Cops merge robbery enquiries
(CNS): Following a spate of armed robberies in George Town and the Seven Mile Beach area the RCIPS Serious Crime Task Force has consolidated the enquiries as a result of some links. While they do not believe that all of the recent robberies in the streets and at restaurants and gas stations are the work of the same two men, there are links between some of the crimes. Following the increase in August of robberies, Chief Inspector Malcolm Kay said a decision had been made to pull the investigations together and tackle them under one senior investigating officer and a combined investigation team instead of treating each enquiry in separate silos.
Kay said the idea of a major central incident room for the robberies was fuelled due to the escalation in the severity of robbers, as some of the culprits were turning on staff and customers and taking their belongs, and not just.targeting cash from the registers. Given that trend, he said, the incident room was established to tackle it head on.
He pointed to the recent robberies at tourist restaurants Coconut Joes and the Fish Shack, where customers were targeted and where the modus operandi were similar. Kay said they were motivated by money and the type of goods that can easily be sold. Nevertheless, he did not think the robberies were part of an organised criminal gang or ring but were random attacks.
The senior officer said the RCIPS was conducting high visibility and covert patrols and checking business to reassure the public and business owners, as well as assisting the investigation team.
Speaking on the morning after another robbery, which happened on Sunday evening at a George Town gas station, Chief Superintendent Kurt Walton said he wanted to reassure the public about what the RCIPS was doing to get the right culprits into custody.
“We are doing everything possible to trace and locate these individuals,” he said, adding that there had been 29 robberies so far this year compared to 39 last year over the first ten months of the year. Pointing to the effort made by the RCIPS, he said so far this year 26 arrests had been made for robbery and another 114 arrests for burglaries.
He said it could be a handful of people committing the same burglaries but he believes there are as many as 150 burglars on the streets of Grand Cayman.
Over the last two weeks, Walton said, around 50 individuals had been stopped and searched and police patrols had visited and checked over 80 business premises, including the latest gas station targeted by robbers on Shedden Road. He said police had been highly visible in George Town and on the Seven Mile Strip and officers were getting out of their cars and moving through the community, talking to business owners.
Despite the surge, Walton said he was keen to get the message out that Cayman is still one of the safest places and dispelled the myth that crime is increasing. He said this year there had been 538 burglaries, compared to 565 over the same ten months last year.
While these figures may seem high, Walton said, the perception about crime getting worse is incorrect. He noted that the figures in the early 1990s for burglaries were almost double that, running on average over 900. The chief superintendent said the major difference between then and now was the transparency as there were many more media houses reporting and documenting crime, which did not happen in the past.
Category: Crime
And in other news it was announced today that the RCIP, CS and CIG will be merged into a single unit. The move is destined to create more efficiencies in terms of more employment, less work done, larger bills and simplicity for the public in terms of only needing to complain about one cluster f**k instead of the current several. We live to serve!
It sure seems like there have been more robberies lately. Hard to believe they have gone down. Even so, it isn't something to be proud of. I did some checking and found that while we have had 538 robberies this year, New York City has had 13,277. Now that's bad, but if you consider that New York City has 8,405,837 people, and compare it to Cayman's 58,000, you find that your chances of being robbed in New York City is six times LESS than in the Cayman Islands! Your chances of being robbed are much greater here in the Caymans! Anyway, saying the robbery rate is decreasing is very misleading. If anyone has a solution to this problem please pass it on to the RCIP.
Yes you have said it wright . I can remember back in the days when the police could not solve the crime , they brought in the Scotland Yard men the case closed man behind bars , the crime stopped . What happened today is it we want the crime to continue or what !
Thank you 14:45, AMEN TO FACTS!
You have hit the nail on the head.
Busting the bosses is a big mistake., although it seems the thing to do when you take down the boss the whole crew is left to do what they want. I know quite a few bosses rock hole, shedden road, crew road etc.
They are nice family men for the most part keeping crime at bay in there hoods but when you charge them for stuff like a spliff or a rock it messes up there ability to focus on protection of there hoods.
In the fake world these bosses dont have a place in society but we live in the real world and they are a real part of the real world.
Perhaps the police, and community leaders need to work a little closer with these bosses and that will cut down on the crime wave that is coming
Why close the Pawn Shops? The Pawn Shop is a legitimate business. Why should the operators close their business because you did not beat your thiefing pickney from him little and tell him fi nuh touch people things. All these misery starts from home and the schools. My 35 year old stole candies from Foster's Food Fair when he was 9 years old. He thought it was so cool to fill his pockets with David Foster's candies . When I found out, I beat him while transporting him to FFF to return the candies and I continued to beat him for all his mischevious acts of stealing until he understood that stealing is a 'no, no' and ganja smoking will not be tolerated. Today, I am a proud mother of a decent Caymanian citizen who went away to further his education and returned home with his MBA. The point I am making is that, if I did not curve him from he was 9 thru early teens, my son would be a part of the problem that our society face today. The Bible warns, that you must not spare the rod and spoil the child. It has worked in my family for generations. BTW. To this day, my son do not even like the looks of candies, but shops at FFF.
