Cops arrest man in bank heist
(CNS): Updated Friday 6pm – Police have arrested a 29 year old man in connection with Thursday morning's bank heist at the Buckinham Square branch of Cayman National snd have also recovered a quantity of cash. Following a police operation in West Bay yesterday evening one man was arrested on suspicion of robbery and remains in custody while police follow a positive line of enquiry. The three armed, masked robbers who held up the bank had collided with an armoured cash van as they tried to make their escape in a white Toyota Windom getaway car. The crash blocked their exit from the car park so they fled on foot towards the Esterley Tibbetts Highway, dropping some of the cash as they made their escape.
The suspects were then seen to enter a red Chevrolet Equinox, which drove along the highway towards West Bay.
The robbery took place around 9:40am, when the armed men threatened staff and stole cash from the tellers.
The first suspect is described as 5’8”, wearing long jean pants, white shirt, a reflective vest and a yellow/orange hard hat. The second robber was said to be 5’11”, with a dark brown complexion and shoulder length dreadlocks. He was wearing a white or light coloured shirt, dark pants and a camouflage cap. The third man was 5’9” or 5’10”,wearing dark clothing, a yellow/orange hard hat and he spoke with a Jamaican accent.
Police say they received the call at about 9:42am following the Seven Mile Beach hold-up. On receipt of the initial call several police units were immediately deployed to the area.
“Officers, acting on the information received about the red car, set up road checks and carried out extensive searches for the vehicle. A short time after the robbery the car was recovered in the West Bay area. Officers are currently carrying out enquiries at two addresses in West Bay in connection with the ongoing enquiry," a police spokesperson stated.
“There have been some suggestions that officers took between 20 – 30 minutes to attend the scene of the bank,” the police said, but denied his was the case. “Initially the RCIPS had responded to those concerns by confirming that the first uniformed officer attended the bank 16 minutes after the initial call. However, having reviewed the incident, we can now confirm that two plain clothes officers were on scene within 8 minutes of the initial 911 call.
“These officers attended the scene while operational staff set up road blocks and undertook other operational duties relating to the incident.”
This robbery is the latest in a string of armed heists in the last few months. The last bank to be robbed was the downtown George Town branch of Scotia Bank, which was held up on Thursday 3 May at around 11:45am, when three men, two armed with guns, entered the bank and demanded cash. Four men, have been charged with conspiracy to commit robbery in relation to that crime.
Christopher Julian Myles (aka Frank White), Kevin Curtis Bowen and James McLean, appeared in court Thursday 21 June following the appearance of a 25-year-old man who appeared in court on Tuesday 19 June charged with being an accessory after the fact all four are currently in custody.
Anyone who has any information regarding this latest robbery should contact George Town police station on 949-4222, the RCIPS tip-line 949-7777 or Crime Stoppers on 800-8477(TIPS).
Category: Crime
No hat or caps should be worn in the Commercial Banks. It is very ironic that these robberies are usially on the last thursday of the month. Perhaps the Banks should change up their routine, every other month. There may be inside people giving out information. One other thing, workplaces have got to cut down on the cell phone usage on their workers. All the young interns are coming in and they are concentrating on the cell phones more than the actual work. If cell phones are not allowed in schools, why are work places allowing them, during work? just saying…..
West Bayer 16:50 I agree with your comments. I have decided to turn a blind ear and ey to these robberies because Management in these Banks and other places do not want to listen to any Tips given by the public.
Speaking of CELL PHONES. Why, and tell me why arethese people allowed to use their cell phones during working time.? Why? This is the reason why people are accusing these Bank roberies of inside job. There is a reason the public is saying this, but no one is listening.
Employees should be able to receive EMERGENCY calls and make EMERGENCY calls from the bank only. Calls checking up on husbands and boyfriends should be done when they go for lunch. If the bank was to check the numbers called before and after robberies from cell phones they may get some big surprise.
whats their punishment when they blow up churches or rape news women in public squares?
if you actually look into these young mens background of how they were raised or rather NOT raised you will see a large percentage of them are from fatherless families or their fathers not only deserted the family to chase more tail etc but are actually in northward prison.
the people committing these outrageous offences in our beautiful country are now breeding also. more fatherless children with fathers in jail. its something cayman should have addressed many many years ago but again. failed to do. it can only get worse now you shall see.
People like Truman Bodden and John McLean are partly responsible for the agony current young generation is facing today. When they governed the country funds were directed to the business sector and the social and human development aspects were totally neglected. No priority was given for the early childhood education! Truman declared in the LA 10-12 years ago that there are no gangs in the schools! But we had gangs at that time and they have grown and now breaking banks. They were living in denial. This couple was more concerned about the welfare of the business people and themselves and spend most times on the party boats. PPM was going to correct those socials ills within 4 years and put us in financial troubles. UDP is not doing anything and indiciduals in power are looking at the projects based on personal gains they could derive from those projects. Our country needs new directions.
They need local security guards,who maybe able to identify aperson's accent/voice or even thier walk/size and shape.But as usual you get what you pay for.These banks prefer to hire cheap labour to secure people money.They prefer to pay $5 an hour to secure millions.
With all the security measures introduced into this society in the past ten years or so, can't the banks have a panic button which is connected to the police or 911? – why would someone have to make a call? Usually these buttons would be situated where a staff member could press it without being detected. Maybe that's too much to ask for. The security companies have monitoring services for their customers who have alarm systems in their homes/business. Guess we haven't come so far after all.
Thanks, but they have. Why does everyone state the obvious on these blogs
A Thursday? Check
End of the month? Yup
10 am? Check
A pattern…..absolutely.
