2016 Crime Statistics Release – 24 February 2017

The 2016 Crime Statistics provide an overview of the number of incidents recorded in several categories of crime on the islands throughout the year, and indicate both the positive and negative developments in these categories since 2015. The following text articulates these developments in areas of primary concern for the public, all of which are policing priorities, and provides the intended response by RCIPS and also the recommended response by the community.

As a matter of general context, the Department of Public Safety Communications reports that emergency services (9-1-1, Police, Fire and EMS) answered 34,502 emergency calls for service across the islands. Eighty-one per cent, or 28,020, of these calls were answered by police. This is a slight increase over 2015 (financial year), when police answered 27,939 calls. This emergency response comprises a significant part of police responsibility and resources.

Burglaries

Burglaries continue to be issue of major concern across the islands, affecting residences and businesses alike. While the 2016 statistics reflect a one-third drop in the number of burglaries, it is our position that 440 burglaries on these islands in the course of one year are still too many. Those who have had their homes or businesses burgled in 2016 will not be encouraged by these lower numbers, and neither will the RCIPS let up on its burglary reduction efforts.

The drop in burglaries can be attributed to focused and successful efforts by officers to arrest serial burglars in 2015 and 2016; during this period 222 people were arrested for burglary and some of these individuals were convicted and are still serving sentences. Nonetheless, there has been in increase in burglary reports toward the end of 2016 and into 2017, and we are concentrating our efforts to prevent this increase and indeed continue a trend of reduction.

There are ways to make property less vulnerable and reduce the risk of burglary, especially by investing in security features at points of entry and alarm services. Our Neighborhood Policing Department is launching some new anti-theft and burglary initiatives, and those who would like a visit by a Neighbourhood officer for a crime prevention review should contact Neighbourhood Policing at 244-5036.

However, law enforcement and crime prevention efforts themselves cannot address the burglary problem in the Cayman Islands. Substance abuse drives the incidence of burglaries and most property crimes; it follows that enforcement must be followed by rehabilitation and treatment of addicts.

Firearm Violence

Firearm violence continues to be a significant threat to public safety, and some recent, high profile incidents have underscored this point. Nonetheless, despite the two murders in 2016 that may be gang-related, gang-on-gang violence is down. Our investigations indicate that a number of firearm incidents and other serious violence come about as a result of personal disputes, especially of a domestic nature, that rapidly escalate. It is this conflict escalation, combined with access to firearms, which has produced some of the recent tragedies in the community.
In 2016 officers took 15 firearms off the street, sometimes at risk to themselves. So far in 2017 they have confiscated five firearms. Combatting illegal firearms remains a top priority for the RCIPS, and we are working with Customs to address this national security threat.

We also want to work together with the community to reduce the threat of firearms. We need the community to tell us where to find illegal firearms so we can remove them before violence occurs. Often several people are aware when there is a firearm in a home. We urge these people to notify police, even anonymously, so officers can remove these threats from the community before a tragedy happens. We can be contacted at GTPS at 949- 4222 24 hours a day, or anonymously through Crime Stoppers at 800-8477(TIPS).

Drugs

Drugs are a health and security threat on the islands, and the trafficking of drugs often occurs with the illegal importation of firearms. The RCIPS continues to aggressively interdict the importation of drugs and firearms to the Cayman Islands, with nearly 1,489 lbs. of ganja seized in 2016 (with a street value in Cayman of anywhere from $350-$800 per pound), and a firearm, plus fifty rounds of 9mm ammunition, recovered amongst these drugs. During the year five people were convicted for being concerned with importation, and another four are on remand awaiting trial.

The trafficking of drugs is always accompanied by the threat of violence and the potential for addiction, especially among young people. Reports have been received regarding young people who have been provided with drugs by adults to distribute at school. The impact on youth and public safety cannot be overstated, and the RCIPS continues to focus its enforcement on those who deal drugs. The number of arrests for possession of cocaine with intent to supply tripled to fifteen in 2016 versus five in 2015, while arrests for ganja with intent increased from 23 to 37.

Those who traffic in drugs or firearms, or deal drugs, will be pursued and face the full force of the law. We renew our calls to the community to share information with us that can help us catch these culprits and remove the threats they pose to the islands.

