Cops doing poor job says survey
RCIPS officers on parade
(CNS): A public survey undertaken by the RCIPS at the end of last year has revealed that most people think the police are doing a poor job at preventing or tackling crime and over 60% believe the cops do not treat people fairly and equally. More than 55% of the people that took part in the survey said the police were either doing a poor or very poor job at keeping order on the streets and solving crime.
From the 734 respondents, over 64% said the RCIPS were doing a poor job at reducing non-violent crime, such as burglaries, and more than 53% of those who answered the questionnaire said police were doing a bad job when it came to preventing violent crime.
With the need for law enforcement officials to not only act without bias but to be perceived as fair, the results of Q30, which asked respondents if they believed the Cayman Islands police officers treat all citizens equally according to the law, should raise concerns for the police management. Only 21% of respondents said they did.
Expecting to get a poor grade, the police management said the survey would help the RCIPS to make improvements across the service.
“We undertook the survey knowing that there would be criticism of the RCIPS, but we are determined to improve the quality of our services and the performance and professionalism of our officers,” said Chief Superintendent Kurt Walton, who also said there would be more surveys to come. “I am therefore committed to take on the messages from the community and work with staff at every level of the organization to make us more effective and to see a resultant reduction in crime across the islands.”
Walton pointed to immediate changes being implemented to meet public expectations identified in the survey and during recent public meetings. He said processes for contacting victims of crime for feedback were being introduced and the service would continue to look for areas where it can do better.
Walton, who is in charge of operations, also pointed to the RCIPS’ dedicated burglary team, which he said has been very successful. He said the police are working in collaboration with other agencies to implement an integrated offender management system as a means of reducing crime.
The RCIPS will be improving its engagement with the community and will be seeking to introduce professional communications support. Plans are also underway to refresh the current RCIPS website to improve the quality of channels available for community interaction. The operations boss noted that the survey highlighted a need to improve the customer skills of frontline staff and cash had been budgeted for training.
Walton also said foot patrols of front line police officers will be increased.
“Officers are on foot patrols in certain areas which were previously targeted by burglars to provide heightened visibility and to safeguard our community,” he added.
The survey indicated strong support for more vigorous enforcement of the traffic law and improving road safety, so cash has been identified for the acquisition of speed detection radars. And with people asking for better lighting on the streets, the police will be speaking to the Public Works Department to see if improvements can be made to street lighting.
The survey delivered a strong message that more investment should be made in crime prevention and, along with a new crime prevention video for the police website, the RCIPS plans more community meetings that include sessions on crime prevention good practice
Police Commissioner David Baines said that as well as fuelling immediate improvements, the survey responses are guiding the preparation of the RCIPS Strategic Plan 2015/17
“The information we have received from the public is helping us to shape our strategic priorities and objectives for the coming years,” Baines said. “At the same time our initial analysis is already directing allocation of resources. It is also focusing attention on the need for improvement in areas such as: burglary reduction, community engagement and keeping victims of crime better informed of progress on the investigation of their cases.”
2015 Community Survey of the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service
See the full Community Survey of the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service
Why is it that when I go to the station to look up an old report I made it cant be found?
Is it that the information given is just thrown away?
But they have such nice uniforms in the photo. Have they learned to put their hats on yet? If so let’s go to lesson 2, how to spot a crime and lesson 3 how to solve it. Tough course,
Funny, but this is their parade uniform.
Perhaps most telling about Q34 is that 90% of those surveyed feel they have been touched by violent crime in some way, and of those, less than 10% feel the Police are doing a good or very good job at addressing it.
Don’t think we needed a survey to tell us the obvious. Most alarming is the botched prosecutions. Also, in a small island like this, we have got to question jury trials. Impossible that any jury can be impartial here.
It’s hard to tell which department is doing the worst. As long as a blind eye is paid to what is going on nothing will change.
My tourist car just got a ticket for parking 45 feet from a crosswalk Lots to say to my friends and family up north and I will keep he ticket as a reminder of banana republic I don’t have to pay because I wont return
What a great attitude. You came here don’t like the rules so you stick two fingers up to them. To be clear you DO have to pay..you just choose to see yourself as above the law and decide that you won’t pay. You are also proud to proclaim that disregard for the rules. If that is the norm where you are returning to – that is where a Banana Republic exists. Bye!
45 feet from the crosswalk are you mad? Their is no such law, Your officer cannot read 45″ is not the same as 45′ and that is why its a banana republic
Wonder what RCIPS and CIG will do with this information? Not that it should be any surprise to them!
From their rack record, they will get more officers, cars,become more agressive and less effective!
Let’s see how quickly the government and CoP will say we need more money and MORE officers, from same jurisdiction too (since we are now the official employment MO of the CIG is to recruit as mann Jamaicans as possible). What a mess! Not one Caymanian man can say enough is enough.
You are so correct, everything we are trying to reduce or prevent they accept in their country,
so you see it is normal and they have no problem with it, so they just drive on by without even noticing.
Can you believe in 2015 they are asking the public, what is good Policing.
No more money, just be accountable and hold them accountable, have a detailed activity/travel log at the end of every shift.
As I have said b4 you keep importing dreck and that is what you have living amongst your people
teaching them how to survive in the jungle, take kickbacks steal etc.
For the most part Caymanians want to be a first world country but don’t understand that if you keep bringing in uneducated workers you will not progress yet the third world worker will move by leaps and bounds and run your island.
That said the first world workers are just here to enjoy themselves they can go back to their first world country at any time they choose
You are also correct, sad but true