Safe and prosperous and just how do you intend to achieve that lofty goal by congratulating this system that helps perpetuated criminals. The milestones have long been crossed for the Cayman Islands for the very things you now speak sometime back, we are now merely funding our own demise and this draconian police state. If we don't stop and do a serious review of our actions and strategy the future is bleak for Cayman. Filling this place with Foreign police who couldn't care less but for this economic opportunity to enhance themselves and displacing our youth by imprisoning them because they have become criminal inconviences is a very expensive and dangerous proposition indeed. The current government budget is proof of this enormous cost.. Creating a whole new generation of criminals to please some here who can't find work in their own countries and couldn't careless whether our children our us live or die sounds about right. Poor old Cayman still believing their here for us. How truly sad for this little place.
You have the entire situation backward. The draconian police state with foreign officers is not the problem. Parenting or lack there of and faulty education system are the core problems which produce young people who have no respect for people or society.
The extended family that ignore the youth that are going astray are not blameless as well.
Yes, let us only arrest and imprison expats for crimes. Caymans can go free
What an ignorant comment. This serves no purpose but to divide the residents of our islands.
All police cars should not have scrambled to the scene. Did they expect the robbers to be waiting outside for them. Has the police ever heard of a word used by the natives call "Fan out". Well if they have not I suggest they find out what that mean and do it when they get such all.
The robbers passed the police going to the scene, what a joke. A ROAD BLOCK SHOULD HAVE BEEN SET UP EVERY TWO MILES BY POLICE.
I hope one day you all will get it right.
I'd like for everyone to pause for a minute and look at the real issue here. The real issue here is that society has bred and condones criminal behavior. There are people in this society who have no values, who respect no one including themselves and who are now imposing their will on others by using violence and the fear of violence. It's the way they were raised, or allowed to be raised by their parents and the society around them. They were not taught discipline, the value of work, self esteem and respect and were left alone rather than held accountable for their deviant actions and received little, if any, corrective action during those formative years. Getting an education was never encouraged and was probably seen as hard work by them. Their parents likely defended their rude behavior and shielded them against being disciplined. Now we have a growing society of humans with the tendencies of wild animals; wild animals with a slightly more advanced brain that can scheme.
Now, we can have a police force who adapts within the laws to try to catch them, but they are only as good as the information society gives them and how well they analyze and use the information gathered. But once more, society plays a critical role. It either provides the police with the information it needs to catch and prove a particular criminal did the crime, or leave it to chance for the police to catch them. Criminals recognize this vulnerability that they face, so what have they done? They try to silence society through use of fear and force also. If and when society conforms to criminal wishes, things do not get better, they get worse, because bringing them to justice and holding them accountable becomes even harder to achieve. Witnesses in fear tell some truths and avoid some truths out of fear. Lawyers detect those and on the stand makes the witness out to be a lier. Judges cannot put faith in untruthful witnesses and hence a criminal walks and is emboldened to continue to practice their behavior.
Finally, there are some people who will try to justify criminal behavior with various excuses: blaming someone else; no jobs; no one will hire me; had to do it to get money to feed my 10 children; jobs not paying enough, I was bored and had nothing to do and the list goes on. Let's pause and consider that prior to the 1970s Cayman was not very affluent at all, yet Caymanians back then never robbed each other and seldom stole from each other. There were few to no jobs available back then, but men from 14 years of age, many with little, or no formal education and many who could barely read and write, went abroad looking for work as seamen. They took what work was available and did their very best. They became world renowned for their skills as seamen. Many became Captains, Engineers, Chefs etc and others remained the best boatswains anyone could find. The difference is that they had discipline, they had respect for themselves and others, they had ambition, they had values, they had the desire to do something with their lives. They earned a living, provided for their families back home and built a home for their family.
So, if we want a better society, everyone will have to work together to reinstill values that once made Grand Cayman the best place on earth and that all will once more be proud to uphold.
One of the best posts on here…wish I could "like" it twice.
The reason was your father would beat you not the police or jail. You feared your father and respected him. He would use anything when he got angry and beat you with a hose, wire, belt ,switch.
But since all of that is abuse and poor you , we're using some new stuff .psychology. I am not saying some kids can hear some can't. Some kids beat their parent or parents depending the situation. But in that case why don't the laws change and beat the criminal in front of people. Like how people were hung in the old west in front of everybody including kids. Then they will learn from early. Sounds cruel eh? Well it worked for 2000 years and is still being used by lots of people around the world. Try the middle east . Their crime level is low. Ever hear of any people in the middle east stealing? When they do they cut off their hand for the first offence.
please move to the middle east and taste the fruits of beating kids with wire.
I would rather these criminal types were locked up for much longer than waste money trying to "save" them. It has nothing to do with foreigners. Foreigners don't make anyone criminals. Criminals become criminals because they are greedy, selfish, arrogant, lazy scum. Don't give them excuses to point to people and blame them for their own wickedness.
Yes I am Caymanian, but I did not grow up with this entitlement attitude that you are expounding. During my early childhood days, we never even had electricty 24 hours a day. My father went to sea. My mother raised us with what he sent home. She showed us what she received from him and explained how she was going to spend it; so much for food and living expenses and some to put in the bank so when our dad got home he would not be broke and have to spend his vacation working just to feed us. She taught us discipline and we had to do our share of work around the houose too. She assigned us chores such as sweeping, mopping, washing dishes, making our bed, mowing lawn, painting the house, and she allowed us to learn how to fix the car when it broke down. She taught us the 10 commandments and taught us self respect. She instilled in us that if we ruined our reputations it would be hard for us to get a job because people would not trust us. I hope this explains to you why you have the difficulties you or your friends have in getting jobs.
I'm the person who followed the assailants and took the photo on the cover of Friday's paper. There have been a lot of comments regarding the amount of time the police took to respond…I'd like to mention that the police car I flagged down was speeding to the area with his lights on less than 3 minutes after the robbery took place.
