I think the whole country will welcome the news that the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service (RCIPS) will be receiving a million dollars to pay for extra officers and vital equipment including bulletproof vests and improving equipment to interview suspects. The ‘improving equipment to interview suspects’, however, doesn’t thrill me quite as much. It is like the vast sum of money being used for a statistics computer and software. All these do not help the present situation one jot. It is prevention, safety of the general public and the apprehension and conviction of criminals we really want. Perhaps the Commissioner can elaborate more on this interviewing equipment and how it is going to make such a big help.

There is much need for a visible presence of police officers on the street. The general public, merchants and visitors need to feel safe. The only police presence we see frequently is the roadblocks for traffic violations. In this present climate that is not going to promote public goodwill towards the police. We need assurances from the Police Commissioner, David Baines, that he has a plan of action and it includes us. Yes, Mr. Baines, you want our help but it always seems an afterthought. It is only recently that we have been privy to the CCTV videos in a timely fashion. Days after the event are not good enough. What do you want us to do? What are you going to do?

Every law-abiding citizen is very angry at what is going on here. It seems every day someone or business is being robbed. Drive by shootings is increasing. Cruise ship passengers are being advised not to venture out onto our streets with their credit cards and definitely not to wear their jewellery. Even though, very few cruise ship passengers have been targeted (if any), this shows how the present crime wave is being viewed abroad. With a car-jacking in the car park of Dolphin Discovery (a big tourist attraction) on North West Point, West Bay at 6:20pm on Thursday (8th), I know very well how that is going to be reported on the cruise ships.

I was hoping for a reaction to my editorial last Wednesday (7) entitled “Miami advice”, especially from the RCIPS and the Chamber of Commerce. Would it be that difficult to implement here? Isn’t it a good idea to show a police presence? If you, our readers, are in agreement with me, write to me, lobby the Commissioner, and lobby the Chamber.

Of course, if you have better ideas of how the police cash handout should be spent, tell us. iNews wants to know. These are our Islands and we are NOT going to allow a minority of human vermin to ruin them for us. Together we CAN get rid of them. Let us execute what the fictional extraterrestrial race of mutants from ‘Dr. Who’, the Daleks screamed, “Exterminate them!”

When that has been achieved we can turn round to Mr. Baines and the UDP Government and say, “Money well spent.”