Cops seek public opinion
(CNS): Some four years after its last public survey about local policing, the RCIPS has launched another initiative to gather feedback from the people. The police are inviting the public to complete an online survey about the crime in their communities and the work of the police. The questionnaire focuses on community perceptions about neighbourhood crime and policing but also encourages the public to evaluate the quality of its interactions with members of the police service in various scenarios. Chief Superintendent, Kurt Walton said the RCIPS are conducting the survey as they believe it will be more efficient for people to find, complete and submit.
“They will be able to tell us what’s important to them and the areas of business they feel we need to improve upon,” he said. “The information we receive will be analysed and taken into consideration when setting our future priorities.”
The survey will be open until November and consists of around 40 mostly multiple choice questions and takes just a few minutes to complete.
“For those who want to complete the survey but don’t have direct access to the Internet, all Cayman Islands libraries offer free access to members,” Walton added as he encouraged people to fill it in.
Also urging individuals to take advantage of the opportunity to share their opinions on the direction that policing should take in the Cayman Islands, Commissioner of Police David Baines added that responses to the survey will help determine how the police allocate resources in the future.
The RCIPS said that the 2010 survey, which was managed by Deloitte, was also going to inform police strategy. Less than 300 people took part in that public opinion poll but more than 70% of respondents were generally not satisfied with the police and the job they do. More specifically, 60% of the small number that took the survey said the police were unfriendly, impolite, and unwilling to help.
Go to latest survey here, where it will be available for completion until 1 November.
Category: Crime
There are so many things that could be easily approved upon. Let's look at the daily traffic offenses alone. Yesterday they had a road block at the cricket pitch, seemingly to check whether drivers had a valid license sticker. Fair enough, but obviously by the time the first 20 people have hitthat road block, word has gotten out and people probably started avoiding that area…My question is, why can't ONE cop walk daily through the major parking lots on Island and check for expired licenses, window tints and black-out license covers while the cars are parked and people are at work or shopping? Camana Bay, Supermarket Parking Lots, Butterfield parking garage, Cricket Square, and town center for example are easy prime locations where a large percentage of cars are parked at one time or another. Also, instead of buying so many new vehicles for the RCIP, they could have done with one less (because most of the time I see about 2 parked at the Bodden Town police station anyway) and instead, installed permanent speed traps along various roads on the Island where the majority of speeding and dangerous driving occurs. A big reason the general public is so disappointed, fed up and have lost all hope in the RCIP is because it seems that there is absolutely no desire to get the job done. Nothing happens for 10 months out of the year and then suddenly there are a couple of road blocks and warnings issued and then…………back to NOTHING.
A big problem is that many police officers started in this career in the Cayman Islands when there was almost no crime. Beyond the occasional purse taken from the beach.
They simply didn't sign on to have to combat armed criminals wearing masks.
We need to employ new officers who are tough enough to deal with these vicious criminals. Arm them.
Provide proper forensics. It is possible to trace criminals from trace DNA. I guarantee we can't do it though.
There must be better protection of information sources. Who is going to tell on their neighbor's son when the gang will find out who informed on them?
First order of business would be to get rid of the Commissioner of Police. He is too tainted and no one trusts him..
I think the community needs to start turning in the criminals. People know who are doing the crimes. Time to drop the dime and stop protecting these thugs. Stop blaming the police as they can not be everywhere especially when the public seems to know and could inform them, but doesn't.
Because experience proves we cannot trust the police! Our information is put in the hands of the criminals before we get home. It is not a force, but a farce!
Well i agree with 08:35 but since most of the officers are Jamaican that is like the fox guarding the hen house.
After a break-in at my home, I filed a police report. When the "officer" arrived I was told to "Lock all the doors on the inside rooms of my house, so when the NEXT TIME it happens they won't get as much suff". Now does this sound like a professonal organization tranied to serve and protect us? I will never call the police again for anything, and that is exactly what they want.
Concerning that the police cannot spell the name of the capital. Or are the RCIPS also covering Guyana? Now that might explain some of the issues.
The permiability of our national marine border has been a big concern to me for many years. The RCIPS, Immigration and Customs need to review and publicly clarify the national policy towards marine travel and border security from International waters into Cayman Territorial waters and patrol and intercept the violators that fuel the dark economy of the Cayman Islands. Ask for International assistance and equipment if necessary, but do it. If law-abiding people need to line up for clearance in and out of Owen Roberts, then surely ex-con fishermen with tons of cargo space should be expected to endure at least the same amount of scrutiny on their comings and goings. The 3 missing fishermen highlight the prevailing attitude that marine crossings are exempt, or addressed on a "catch me if you can" willfully blind basis.
There is also the question of trust – i know of two instances where cops have given out information to parties involved in an on going investigation that should never have recieved the information. In one instance there was a crash between two vehicles on the road with party A nearly killed by the party B. Party B was driving a work vehicle and didn't want the incident on his record so asked the cops for the details of Party A so that he could go and 'apologise'!! i am horrified to say that the cops gave out the name, address and contact details of Party A. Party B promptly went round and threatened Party A into dropping the case! THAT IS UTTER POLICE NEGLIGENCE.I for one will never trust a cop down here.
The efforts of the RCIPS should be applauded, but is simply fighting a losing battle. The criminal cancer cells have already spread and will continue to do so if the police do not foil 'their game." These ciminals have already done their homework and done it well on targeted neighborhood via networking.