Yea, and I hear that a police car was in Galleris Plaza with the driver asking where is CNB!
Thank you so much for your quick thinking action. Due to your action we may well get some bank robbers put away.
Finally, thank you very much for putting part of the record straight
you are a true heroe…… i'm sure you will recieve an award of some type from the caymanian government…….
When I worked in the financial district in Liverpool (UK) in the sixties, there were stationed police officers in prominent positions with extremely nasty looking German Shepherds (dogs). I don’t ever remember anybody being stupid enough to risk a daylight bank robbery. The cost of maintaining a few extra dogs in potentially vulnerable locations in Cayman must be worth the effect of discouraging these morons who think they can successfully get away with ” daylight robbery ” – more importantly, it would reduce the risk of an innocent bystander being wounded/ killed by a stray bullet from a panicked ” robber “.
If someone comes to the door with a mask, do not let them in. Shoot first and ask questions later.
Trick or Trea……
Happy Halloween, punk!
shoot with what?
Why do you wan to Harm the Police?
14:58: and their hearts are pure. That is why they should not rob the banks. I will be seeking a visa to go live in Jamaica where they only rob the banks once every 25 years. It nah easy to pass those guards in the banks who is all dressed up with guns and more guns guarding those banks.
anon 2017 drop the cayman islands to avoid roberies and trade in shootings for no reason. Isnt Jamaica regarded as one of the worlds murder capitals?
Anon@ 08:51 7/2/12, there two 'bs' in robbery.
so read over your post before you post it.
That is not relevant to the issue.
Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. The robbers are not murdering you, idiot. Obviously your life is a great deal more danger in Jamaica.
You guys are talking about road blocks at west bay.. DO U HONESTLY THINK THESE GUYS WOULD LEAVE ON THEIR HARD HATS & MASKS? noooopeee -________-.. set up a road block and im sure the police didnt find out about the equinox til later on..so it would be pointless. further more..they took 8 mins to get there… 8 mins afta the call was made (who knows how long after the robbers left the call was made) ..the criminals wud have already been west bay within that time.. THINK PPL THINK..dont just sit there and blame the police..blame the citizens also, im sure someone saw the ppl running into the car.. did they call the police? im sure someone knows something.. will they tlk? the police isnt always to blame. Also i think panic buttons should be placed under each tellers desk.. As soon as these buttons are pressed the loud sirens should come on! this would run the theives!
This story should be featured on Z99's "Stupid News" segment…
We need the death penalty in these islands like they had in Biblical times. An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. If a hand causes a man to steal, then it should be chopped off. No criminals equals no crime. God bless our Caymanian people.
And I'd like to "know my neighbor's wife in my tent"
"An eye for an eye" will leave everyone blind……That is what they have In Saudi Arabia and what is practiced by the Taliban….and that is what you aspire to???
Get competent cops on the case and a decent Judge – and throw the book at them … no leniency for being local and give them 40 years. While no one was "hurt" – that is phycically hurt…what about the nightmares for years to come of the bank tellers, security guards and witnesses etc. There was a mandatory 10 years for gun and bullet possession, but I seem to recall that when it turned out that not all those caught were foreigners, this was dropped – in a campaign that I believe was led by a current politician…
We also do not need guns for security guards or normal beat cops – stop apeing the USA and JA – take a hard look at their gun cultures (this is where the Cayman guns come from!!) – is this another thing to be aspired to….
With all the police cars that I pass on the road every day, 8 minutes to respond to a location on central West Bay road seems much too long. In 8 minutes you can drive from George Town to West Bay. In any event, I'm glad to hear that they have a suspect in custody.I'm sure it won't be too long before the rest of them are in custody as well.
It’s amazing what can happen when the public help for change!
This looks good – but much more preventative work needs to be done.
Eg the Mt Pleasant corner (scene of many assaults/robberies and an abduction in recent times) still has a permanant gang of people day and night in the lanes around the corner, in spite of the cameras nearby.
Meanwhile at least 3 police cars are parked at the station when you pass by.
I say park them at hot spots and kill the loafers' 'business'.
Yes, it will move somewhere else, but the blatant turning a blind eye to these people who are a nuisance and a detraction against customers going to the area businesses cannot continue.
It's also bad modeling for the youths coming out of school with nothing to do – and as we know the underage bays are used to traffic drugs, as they can't get sent to 'prison'.
Great news. Well done RCIP.
Job well done, RCIP. Continue… we need you in making this island a more safe and properous place to live and work
At this rate these idiots will soon understandthey shouldn't be robbing banks.
Forget the arguments about times, there is one road into West Bay. One road, one police car needed to block it at the Fire Station so how did the car get into West Bay?
the dirt road just past yaght drive takes you directly to the top of batabano road
There are actually two roads. If you turn left into SaltCreek you can get into WB via the dykes – you'll pop out at Dolphin Cove/Morgan's Harbour. The road block needs to start at Tiki Beach.
ummm, I tried your directions and ended up booking a weekend at Tarqyn Manor!
ya, if you set up your road block there you can get some soggy fries and a crappy burger on a stale bun for $15 while you wait
the dykes?
Probably through the dyke roads, like they always do.
Given the fast pace of events I would think that the car was in WB before the police reached the public beach.
Probably via Hover craft! How else would it get there?
One ARMED guard per bank will prevent this from happening.
But as usual lawmakers act slower than the changes in reality and criminals take advantage of that situation.
Only Dart has armed guards and somehow that is allowed.
Armed guards can not stop bank robbers! Toronto and Montreal are notorious for bank robberies, and the guards there are not boy scouts.
Police intelligence is what we need to apprehend the criminals adn deter crime.
