of crime the unfortunate truth is that many of you must be prepared to lose family members because it is our own causing crime and WE KNOW WHO THEY ARE. Yet we remain silent and blame everyone else. We tolerate the fact our family member is committing crimes yet take to these forums to talk about our disgustin the rise of crime. We cannot have it both ways. If we want crime to stop we must be prepared to lose those in our families causing the trouble.
I have a cousin and I know he is a criminal. I have gone as far as to threaten to call the cops on him and since then he avoids coming around me. I have talked to the police about him and they know him quite well. So in future if he ends up dead or in prison it will come as no surprise and my heart is satisfied that I tried.
To the police we need you guys to be proactive. But this starts from the top and unfortunately the top does not have what it takes. The Police Commissioner here is British and operating under a British structure and style of policing when the island is as Americanized as it can get. We have British styled police service in an American style country. It makes no sense and that is where the first correction needs to be. We need to replace the CoP with an American Commissioner. I can guarantee their style will wake people up. You will see more raids and stop and search. More undercover officers making arrest and officers on the beat. Bring in a Commissioner from LA, NY, Chicago or better yet Texas where the sign says DONT MESS WITH TEXAS!! Bet you on the roads here you will see a sign saying DONT MESS WITH CAYMAN!!
Good on you Alden and MLAs. It is high time that Mr. Bains and his crew realise that enough is enough. Parents of these Gangsters failed their children and now the Police Force is failing all of us. I have much respect for the Commissioner and the Force, not because the are doing theeir but because they are humans like the rest of us, but it is really time to get a grip on this crime spree. I do not want to see Mr. Bains fired because that will be another law suit that we cannot afford but I want to see him take on the crime situation and take control of our little 2X4 island. Do not tell me that over 400 officers cannot do that.. Mr. Premier do not accept any more excuses from the Police Force and Bains. It is past time to kick some butts!!. Visit his office every day until we can see that they are serious about stamipng our crime in our beloved Cayman. Let the administrative staff deal with administration and put every able bodied policeman, no matter the ranking, out on the street until we get this mess under control. If the criminals get tough, then you get tougher and deal with them as they deserve. Stop the fancy dancy pussy-footing around and get the job done.
Nice, so what do you intend to do about it?
Gun Murders in England, Scotland and Wales 2011/12
There were 640 Murders / Homicides in Britain (England, Scotland and Wales) in 2011/12 (10.43 per million population)
Of these 640 Murders / Homicides, 44 involved a gun or firearm as the main weapon. Gun murders in Britain in 2011/12 represent 6% of the murder cases, (0.72 gun homicides per million population).
Crime levels for 2013 are now the lowest for generations.
Population of Britain (combined England, Scotland and Wales) in last census 2011 = 61,370,912.
Looks like the UK have got their policing policy just right, obviously could be better, but no where near as bad as Cayman per capita. And we don't have a fully armed police service and our citizens don't need firearms to protect our property.
So let's not go down the US route, what a cluster f*** that is.
Just in case you have not noticed, this is not the UK. There are other countries such as Canada, and Australia and even some EU countries with high civilian gun ownership per capita without high gun crime. The problem is not civilian gun ownership, it’s criminal gun ownership. Banning civilians in the UK did nothing to stop gun crime in the UK.
Wait, I'm confused by the headline. Is Inspector Bean going to cut his Cayman holiday short or the one that he's off-island for?
Three week leave!!!!!! Holy c**p how did he swing that? The last permanent Commissioner before him, Stuart Kernohan, seemed to work a seven day week with 12 hour shifts and I don't remember him ever taking that much leave the whole time.
And because he ruffled a few feathers and got too close to the island crooks, or businessmen as you like to call them, he was hounded from office.
Politcos…only demanding answers now? What happened in the last two years as the burglary rate started climbing…they just see an opportunity to make Baines look bad and themselves look good. However, we all want to see more robust policing. But just a reminder readers, don't bitch when it happens…
ya think!