Domestic Violence

Domestic violence continues to be a pervasive problem on the islands with a significant impact on community safety. As reported in the media at the end of last year, the RCIPS saw a spike in domestic violence reports. The overall number of reports received by frontline officers last year of a domestic nature and referred to the Family Support Unit was 746, whereas in 2015 it was 451. This increase may indicate a greater level of comfort and willingness on the part of complainants to report such incidents, or it could indicate an increase in the level of these incidents overall.

Frontline officers are regularly called to several domestic incidents in one night, and from the perspective of police this is a pervasive social problem that requires counseling and intervention to address at a community level. From the law enforcement standpoint, the RCIPS established a Central Referral Unit in 2012 to track incidents and coordinate intervention by the Family Support Unit and other agencies. We believe that this intervention has had a positive and preventative impact in many cases, but law enforcement alone cannot address the scale of the problem. The crime statistics, as currently formulated, only categorize confirmed cases with some evidentiary basis, whereas CRU referrals numbers reflects the overall number of callouts. Going forward, the RCIPS will be releasing more nuanced statistics on this issue in order to describe the problem in more detail as part of a new format for the overall crime statistics.

Child Protection and Child Abuse

Reports of child abuse and child sexual abuse are a continuing cause for concern, and also require a sustained response by several agencies in government and organizations within the community to address, detect, and ultimately prevent. As of this week several representatives of government agencies with responsibilities in this area, specifically, the RCIPS FSU, DCFS, and the HSA, will move in to accommodations at Anderson Square and begin work together as a MASH Unit (Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub). This is big step forward toward better coordination of child protection and is in line with international best practice and expert recommendations. On 6 March there will be an official press launch regarding the MASH Unit with heads of all agencies involved, at which time the press can gather more details about the workings of this unit.

Better coordination amongst government agencies is absolutely critical to safeguarding children who are in harm’s way and ensuring that they are protected as soon as possible. The RCIPS is eager to begin this closer coordination and will fully participate in this new mechanism to bring about a comprehensive and streamlined process that ensures that children who need protection receive it.
In terms of holding child abusers accountable and pursuing justice for child victims, there have been failings in this area of our work and we are in the process of addressing these. The RCIPS has contracted three UK officers with significant experience in child abuse cases and child protection to conduct a full review of the FSU and to expedite any outstanding cases. These officers, who arrived in early January, will be concluding their work within the next two months at which time the press will be presented with an abstract of their findings. At that time we will fully and transparently address outstanding questions insofar as confidentiality considerations allow.

Road Safety

The public was understandably alarmed by the high number of traffic fatalities in 2015, following which the RCIPS made concerted efforts in 2016 to reorganize the Traffic Management Unit with a small contingent of officers focused on delivering strategic enforcement. Statistics reflect that the number of road fatalities fell by 50% last year. This positive development is a result of joint efforts between police and the community: increased traffic enforcement, as reflected in a number of the traffic statistics, (speeding, use of mobile phone, DUI) but also road safety campaigns by community organizations and the media, whose efforts to raise awareness and prevent drunk driving also proved successful, especially during the holiday period.

The RCIPS plans to continue to expand the Traffic Management Unit this year with more frontline officers, but sustainable safety on the roads requires efforts in education and engineering, as well as enforcement, and we will be working closely with the NRA and DVDL on initiatives that improve road safety overall in addition to our enforcement of regulations and laws.

We are continuing our enforcement efforts to address the menace and danger of illegal motorbikes being ridden in a reckless and lawless manner on our roads. Since late December 2016 we have seized eleven bikes and arrested ten people. While the number of reports about such behavior has subsided since last fall, our operations will continue. The dangers these riders pose on the road, both to themselves and other road users, are real and unacceptable. We support the efforts of some community members to establish an off-road track for these bikes where they can be ridden safely and legally, but we will not allow lawless and reckless behavior on the roads that endangers motorists and pedestrians alike. Arrests will be made and bikes will be seized.

Assaults on Police

In recent months we have reported on several incidents where police have been attacked while simply trying to execute their duties. Police officers require the support of the community they are entrusted with protecting or their work becomes untenable and public safety deteriorates. For this reason we will not abide such attacks on officers, and each and every incident will be investigated and prosecuted.
Those who attack or abuse police officers who are carrying out their duties endanger the safety of the community as a whole, and this cannot be tolerated. Our goal is to build stronger community relationships through an ethic of community policing, and we ask that the community work with us, not against us, so we can preserve the safety and tranquility that characterizes the Cayman Islands.

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IMAGE: RTV6