Mr Dart does not have armed guards on Cayman. Trust me.
but I don't trust you
you pour millions and millions into the premier's hands and you can probably have some armed guards too.
Not true. Armed robbers are armed robbers for a reason, to kill anyone that prevents them from executing the crime. Guards armed would just be the first target to murder and give a higher chance of innocent civilians being caught in crossfire. It might deter it, but it would never prevent it.
40 more English police will be here soon on vacation making 6 figures $ watch and see who will support it again, our Govt cannot see these people are a waste of time & $, locals do not trust outside police that is why cases are not getting solved & they are no protection for witness! The system should have things in place that if someone who endangers witness lives like (police or the courts) etc. Should be worse than crimnal!
I wouldn’t put money on seeing those 40 officers any time soon – what’s the betting Bush cut’s the budget for these much-needed officers? Crime goes up and Mac then gives the police money that he took off them earlier in the year. Look at the figures folks – the guy does it every year!
And the areas in government that really need extra staff can't get any, or the needed funding.
I hope they bring with them, knowledge of driving on our round-abouts. i notice our local caribbean police have not a clue what it means to use their indicator on these roundabouts.
May I ask, is the government charging these idiots for destroying the concrete pavers that borders these roads?
Apart from having a lot more training than our local recuits, the UK police officers are fully literate – something we cannot say about many on our current RCIPS force. And they are related to no one!
Said it before and I'll say it again. How much resources would it take to have a permanent roadblock / checkpoint just south of cemetary beach and just past Hurleys? People would get used to the slight inconvenience for a safer Cayman and in the long run a lot of money would be saved by catching all the car tax dodgers to start with.
Does seem a bit odd that on a tiny plot of land like this with limited roads in and out of places these criminals seem to be able to simply "disappear".
12:14
Thats because those looking for them dont know a criminal unless he is in jail. Those pesky illiterate locals that have been discouraged to leave for better jobs did, …..
You can't be serious…
plus stop all cars with illegally tinted windows!!!!
Sounds great, but these guys went down Salt Creek drive, from what I understand, just to avoid a road block and then got away.
How about the cops that ride the helicopter just stand by on end of the month Thursdays? It shouldn't have taken them so long to get into the air over the scene. They could have tracked this red/ burgundy vehicle and likely the perpeTraitors would all be behind bars now.
Read the report people – the second car was found abandoned in West Bay, not Buckingham Square!! Bit like reporting a burglary and giving a description of the person and direction of travel. You will be not pleased if the police then came directly to the scene, instead of searching first?? Full credit to the RCIPS in going after the offenders and not all congregating around the scene when the offenders have been well gone. This is basic policing, and it has arrived in the Cayman Islands. Noticed the charges and court results past few months…. no I though not. Not many people are getting off their chrages these days, and there is a stack waiting trial. And has anyone been murdered this year after all the doomsday predictions on gangs. No. It's not all bad, and some of you need to catch up.
Supposively a civilian told another civilian who was driving to follow the car but the police car came and took pursuit…but you know what the outcome was, they couldn't catch them or find them…where was the helicopter? What a big waste of money!
07:08 Now come on give due where it is deserved. Speaking about the helicopter. Do you really think the helicopter can take off the same way a police car cand do. It cannot, It has to run a little bit, or it will crashor mash up the motor. Besides the helicoptor is not a space ship, where it can bove likea bullit. Give some space for considderation.
Again, you don't know what you are talking about, they did find the car. Wait for the facts and not rumour
A Helicopter is not like a car, where you jump in, insert the key in the ignition, turn it and off you go.
Before taking a Helicopter into the air certain proceedures and checks must be carried out, and that takes quite a bit of time. In other words, Helicopters are not instant vehicles.
The helicopter was busy hovering over my house in South Sound as it usually does…just sayin'…
Second car found in West Bay listen to yourself with all the things you claim were put in place how did it get to West Bay? Its people like you trying to justify what is going on here on this little island and is the very reason your inept police force run by and controlled by foreign nationals continues to let this place slip off the edge. You know quite well what would have happen to others if this enormous amount of robberies had occurred on their watch.Full credit for what you must be talking about the dramatic increase in our national debt. Basic policing a term use in law enforcement by the way that gave you away right away as well as your ecstasy over our law enforcement statistics to justify the criminalization of Cayman Society.Stack that finished it off shows your level of thinking and self righteous spirit as well as your clear distain for persons who do not think like you.To your last point the first sign of corruption in a society and that it is thriving is that the end justifies the means and you and others have alot to learn about the cycle of crime and trends in Cayman. Yes we have caught up in fact with other jurisdiction crime situations and statistics and we did it with the highest amount of police officers per captia compare to population in the region, which by the way is a disgrace and shameful. Oh you forgot to mention intelligence & prevention which is clearly non existent in our tiny little island it would appear.
Luke, change ya glasses
What we got hear today is failure to read the article! Luke, not cool dude, not cool.
I agree with your comments 12.20 and I have observed the police being a bit more vigilent, but they still have a longway togo.
For instance when these things happen app police stations and officers on foot should be put on alert. They should be notified by phone. So they can watch out for suspected cars driving at high speed, people running and different things of insterest thst would cause suspicion.
If a robbery takes place in George Town, all officers on west bay road, bodden town, northside, east end police jogging, walking swimming should be told.
The communication from the command center is not good enough. They ask too many questions. They need to inform all officers and then ask more questions. They should have one giving officers information while the other is taking info. We need professionals at the Command center. This id our biggest broblem in the police force. The next thing is PUBLIC PLEASE LEAVE THE POLICE AND LET THEM DO THEIR JOB.
Hope the red car can lead the police to these (bleeps), Can you imagine the state of this country in the next ten years? Unless the people and the powers that be make some serious changes we are all going to have to move out of here.
