Cops missing 582 fugitives
(CNS): Almost six hundred people are wanted by the local police service for a catalogue of crimes, from violence to driving with defective lights, if the results of a freedom of information request are accurate. Police have confirmed that they have 582 outstanding warrants that go back fifteen years, most of which relate to traffic offences but over 140 relate to criminal offences.
Last month Cayman News Service revealed that over 20% of the local population already has a conviction. This latest revelation further highlights the impact that criminalizing so many people for minor offences, instead of dealing with them administratively, is having on an already stretched criminal justice system.
Police are issuing warrants to people for driving without seatbelts, which could be easily dealt with via on the spot fines and free up officers to deal with the more serious local fugitives. Over 100 people are on the run for serious crimes, including violent and gun-related offences.
Police Commissioner David Baines recently told CNS that he would like to see minor offences, such as the consumption and very small possession of ganja, dealt with via administrative fines, which would not only direct police resources to where they are really needed but would alleviate the massive pressure on the court system, which is struggling to cope with the year-on-year increase in cases.
The current list of outstanding warrants runs from parking offences to serious assault and burglary and goes back to the year 2000. Police still have a warrant for the arrest of an individual ticketed for speeding in August of that year who never paid the fine. They also have 169 warrants outstanding for last year and a further 72 warrants have been issued in just the first two months of this year.
The RCIPS has confirmed it is seeking to break down the warrants list into those who are believed to have fled the jurisdiction.
Why are the police complaining? They are the ones who put police officers on the beat who are afraid of tackling people with warrants. If they can’t tackle them of course they are going to feel like they are untouchable. Speaking of which, if a man who is charged for stealing $10,000.00 will not be brought back to dance to his music, why are they complaining then? Just write those warrants off as bad debt and look forward and learn from the mistakes of the past.
Another reason why there are so many warrants still outstanding (some for 15 years). Is because even if the assailant, who already has a warrant, is in front of a police officer committing a crime, they will let him go and arrest other innocent persons instead. They don’t ask names, they don’t call it in to check if persons are on a warrant list, they don’t even take information from bystanders for possible witness statements. The police are not doing their job, another reason for the courts being full. Wrongful arrests, lack of evidence and/or witnesses, fabricating evidence etc etc.
who’s fault for the catalog of 582 outstanding warrants that go back 15 years?we know now who committed the crimes ….but who allowed them to accumulate for so long?
On the ticket it palinly says it must be paid by x date OR you are to appear in Court. If you pay before x date then viola…..all’s good. But the Courts is clogged with offenders who don’t click their damn seatbelt (it is the law so just do it just like it’s the law to drive on the left). Here’s what I recommend to ease congested Courts with unna offenders who don’t pay unna tickets when yah show up at Court after you realise you’ve missed the date is to add $50 for every day after original Court date. However warrants aren’t issued until 7 clear days have passed. But where’s there’s a warrant the Court must double the fine. That’ll get y’all attention and make unna click unna seatbelts and put them children in appropirate car seats or booster seats! Sick of carrying dead weight around yah!!
Another glaring example of being behind the curve (just like legislators refusing to even “talk” about the pros/cons of decriminalizing marijuana, and updating other antiquated laws). Meanwhile glaring waste continues in too many areas to even mention anymore! And the powers that be are off on another travel junket!….
Tickets should be tied in to registering your vehicle. Any outstanding tickets and you can not registeryour vehicle or renew your license. Makes you pay up your fine pretty quick.
How hard would it be to add a barcode to the tax disc with all the registered owners details, any offence, scan it, upload to the DVLC and print an automatic ticket, maybe one on your driving license as well. I reckon you could ask Kirks or Fosters for a bit of help. When you pay the fine, scan the code again and register it as paid. A simple straight forward method of ticketing/collection would ensure more compliance and revenue and efficiency.
Ummm… Do the police not give their list to immigration so that Immigration can stop them at the border before they leave?
I wonder how many on the list have been able to do things like renew their drivers licenses or even become Caymanian since the warrants were issued? Do we at least have that level of protection in place, or do we dumbly insist “innocent until proved guilty”, next in line….
And what happens when an individual doesn’t pay an on the spot fine? Because if you ask someone to pay $500 on the spot for not having a seatbelt they will just fish out the cash or a credit card, whereas if you let them drive off with a ticket they will flee the jurisdiction or evade payment, right? How is the outcome any different – the people who are able to pay, and law abiding enough to want to pay, will pay, whether its on the spot or by ticket. Those that are not or cannot will not.
And whilst I am sure it is highly attractive to the RCIPS to stop “criminalizing so many people for minor offences” , what you are asking for is to change the law so the statistics look better, rather than demanding that the police and the justice system do their job and enforce the law. When no one enforces the breach of trivial offences, is it any wonder that the criminals getting increasingly bold and think they can do whatever they like. And enough with the lack of resources – we have more police officers per head of population than most countries, but they seem unable to enforce the most basic of offences, let alone the appalling catalogue of criminal prosecution failures due to basic errors in procedure and, evidence and prosecution.
because for some offenses like driving without a seat belt the police have to give a warrant, not a ticket, which means the offender HAS to go to court before paying a fine, hence why the court system is over crowded
No it means that the offender did not simply go to the office and pay the ticket. That is when they end up with a warrant. However, I would have thought that the offender would have first received a court summons to appear in traffic court before an arrest warrant is issued.
Wrong! I was driving without seat belt last year and the officer gave me some blue paper after taking all my information and said an officer will contact me shortly. After about a month a got a call while at work to come outside to be served. At this point I was given a court date. Anyway, I went to court and the judge fined me $75 which I paid and left after being there for 5 hours hearing every other case before mine. This was a waste of my time and the courts!! They could/should have given me a ticket and I go in and pay it rather than appearing before a judge over a damn seatbelt.
Did you try reading the blue piece of paper, genius? The bit about having to attend court if you didn’t pay it? It was a waste of the courts time, but entirely consequent on your failure to attend and pay, which would have cost you a lot less time and money, let alone not being in that position at all if you had put your seatbelt on. Always someone else’s fault, right?
A ticket is a summons if you do not pay it. It says so on its face. What you propose just adds complications and expense. Pay your damn ticket or face the consequences!