Frim RCIPS

The RCIPS Holiday Safety Operation, Winter Guardian, came to a close on the morning of Monday, 6 January, following a major operation on New Year’s Eve into New Year’s Day. Additional Police officers were deployed and partners engaged for assistance in a robust road safety operation and to ensure community safety during the festivities across the Cayman Islands, with specific attention being given to Grand Cayman.

After experiencing four deaths as a result of road traffic collisions during the month of December alone, and 14 deaths from 11 fatal collisions overall for 2024, the RCIPS deployed the current class of recruits from the Training and Development Unit, and partnered with Customs and Border Control, to boost the number of officers available and provide increased presence in our communities during the remainder of the festive season. Several units were deployed to carry out proactive patrols and address any social issues, disrupt illegal activities, and assist with crowd control in heavily attended areas. This appears to have been a success. Although there were a number of calls for service throughout the day of 31 December and into the early morning hours of 1 January, no calls for incidents of serious violence or for fatal or serious motor vehicle collisions were received.

Continuous vehicle check points were carried out throughout the night and from these, 29 traffic offenses were detected, the majority of which were for expired registration of vehicles. Four persons were arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol. They were booked into custody and each granted bail pending further investigation.

Overall, for the entire Winter Guardian campaign, which ran from 16 December, 2024, to 6 January, 2025, officers dealt with over 550 traffic-related incidents, ranging from motor-vehicle collisions, to persons stopped and ticketed for traffic offenses. Twenty-three of these incidents were DUIs, while 85 were speeding offenses. There were also about 122 persons prosecuted for using a vehicle without the proper licensing or registration, and 21 prosecutions for using a mobile phone while driving.

“While I believe the majority of road users understand the important of practicing safe driving, there are many who engage in truly bad driving cultures, particularly with regards to drinking and driving and excessive speeding,” says Chief Superintendent Brad Ebanks. “During the course of the campaign we witnessed someone who was tested with a blood alcohol level of over three times the legal limit. One person arrested for DUI, was already disqualified from driving due to previous offenses. Our officers also reported arresting one man who was so intoxicated that he was unable to stand while at the Detention Centre. These are some extreme examples of the type of behaviours that must change.”

“This year saw a significant increase in road fatalities compared to 2023, with 14 deaths in 2024 compared to 9 in 2023. In addition, four of these were during the festive season in December. I would like to send my condolences, on behalf of the RCIPS, to all the families who experienced loss throughout last year, as I know the toll that the holiday holds for those who are grieving. Let us do our endeavour best to enact change throughout this upcoming year and the years ahead, so that we can all be safer on our roads and in our communities.  Currently, road fatalities are the largest cause of tragic deaths in the Cayman Islands, and it must be everyone’s priority to do their part to diminish this driving culture. With that said, I would like to give a sincere thank you to the over 4,550 persons who utilized the purple ribbon bus service on New Year’s Eve. You made the choice to be responsible instead of drinking and driving, and helped make the roads safer as a result”, said Chief Superintendent Ebanks.

The RCIPS would also like to thank those who partnered with us throughout the festive season, ensuring that the message of safety was widely sent. Thank you to the National Drug Council, Compass Media, Cayman Limousine Company, Radio Cayman, the Cayman Islands Fire Service, Customs and Border Control, Everythin345 and High Impact Media. And a special thank you to all those who made decisions such as providing staff with shuttle services from holiday parties, individuals who made the conscious decision not to drink and drive, persons who acted as designated drivers, the drivers and organisers of the purple ribbon buses, and so many others. Thank you for your part in Making the Cayman Islands Safer.