1 The prison is a breeding ground for criminals.
2 The Commissioner has the Police’s hands tied.
3 My 2 year old son and his school mates would do a better job then the politicians.
4 The education system has been broken since its inception.
5 Qualified Caymanians are screened so they will never get the top jobs Except for the few token ones.
6 The sister islands are completely ignored.
1. the prison is a breeding ground, period
2. the commissioner's hands are tied
3. your son and his mates have a better education, but are cheaper to buy off
4. no comment
5. token ones like the politicians you mean?
6. seems to me the Brac is getting it's snout in trough just fine.
These three goons cant even rob a bank without crashing their car?
And they headed towards home – err I mean West Bay?
That's exactly what they want you to think.
It is know worldwide that crooks ALWAYS head to territory that they know very well and can blend into. There is therefore a 99.99% chance these thugs are living in WestBay.
I repeat, the uniform cops were in the area in a couple of minutes, and went to where the offenders had gone to – which by all acounts was West Bay, which is why the police cars went that way, not to where they had been and left. And detectives in PLAIN CLOTHES went to the bank. NOW GIVE THEM A BREAK!
All of you are experts, as ever!
I swear it only takes about 40 mins to get from one side of the island to the other? So if it took the cops 16 mins to get there then this must mean they were on the other side of the island. We already knew they run on Cayman Time though BOBO.
How much money will the RCIPS need now i guess we have a manpower shortage again aaaaaaah boy look at the mess this place is in!
1736 26/6/12 Why dont you join the police and make the difference since you are such an expert at policing? No you would be shaking like a leaf at the thought of confronting your own country men with guns. Yes, your own country men . Not foreigners as some of us like to say.
Many of these young men heard of envying remarks from their parents who hate anyone who work hard and save and invest their money and likewise they think they are entitled to the money in the banks. They dont want to work as labourers on construction sites. They dont want to work as gareners or handymen or security guards but they want to live big life, wear the most expensive jeweleries, drive fancy cars, dine at the most expensive restaurants and drink the most expensive liquors and drink in the most expensive clubs. They want white collar jobs but they dont have the educational qualificatios.
The banks might be in cayman but 99.9 percent of them are not owned by us Caymanians , so where these hoodlums got their sense of entitlement ,I don't know.
It would help if our most exclusive HM Northward Hotel was a realprison like Jamaica and Cuba so that when one is out they will not want to go back there to live a higher standard of life than hardworking people who have to work 25, 30, 40 and sometimes 45 years before they can own a house by which time some of us are to sick to enjoy it. No young punk getting mine. I would rather set fire to it . And don't come talknng about any family. Once you get your hands dirty I am not your family.
The remaining few (very) banks on this Island that haven't been robbed over the last three years must be getting very nervous.
Remaining?? I think it's only RBC & HSBC left standing unless I missed something?
Hmmmm…..16 minutes? I thought these fast new police Dodge Chargers were supposed to cut down the response time to mere seconds!
Can we have an investigation into what really transpired in that 16 minute period of time please?
The public demands to know. We are not satisfied with police response times to these crimes.
16 minutes is kinna long to recieve some police presense in a situation like this..dont u think?
Don't u people read. Read the thing good before you criticize. it initially said 16 min but after looking over the report it showed that officers were there within 8 min.
anon 21:58
I find it appaling that the majority of the people never take time out to read the facts. They would rather gather up behind doors, or under a grape tree and spew out their gossip, slander and criticism.
GT Police Station is 3.3 miles from Buckingham Square. West Bay Police Station is probably just as close.
Even if it took 2 full minutes for the 911 dispatcher to put the information out on the police radio,and even if there wasn't one officer any closer than GT police station, the fastest officer would have had to go no faster than 15 MPH (in a new dodge charger with the sirens on) for it to have taken a further 14 minutes to arrive on the scene. What the hell is that about?
Even if the 911 dispatcher took a 10 minute break after receiving the call before alerting the cops they would still have had to travel at 33 MPH all the way from GT station for it to take the full 16 minutes.
And that's just to get to the scene. To put a road block at each end of WB Road and by the Butterfield Roundabout end of the bypass (which would have trapped the robbers) should have taken been much quicker.
Considering that these robberies happen around lunchtime on a Thursday at least twice a month you would THINK they might have at least one officer on or near WB Road to catch fleeing armed robbers in which case the 16 minutes response time is even more bizarre.
Instead of 911 people could just call me on my cell phone and I'll hop on my bicycle and probably still beat the RCIPS to the scene.
This doesn't make any sense. I think the commissioner owes us an explanation.
Aren’t you a genius. They didn’t take 16 mins to start doing the road blocks etc. far more important to start stopping traffic than go to the bank – the culprits left the bank within seconds so rushing to the bank to find them wouldn’t be so sensible…….would it genius?
What about getting to the scene quick enough to preserve evidence? Everyone knows nobody robs a bank and hangs around for the cops! but maybe they did.
Yeah they did really well with the roadblocks didn't they? They knew the robbers were in a Red Chevy Equinox heading towards West Bay and still couldn't catch them.
I hope those CCTV cameras caught soemthingto prove thier worth
I doubt it. But you can check around for any cruise ship passengers. They may have gotten the pictures that may led to suspects being held
Bush has already admitted budget failure…
Maybe next he will admit that he has failed to do anything about crime?
He should really just come out and admit his governments whole term in office has been a complete and utter failure to spare a lot of time going into detail…
Who wants to see Mac in his Spiderman suit?
16:10 IDIOT, that is why this place is no better Idiots talking.
What the f@@@ Mac got to do with fighting crime. man you can ,make yourself look and sound so stupid. you are smarter than that, you damn well know this is the governnor and the commissioner of police beat. for the love of God, give this man a break!
