From The Progressives 2017 Manifesto

SAFER COMMUNITIES

Economic success and more Caymanians in work has been a key part of the country’s recent successes. However, there is a risk that this overall success can hide emerging social issues. We share the real concern in our communities about the development of a gang culture and the associated growth in gun crime. In 2016 alone, arrests for offences involving weapons have doubled. We have seen the RCIPS greatly improve the number of arrests for serious crimes and our courts have put several serious criminals, including gang members, behind bars. And
we will support them to ensure they continue to keep our communities safe. We take a hard line against those committing serious crimes.

The next Progressives Government will cut gun crime by at least 60% over the next four years.
We will do this by:
• Supporting the use of Community Policing as an effective tool to keep communities safe.
• Giving the RCIPS more resources linked to a specific action plan that we will agree with them to clamp down on gangs and to eradicate them if possible.
• Introducing a new early intervention programme to identify those young people at risk of criminality and supporting them to make different life choices
• Encourage the creation of more Neighborhood Watch programmes.
• Creating a new Community Warden Service that will work with local people and the police to tackle “nuisance crime”, which often serves as a gateway to future, more serious offending behavior. Community Wardens fit in well with the RCIPS approach to improving community policing across all three Islands.
• Convert the RCIPS Marine Unit into a Cayman Islands Coastguard Service. The Coastguard Service will be trained and given the resources to allow detection and interdiction of boats arriving in Cayman waters with drugs and guns, as well as illegal immigrants. It will also serve as a training ground for youth interested in a maritime career.
• Establish a Cayman Islands Police Authority that will help guide the work of the entire RCIPS.
• Complete the work started to upgrade the Commercial Court in the current Courts facilities and to build a new Criminal Court outside of the city centre.
• Replace the aging RCIPS Headquarters in George Town.
• Replace the Police station in West Bay. • Continue the rehabilitation of persons
in prison and provide assistance after release to ensure they are able to find employment, even if within a Government programme, and mentorship to help them successfully reintegrate into society.
• Consider the viability of a new Fire Station with ambulance service for the Eastern Districts, given the increased number of people and businesses in these districts, including tourists and hotels.
• Ensure our Customs, Police, Immigration, Fire and Prison services are adequately resourced, including staffing levels, and trained.

A STRONG SOCIAL AGENDA

A vibrant economy is only the means to an end for a Progressives Government. The role of government is to provide for the safety and security of its citizens, work with business to grow the economy and create jobs, and to improve the prospects of its people. Rahul Ghandi once said: “A rising tide doesn’t raise people who don’t have a boat. We have to help them build a boat.” And so the next Progressives Government will build on the strong economic and financial platform created in the first term so as to further assist our people in need and to help them rise with the Caymanian economic tide. We will do this by:
• Continuing our efforts to improve the lives of persons with disabilities by advancing the changes required under the Disabilities (Solomon Webster) Law. We will also provide upgrades to the Lighthouse School to ensure that it is fully meeting the needs of those who attend there.
• Reforming the social services programmes and the agencies delivering social services to eliminate inefficiencies and streamline services to better serve the public. We will ensure that our system of social services benefits delivers the right help, to the right people, at the right time.
• Ensuring that no civil service pensioner receives a pension less than the social services ex-gratia payment paid to the elderly.
• Ensuring that every retired person has access to affordable quality healthcare.