14:16 _ you hit the nail right on the head! Them who feels it knows it! You got exactly what I got by reporting the robbery at your place! All now I have not gotten the black powder off my furniture and my paint from the point of entrance, not to mention my window screen which was taken by the dusting person. I was told 2 prints were found, only to hear from another source no prints were found. Over 2 years and after unnumbered phone calls not even the manners to reply. I saw the reporting officer on several occasions and he acts like he don't know who I am. I even went to a police community meeting at the Civic Centre in Bodden Town on 5th August and left my number for to be contacted, yet no one has called me. To my fellow Caymanians please get this in your heads, and I am dead serious, we are in a very sad situation in these islands and I admonish you please try your own home remedies for these criminals, while trying to protect your values and your families. Do not let your guard down, they come to steal, kill and destroy and it is for your to protect yourself, with the history of these officers, who openly show no care for the victims, don't bother to waste your time when you could be mixing or nailing a concoxion to protect yourself. Better safe than sorry! What a dying shame, we loyal citizens leave home each day working hard to support ourselves and our families and the criminals drive around around from district to district robbing and destroying our properties! We owe it to ourselves to surprise our intruders, try leaving your rockwilder or a pitbull inside, they are illegally bred island wide! According to the law it is illegal to trustpass on someone property, well let the intruders be met with an illegal animal in your legal premises! Simple!
I had the police come out when I had a robbery. They sent one officer, who dusted for prints and got a list of what was stolen. No prints were found! About two weeks later I called them and they didn't have any suspect or anything else. My belongings were gone. A year later they called me and asked me if I had anything new concerning the theft. I told them no and that is the end of the story.
Wait a minute … the burglaries were almost double in the 1990's?
How can that be? That was before all the status grants were given out and the major growth of the expat population,
Who the hell got the blame for it back then?
Or did it just go unnoticed?
NOT TRUE burglaries today are way up than in the 1990, the increase in crime began in 2004.
Thank you 11:11.
It was IVAN in 2004. After that hurricane we don't know who was coming or going into our islands.
How many burglaries, home invasions, etc…it took them to decide on this? Is it because tourists are now the centre of these robbries? A shame I say, a persons home and residents are just important as the imported dollars. If residents don't feel safe, don't you think we would just pack it in and move on? What then mr. Chambers of commerce?
The difference from 1990s is that there are now 150 burglers with handguns provisioned by the gangs that run drugs and whatever else through our porous unpatrolled marine border. They are looking for quick cash to pay for their handguns, ammo, and drug addictions. This is not child support or grocery cash.
No $hit Sherlock!
Dont think the numbers have gone down. People just stop reporting it to the police.
Its just too much hassle – you wait for 3 hrs till they show up then they wander through your house sweet talking on their cell phones.
You have to go to the station at midnight 2 days later to give a statement as its the policemans days off. Statement takes around 3 hrs as he can only type with one finger – and has to hunt for each letter.
Then you have all the mess to clean up from the fingerprint lady, which isn't easy.
Then after all that – nothing.
Thats why your numbers are down.
Right on point 14:16.. On me alone there are 2 unreported burglaries.. I reported the first incident when my car got broken into and had even my insurance papers stolen (ridiculous) and had similar experiences taking forever to be tended to and the officers where so unprofessional all nonchallant just taking your info looking at you like they are bored or giving them too much work wtf. worst experience ever, didnt even bothered to come back for the statemnt when they called me like 2 weeks after to come in on a Sunday or some ridiculous inconvinent time (never fails)
Anywashad a kayak cut from my padlock outside and car brken into again stolen battery etc. Now i just dont own anything i cant keep inside and my car battery is clamped down with screws and metal straps.. Saved myself the polce reporting time and spent it doing that. End of story
If they want to steal anything else from me they'll have to come inside my house – and better hope im not inside because they'll be met with a 6'4 240lbs pissed off black man who is not afraid to use some deadly force to protect his home.. this is BS the RCIPS really needs some new leaders and a big shakedown.. the resources are there now lets put them to use do some police work *&*%^^# it
When it comes to solving robberies,Cayman is a joke… but they have got to say something I guess.
I still say people KNOW who are doing these crimes and until they drop the dime on their boyfriends, brothers, sons, friends or neighbors then the crime will continue!
The RCIPS all have no shame at all if they think this is enough
Yeh, like what ever happened to solving the cayman brac burglaries that happened, was it last year, i believe. Talk about incompetence!
No s**t Sherlock 🙁
They just now decide to do this….WOW.
SMH.
What a novel idea, who would have thunk it?
Of course Walton's focus on the total robberies totally misses the point. It is NOT the number, it is WHERE and HOW they are happening. The second that tourists no longer feel safe, is the same second that Cayman's economy faulters.
Caymanians and tourists have not been feeling safe here since 2003, that is the time that "we" stopped being in charge and the "dem rule tings" began.
With more specialist from the overseas than Quakers have Oats and more coming now according to our dear Leader Aldon. More money from our meager budget to feed this RCIPS monster budget which is consuming every single cent which we don't have, a billion dollars misssing and no one held accountable or responsible what a laugh. How much more are we going to give to this thing we call the RCIPS who no matter how incompetent or inept are still being paid Please give them a billion too aleast we can see it vanish before our eyes.
Robberies have increased, but, what is the connection with the pawn shops. Aren't they closely connected?
CLOSE THE PAWN SHOS. Years ago when the criminals stole jewellry they would go out trying to sell it. Now they only have to steal it and take it to the pawn shops or the meters. Think about that.
09:34.Threr is no billion dollars missing,what is missing is someone to sort out all the paperwork.
His name is "Alden". He is the Premier. Have some respect. People like you are the reason the expats have no respect for us.
Cab you do any better? I think NOT!