He is our leader. does he lead? no!
BOO this is not an independent country. Its the Governor who is responsible for security not Mr. Mckeeva Bush. Why you people cannot see anything unless its through th lens of a political spectacle? GOSh!!!!!!!!!!!
As the LEADER of the country, it should be one of Mac's number one priorities to sort the crime wave out. End of story.
11;33
Sounds like you got a bug where the sun don't shine. where were you when the Commissionor plainly told everyone that he is the boss, whenever it comes to fighting crime.
Maybe what you want is to put pridles and a saddle on him,. and lead him in your direction for your own self interest.
He is doing his outmost best. Seeing the world's situation.
Do you follow? Yes!
He is right! Its not his fault people like you gave him a job that is so far over his head that now he is basically a clown in suit representing you.
Their hands are tied.
These robbers are the most interesting thieves in the world…..they always rob on Thursdays, on or after gov't pay day, hits CNB the most as they have the "best" customer service and they may not always drink beer but when they do it's not Dos Equis!
One person doen't like Dos Equis
Sorry I think 20 minutes is correct…first of all the 911 operator didn't kow where Buckingham was, they asked "is buckingham on 7 mile beach"…police cars were seen all the way to cementary beach on west bay road and turned around…seems they thought it was Centennial….then instead of asking is anyone hurt, all that was asked was did you get the license plate from 911..it took 911 five minutes and two tries to finally reach them..so here we go again, the response time was awful, the 911 wasn't professional.
Just like I said the 911 Command center has to go. They need professional people working there. Why dont those in charge understand and take advice. CHANGE THE 911 COMAND CENTRE. They are not doing a good job. Are you people deaf?
Hire professionals, dont care where they are from once they speak perfect English so that we can understand them. No Phillipinos, no English, No Americans. We nee Caribbean people because that is the language we speak so let the police learn to understand it.
The command centre needs training, they dont know what they are doing, and ask too many foolish questions. Thats why people are dying from gunshot wounds, heart attacks, robberies out of wack and so much more the Command centre 911 cannot cope and does not lknow how to handle the work.
CNB has a robber magnet.
16 minutes?? As in sixteen?? SIXTEEN ???????
Where were all the cops? Rum Point?
A joke at best.
I will take 16 minutes, no shots fired and no injuries over 2 minutes and a hostage situation any day!
Not sure how you can justify that "Anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 06/28/2012 – 15:19". All it takes is for there to be a pyscho, who doesn't give a hoot about how many minutes there are, to be a trigger happy and ruthless robber. At least if police are at a scene earlier, or immediately, they can be there to try and protect the innocent from such lunatics. After all, isn't that what the police are supposed to do?
Besides, if the police do not respond quicker and catch these criminals in the act, all other criminals will no doubt jump on the bandwagon and then we could have a much bigger problem on our hands than a hostage situation. Well, lets see now……..the Scotia Bank alledged robbers are in custody, but still banks are getting robbed……..perhaps this is the bandwagon I was speaking of. Its just too easy for scum bags to rob banks, businesses, residences etc in Cayman, and not get caught in the act. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure this is probably the reason why so many robberies have taken place…….and if these criminals keep getting away with crimes, dare I say our beautiful islands could end up like certain places in Jam, Hondorus etc. Scarey thought, but true.
It only takes me 10 mins to get to that location from downtown when I drive in my car at lunchtime. I do nothave flashing blue lights and a siren, and most of all I only have one car. I find it a little shocking that police were not at the scene earlier. I think there should be police regularly patrolling Grand Cayman wherever there are banks and indeed stores. Surely there are enough police officers to strategically monitor various districts regularly, so all vulunerable places are always covered, or at least that police offices are no less than a few minutes away. 16 minutes is just not acceptable really. Just saying.
The uniform cops were in the area in a couple of minutes, and went to where the offenders had gone to, not to where they had been an left. And detectives in PLAIN CLOTHES went to the bank. NOW GIVE THEM A BREAK!
Congrats to the armoured truck workers. Go ahead and pat yourselves on the back. They should be given a monetary award by the Police Dept. These minimum wage workers (I think) did more to solve this crime than all those overpaid police officers.
Why do these Bank Robberies always seem to occur on thursdays?
And why is there never a police car in the vicinity when these robberies occur?
And why don't the Banks employ "ARMED" off duty police officers as security?
Did we not just pass a law to allow trained security guards to carry lethal weapons!
Has anyone noticed that in the above article there were four men mentioned! Three men from a previous robbery were named and all three appear to be "CAYMANIAN", but the forth was not named even tho he has been to court and charged as an accessory?
Why the HUSH HUSH? Please explain Mr. Baines! And I don't want to hear that the unnamed perpetrator is being questioned. Thus his name cannot be divulged!
"HE HAS ALREADY BEEN TAKEN TO COURT AND CHARGED".
I bet if you check "connections" and the persons District, it will explain the silence!
Re: “Did we not just pass a law to allow trained security guards to carry lethal weapons!”
Nope! On October 12, 2011, the minority group in Legislative Assembly submitted a Private Members Motion (effectively a formal request) to the Government (the majority group), in which the minority asked the Government to consider going away and creating a Bill (effectively a formal response to the Motion / Government’s proposed wording) for the things which were requested in the Private Members Motion to become law. However, the Government has NOT to date lived up to its end of the agreement to bring the requested Bill back to the Legislative Assembly to be debated and passed by its members, so the Governor does not have an agreed upon wording (passed Bill) to sign into law. Yet 🙂
You mean you want to have $4/hour security guards carrying guns??? You'd be lucky if some of them could even spell their name, never mind make a decision whether or not to return fire; ooops, just plugged an innocent victim who happened to be standing in my line of fire… I don't even trust the Keystone Cops to carry guns, never mind $4/hour security guards. And no, it won't make a difference if you hiked their pay to $20/hour – quality is sorely lacking in the Cayman Islands. If they were to shoot the same way that they drive, investigate crime scenes, or clean up the beach after a party, you're going to buy yourself a whole lot of trouble by arming any security guard – period.
