It was sobering words from CID Detective Superintendent Marlon Bodden on Wednesday (29) when he said there were 293 burglaries committed in the Cayman Islands over the first seven months of 2012. And this figure was actually decreasing! But he pointed out some of the blame falls on home and business owners for encouraging burglars by sheer carelessness.

“Individuals fail to lock doors, windows and leave valuables exposed,” he said, although he did admit the current financial hardship was also a contributing factor.

He listed the areas with the highest number of break-ins:

the seaside of Seven Mile Beach where 55 burglaries (19%) have occurred so far this year, with a further 8 on the land side,

Prospect with 18 reported incidents,

Windsor Park/Walkers Road area with 24 incidents reported.

These areas would be the focus of the identified “hot spots”. He warned that criminal suspects generally move to other areas if patrols become too visible in one neighbourhood of the Island.

“It’s like a balloon; you squeeze one end and it comes out the other,” Mr. Bodden said.

I was very pleased to hear Mr. Bodden say the police work closely with pawnshops and second hand stores in detecting whether stolen property has changed hands.  However, there are no specific regulations in place to enforce this co-operation and I hope the RCIPS press for laws to be brought in to make this mandatory. This would send a warning message to would be thieves that it is not easy to dispose of stolen goods.

Another area of Mr. Bodden’s speech I welcomed was when he said he wanted the community to know that the RCIPS takes burglary seriously as it has a wide impact.

“When business owners become victims of crimes,” he said, “it affects them in different ways, not just economically, but emotionally and physically. When these businesses are repeatedly hit the owners become disillusioned about carrying on in business and that has a wider impact on people’s jobs and the entire economy, so the police are doing all they can to try and minimise the crime.”

He also said the public had played their part in assisting with investigations and information. Neighbours also have their part to play in keeping a lookout for each other. Bodden pointed out when criminals break in to homes in a condo complex they often hit more than one property. One vulnerable apartment often attracted an opportunist burglar, who then hit several at the same time.

Security was the key, however, and he said quality CCTV, alarms and other sophisticated security measures were effective but said the biggest deterrent to a burglar is good lighting. It also helps with the cameras. Overgrown trees and bushes, should be trimmed and people should lock doors on windows on their properties.

Mr. Bodden said the RCIPS co-operated with other agencies, such as customs, immigration, planning and the department of labour.

Of course prevention is better than cure and he also spoke on that. If he does his job really well, he would also help reduce the current government’s financial problems. We would have no need of so many police officers and then there is the question of that ……

Helicopter.