The Royal Cayman Islands Police Service want the public’s cooperation and speak out but it has to be a two way street.

They will only get cooperation when they get the public’s trust.

And what happened in the two incidents I have outlined below is not going to get that trust.

Yesterday (20) from mid morning until mid afternoon a police helicopter was hovering over my house. I live on Bayside Crescent, Newlands, very close to Milton Drive where witnesses said armed police raided a house.

My wife (Joan), returning from George Town, was not allowed anywhere near Milton Drive and had to make an almost mile detour to get to our house that is just yards away.

Armed police were everywhere and they were as tight lipped as a frog’s backside.

“Police operation,” was all they said, as if we were all blind.

The police were apparently after a dangerous individual as they shouted for someone to come out of the residence. When he or she didn’t they stormed the place.

The storming only took a few minutes but the whole operation extended to around four hours.

Over 24 hours later no statement has been issued.

Why?

That is an example of no cooperation. Even a simple statement would suffice. This Newlands area is all residential. If a dangerous individual, presumably armed is somewhere holed up in my neighbourhood I want to know.

If this dangerous individual is still at large surely a description of him or her should have been given out before now? We might assist the police in finding him or her.

If this dangerous individual has been caught it would be nice to know so we can now all rest easy on our laurels.

Silence is not always golden.

Last Sunday Joan, who is 81, and has great difficulty in getting down steps unaided, and has as her friends will tell you is oft to fall, was illegally parked in a handicapped car space on the opposite side of the road to Elmslie Church.

There were two other empty spaces for the handicapped.

The building that had the handicapped parking spaces was doing no public business as it was Sunday.

A police officer came to the church and told one of the church officers the owner of the car parked in the handicapped space without a handicapped driver’s badge had to move it.

Joan duly did as ordered.

The officer watched her whilst she navigated the kerb on the sidewalk down to the road. He watched her whilst she waited a long while as the traffic passed by. The officer made no attempt to assist. Eventually some kind driver stopped to allow her to cross the road.

The officer made no attempt to help her navigate the car out of the car park into the road for her to turn around.

She had to park the car outside the old CITCO building on the road at the back of the church  used as now as a Law Court and walk slowly back. It is a wonder this officer wasn’t watching her painfully do this, too.

Joan was not feeling very Christian thoughts about the police or this police officer. Her father was many years ago the Cayman Islands Chief of Police.

The police want our cooperation.

The officer could clearly see Joan was elderly and having difficulty. He could easily have assisted her and at least apologise that he had to do his job.

I can understand why in Japan they are substituting certain jobs with robots. The general public there cannot tell the difference between robots and humans.

With silence now the option and, as the RCIPS have been banging the drum they are going to show zero tolerance with the slightest infraction motorists execute, we might just as well install robot police officers. They won’t say anything and they won’t show compassion. They will just be programmed. Just like the police officerI have mentioned.

But it is all for our own good. No matter how petty it is. They forget that for the majority of the law abiding citizens  it is the traffic police they will meet first. And that encounter will have a life long affect.

And silence when the police ask for our help is the answer. Just like the  silence they have given us  about the armed police raid in Newlands that involved their helicopter.

And speaking of that helicopter…… It is a pity that noisy beast in the sky  wasn’t silent. It disturbed my afternoon nap.