Where's spiderman when you need him?
my guess would be rumpoint with the police.
Spiderman is having cocktails with Batman who is also needed. Go figure!
There needs to be armed security guards at the entrance of the banks, wearing bullett proof vests of course, one outside and one inside just in case the one outside gets picked off by the robbers so once he hears the shot he can cock, aim and fire! having of course called for back and the police first! In fact business people in the bank should also be armed cause there may be a number of robbers and the odds need to be even. Assistance will come from armed customers coming to the bank and sees the robbers coming out they can assist by dropping the robbers on their way out!! Shame on Govt. for not legislating protection for its citizens and visitors from these villians! When a few staff and customers get shot govt will get sued I hope! Well if they dont want to go that way put an armed task force cop inside each bank and let the bank pay half his salary and govt the other half! Govt stop putting lives at risk!!
Em…did u skip ur meds today?
This is either the most stupid thing I have ever read or the best wind-up in the history of the internet!
How ridiculous.
I am glad you don't run this Country!!!
Details please – on robbers / car etc…
Lets play the game of “what if”…What if the police had arrived 5 minutes of the 911 call and had confronted the robbers?…would the outcome be the same? Why rush to armed robbery call, while armed with a baton….does that make sense?? Just asking!!!
“The first officer arrived at the bank 16 minutes after the initial call was received” I guess that is the reason for the slow response time…I would!!!.. ARM THE POLICE!!!!
The police already have arms. They can use them in these situations.
Somebodys lights got cut off.
The security guard at CNB Buckingham Square used to keep the door locked and would only open it when a customer approached and who had removed their sunglasses, hat, mask, hoodie, stocking etc etc. The last few times I have gone in I noticed that they no longer do this. I wonder why? Are the banks/security guards concerned that the would-be-robber would shoot at them through the glass in order to obtain entry?
I was wondering the same thing. I used to bank there regularly and found (at that time) that they were very diligent in doing this. Not clear on all the facts relating to this case, but not sure why this very prudent practice of requiring all patrons of the bank to remove sunglasses, hats etc before entering the bank stopped (or did not happen on this occasion).
Remember a few years ago when a security officer for the same CNB bank got shot for locking the door when he saw the robbers approaching the bank???? Why lose your life for money that belongs to the bank and it is insured?… I am not agreeing that robbery is a good thing but these security officer dont even have a baton or a can of pepper spray to protect themselves with so if I was a security officer and I seen them coming with guns in their hand I would try to save my life too let them in because if you dont then all hell will break lose and some innocent person might lose their life for money that isn't theirs and for the little salary that they make hell no… Government needs to give these security companies something like pepper spray that will make them feel that they can or might be able to help protect themselves and the public.. What more can we the public ask for because they don't want the security officers to carry guns so arm them with something and if they are in a position one day to have to pepper spray these theiving worthless lazy ass thugs then do so.. Come on Government this is too much shit now something has to be done and done now not later. What are you waiting on for a few good hard working security officers to lose their lives for something that doesn't belong to them????
Removal of glasses and headwear of all forms are only applicable to legitimate well known customers like myself. If you are there to rob the Bank those requirements do not apply. Typical CNB way of doing things.
what was this all about? pile of hog wash.
Shoulda posted a look-out to tell the van driver there's a robbery in progress so please don't block the get-away car! toinks!
Relase the videos now……..before it is too late.
That bank has many cameras as well as the adjacent businesses!!!
The cameras won't help – they are inside only with no effective angle to the outside due to obscuring pillars. They knew this.
This is going to continue to happen there is no hope for better, people fed up Cayman economy is bad money is not being circulated in the country. It is hard to find a job as a Caymanian because we have the reputation that we lazy….. even our own kind put us down ……. It is even harder as a criminal trying to turn your life around ……. so you go back to what you know…… The government can’t really see it from the people point of view cause they don’t have to worry they get more than enough to survive. The kids that are coming out of school now days have no morals or common sense why our government has changed the system to accommodate the foreigners … this the first place I know adapts to people …. School now longer have discipline the teachers don’t really care cause as one told me “I still get my check the end of the month” a child is allowed to make straight C, D, F, for three years or more and graduate they are not challenge…….. A gov famous words the young people are our future if they are then step up ….As a Caymanian living here at a minimum wage job is hard from paycheck to paycheck and worst if you got kids and there is no one to help you…..In gov it who you know that the only way to get help …. So no money or little money + rent+cuc+water+fosters=broke/in debt ..hard time cause for drastic measures…
Give me a break. So are you saying that the only option you have left is a life of crime? That you will only make ends meet by robbing a bank each week? That makes a lot of sense. The truth is that it’s a lot easier to sit around and feel sorry for yourself than to take that entry level position (which is all you’re probably qualified to do since it sound like you’ve barely passed high school because the teachers didn’t care about you). If you are so hard done by then man up and prove to everyone that you’re capable of much more. They won’t take your word for it so grab that minimum wage job, show up on time and put in some solid effort. Stick around longer than the first paycheck and maybe you’ll get some real experience. At a minimum you’ll get a recommendation letter from that employer if you choose to move on somewhere else and then you’ll finally have something to build on. And the best part about this plan is that you likely won’t end up in jail like these idiots today….
Glad the armoured car stopped these punks! They left their getaway car at the scene!