My opinion is that too many members of the police are either ignorant of the laws of the Cayman Islands or are incompetent and lazy. You overtly appear to do nothing about widepread illegality, and some have imported standard of behaviour from their countries of origin which fall below what is acceptable in Cayman. Law and order need to be imposed. Things have been too lax for too long.
Here's your opportunity to provide feedback for change. Be apart of the solution not continuing the problem. I think this is a start for them to get feedback and deal with the issues. Stop being a troll, at the end of the day, I am sure you will need their services anyway.
As someone who has worked intimately with the police and been a direct victim of their incompetence I have done substantially more than post anonymous comments. I have stood as part of the solution, for years. I am left with little but disdain for many officers. They are a significant part of our problem..
Totally agree. It seems that the RCIPS wants the people of these islands to do THEIR job, which THEY are being paid for!
SICK, and you are right; most are incompetent and NONE of them give 2 shits about our country or our people.
How aboout they team up with Enforcement and do a little street cleanup? Go around and look for the lay-abouts and ask WHO theiremployer is?
No job, no permit? buh-bye….have a nice trip home.
If local, give them a lift to the NWDA.
Time for some street clean up! I run my errands in the mornings and see so many people doing nothing on the street corners. They cannot all be night shift workers?
Next, make mid morning patrols of the residential neighborhoods. ..Again, the crooks prey on waiting for people to go to work, so just "what" is a person doing riding around a residential neighborhood on a bicycle at 10:00AM? Not exercise I tell ya….they are casing which homes to rob.
A little street sense please.
Bbbbut that would require that they actually would have to do something that involves stepping outside the car…….Clearly that is a non-topic! I have made this suggestion quite a while back and remember that people back then got all offended that we can't just randomly question people just for hanging out………….It is mind boggling how backwards things are here…….All it takes is one good police chief to sort this mess out we have here………..
Anon 0835 if i could find i would kiss you your opinion is both elegant and to the point. This imported hoard need to go!
I largelyagree, however, it would be difficult to expect every officer to know and apply all of the Laws of the Cayman Islands for what we can afford to pay each of them. Like any profession, they should have a specialty and be intimately familiar with the Laws that pertain to their area of expertise.
Similarly, they should have colleagues who can be called in to lend their knowledge in overlapping specialties, or continue to advance the file in their absence. Right now, victims are assigned a case officer that may or may not be on duty when needed and there is seemingly nobody else assigned that can advance a file in their absence.
There also needs to be an Independent Internal Affairs Division, better Forensics, better Dispatch coordination (using a strategy of multiple cars and helicopter if need be), better Detention Services, more sophisticated criminal investigations capability, more patrols, better record-keeping and evidence management, and a functional traffic dept.
Most importantly, I'd like the RCIPS to relentlessly strive for the impossible goal of crime erradication. Contenting themselves with "better than last year", or "better than country X" is not toastworthy, does not satisfy, or win over the public that is footing their bill. Similarly, their public expressions of dismay are too gentle a dissuation method, and may actually have the opposite effect.
Stop importing and hiring criminals into the RCIPS. They come from countries that condone poor behaviour, which we don't need here in the Cayman Islands.
Cayman canot develop economically and socially at an acceptable t global standard unless there is a comprehensive system in place to implement a national ID system that would display fingerprint and photo, weight height on Identification of citizens and residents on work permits or short term stays. This will enhance police case resolution and overall curb high level of crime if fingerprinting is implemented.Maybe Alden leading the PPM in this matter should get started on this project that is as simple as maintaining the driver licensing system.drivers license are already a valid ID. bUT THOSE PERSONS WITHOUT CAYMANS DRIVER LICENSE WOULD NEED A REGULAR VALID ID CARD THAT LOOKS SIMILAR TO A DRIVERS LICENSE.THOSE CITIZCENS OF THE COUNTRY WOULD CARRY A GREEN STRIP ON THEIR DR LIC OR ID CARDS AND WORK PERMIT HOLDERS AND ALL OTHERS WOULD CARRY AN ID OR DR LIC WITH A RED STRIP MAKING A CLEAR DISTINCTION IN IDENTIFYING INDIVIDUALS ORIGIN DESCRIPTION, RACE ETC. COLOR OFEYES SO PEOPLE CAN BE FOUND EASILY WITH THEIR PHYSICAL ADDRESS ONDRLS and ID CARDS WHICH DO NOT EXCEED 5 Y TO 10 YEARS FOR CITIZENS AND TEMPORARY WORK PERMIT TENURE FOR IMPORTED WORKERS.ITS TIME FOR gOVERNMENT TO GROW UP AND ACT LIKE MATURE LEADERS.
I couldnt disagree more:
Fingerprinting law-abiding people is wrong. It's expensive. It's unreliable. What database would be check these prints against? Fingerprints degrade very quickly in a tropical environment, if our law enforecement can lift a print the next morning, it is a miracle. Criminals wear gloves. Finger print experts for prosecution are expensive. Most importantly though, our marine border is easily exploited by the organized gangs and their people do not bother to subject themselves to lawabiding procedures!
How would this extraordinarily expensive initiative address the fact that much of our problem is homegrown, and they wear gloves, and it's a miracle if our forensics teams can lift an untainted print the following morning? All of that money, if we indeed had it, would be better spent on challenging the strangehold our local drug dealers have on several drug den neighbourhoods, providing vocational training options to ex-cons, and drug, family, and social rehab. It is a popular fantasy to beleive the issues are work permit holders. That assumption couldnt be more wrong.