Saw the photo of the getaway car stuffed into the armoured van. Gotta' love the emergency spare wheel mounted on the front! These robbers should have chosen a better getaway driver and a car with 4 good tires. Even I wouldn't drive to work with a car in that condition.
That's no way to balance the budget!
To the person that said"please arm the police" thats not the solution! Do you know what kind of backlash will occur if one of our police officers shoots and kills a man. You better trust and believe the following week a police officer or two will be gunned down in retaliation.
On top of that, these criminals dont have a reason to shoot! Give the police and security guards a gun and then they have a reason to shoot. If you havenet noticed, most of the headlines include statements that no shots were fired. If the police and securtiy guards are armed the headlines are going to read very differently!! Some of the persons who may be shoot could be a customer of the bank, an employee of the bank, the security at the bank, the police unit that makes it to the scene, and of course the criminal who came in to rob (maybe).
Besides why risk the life in others for $$$ thats insured!
A Windom? That narrows it down a bit.
i hope the police do something to all who's robbing the bank, those people don't deserve to walk among us!!!
T.G.I.T not F
Governement is to be blame for these things as well:-
Their thirst for power and expansion of control equals an increased in fees and duties upon the private sector. That equals a huge contributing factor to the high cost of living in the Cayman Islands. That equals local businesses downsizing. That equals increased unemployment especially for school leavers. That equals more psychological and domestic incidents. That equals low wagers and the unemployed looking for a better life. That amplifies the significance of having money and equals the false notion that it and an education is the only factor necessary for existence. That equals walking on other people to get ahead. And that means an increased in crime, such like theft, burglary, and robbery, equals more erosion of Cayman's reputation. Big investors pulling out, equals a slow down of infrastructure and nation building…."you kill the goose that lays golden eggs for more eggs, you get nothing!" I think it is quite clear what government has to do in order to get us back on track, but party interest, personal interest, and the interest of getting re-elected, is really robbing the entire nation. Quick fixes and arming police officers are not the prime solution here: it is fixing our economy, high cost of living, and hoping for a true democracy without the political corruption from the inside and outside of the Cayman Islands. These robberies are just the poisonous fruit so to speak of a wild shrub that was allowed to grow unhindered.
Nice…………..end of the month…………..rent is due next week.
If you're surprised, raise your hand….anyone? Nope, me neither.
I think a year ago I pointed out robberies are almost always on the last Thursday of the month. Have the police made any efforts to plan ahead for this & stake out the banks or poisition their cars around the island (to stop the culprits as opposed to be as far away as possible)? It seems not. Robbery Thursday is here again.
At least the scum are being caught & are too dumb to stop robbing & get jobs. These will be caught eventually. XXXX
Is it true that as most bank robberies now occur on Thursdays that the government is going to introduce emergency legislation requiring banks to close on Thursdays so that they can claim to have solved at least one proble?
Its the last thursday of the month the same day all the goverment employees get paid so they figure theres more cash in the till… Didnt you make it to the last how to rob a bank and not get caught meeting?
Payday was Monday and the money was done by Tuesday.
Please arm your police. I see so many negative comments on here about your police officers, but really, what good is a club against a gun. Arm the police!
Neither do much good 30mins after the fact.
Arms are available to the police as and when needed. The police need to be more vigilant. Obviously banks are a prime target on the last Thursday in the month.
Both the police and the bank guards need to be specially trained and armed to properly deal with these types of situations.
Police being armed or not makes no difference cause they're never there when it happens anyways – always show up after the fact. If any protective forces need to be armed, properly trained and regulated it's the security guard services. They're the ones that are present when it happen and can't do a thing about it and I don't blame them cause if it were me in their shoes given a batton, if lucky enough to even get that, to go up again a gun guess what "hell naw, take the cash and go plz!"
We should not arm police, that will only cause escalation.
Criminal activities are based, to a degree, on necessity – if the police arearmed then it becomes necessary for bank robbers to have loaded weapons. At the moment the rate of injuries/fatalities compared to the robbery rate is low – maybe the guns are fake/not loaded, and there are robberies where no gun is apparent.
If we add lot of loaded guns (armed police) to the equation it will not make you safer, it will cause many, many more injuries and deaths.
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‘We need more guns’ is never, ever a safer solution.
I'm generally in favor of arming the police, but please explain to me what good it would have done in this case? The first officer showed up 16 minutes after the fact.
What would arming the police solve ? They don't reach the scene until the robbers etc. are long gone so why would they need a gun ? The first officer reached the scene within 16 minutes therefore the robbers could have been half way to East End or right in West Bay by the time the officers arrived. Arming them will not do any good. They really need to respond much quicker than they do and get out detailed descriptions of the criminals and getaway vehucles immediately. I think the only thing that would really help is for the RCIPS to receive better training in how to handle these types of situations.
Are you crazy??? A five minute conversation with most police constables will convince you that we are more in danger from them being armed than we are from the crooks. I mean, even the CoP has public stated that the majority of the RCIPS is functionally illiterate.
There is nothing more dangerous than an RCIPS officer with a loaded gun.
10.26 How would arming the Police have helped in this case? Have you not noticed that firearms are rarely discharged with deadly intent during these robberies, because, I presume, these criminals know that nobody will be firing back at them? Packing heat feels good I'm sure, but look at the murder rate involving firearms in the UK as compared to the US, and your question answers itself.
The more guns, the more gunfights. Give the cops pistols and the robbers will show up with automatic machine guns. We'll turn into South Florida in the late 70s and the resulting bodycount will kill our tourism. Let these punks boast to their pals and get caught sooner or later.
Thursday again and the end of the month. I think the Police need to be on the watch out around Banks at the end of the month.\\
You would think, How many class A banks and their branches ? How many Police cars ? No speed and type of fancy police cars can help and more waisted money. Nope nobody's at the wheel here !!!