Cops stirred up over longer booze hours
(CNS): The acting commissioner of police, Anthony Ennis, has raised concerns over the news that bars and nightclubs will all be allowed to open longer following a decision by the liquor licensing board to offer a blanket extension to compliant licencees. After a challenging weekend for the police in which they dealt with three firearms related cases and hostile crowds outside several George Town bars and clubs the RCIPS had revealed plans to step up patrols around bars and clubs to protect the public as a result of a surge in weapon related crime.
The news from the department of commerce and investment that the board had made a decision to extend the general licensing hours for places of entertainment start 1 July, came on the heels of police raising concerns about the increase in criminality outside some nightspots. Ennis said that the decision was not going to help the situation.
“It is disappointing to learn of the decision to extend hours for bars and nightclubs selling liquor via a media query,” the acting commissioner said, Tuesday, in a short statement. “Although not strictly required, the RCIPS was not invited or consulted on the consequential impact that this will likely have on public safety and police resource deployment.”
Ennis said that there will already have to be adjustments to address the increase in the number of incidents the police have seen occurring around nightclubs in the early morning hours which he said had included violence and other criminal conduct involving firearms, knifes and blades as well as more general anti-social behaviour and road safety concerns.
“While we are not against legal places of entertainment, we are seriously concerned about the growing number of incidents that put public safety at risk and more needs to be done to make these establishments safer for legitimate mature patrons and increasing the hours we believe will not ameliorate the problem,” Ennis added.
The DCI however, said that the police had been involved in preliminary discussions regarding the change to hours. A spokesperson told CNS that the board’s decision to increase the hours that licensees can open their businesses, if they wish, was as a result of the constant request for extensions from many bars and clubs. The DCI also pointed to the needs of the tourism sector and late-night entertainment.
But the department was clear that they were cooperating with the police to address any potential problems around all night spots regardless of their hours.
DCI now has its own enforcement officers that have the power of police constables and can ensure owners of placing selling booze are not just compliant regarding their business obligations but that they are also not allowing people with weapons into their establishments and maintaining secure environments for customers. The department also recently recruited Claudia Brady, a former chief inspector with the RCIPS to head up the new enforcement arm.
Category: Local News
I don’t believe there is much of a financial benefit extending from 3 until 4. in fact, i doubt many places will take advantage of it. The one or two that do stay open, will just end up with more drunk people coming from other places to take up space, not spend much, and cause trouble.
What would be a benefit is not changing the hours, but changing the occupancy times. Last call on saturday at 11:45 as usual, liquor sales stop at midnight as usual, but keep the lights down and the music playing till 1:00 instead of forcing everyone into the parking lot at the same time.
As a tourist, when I was the party scene age I made sure to book my travel plans to arrive on a Sunday night and depart on a Saturday. Saturday nights in GC , IMO, were not worth spending the money to stay on the island for. That was my solution. I didn’t complain about the islands rules- I just booked my trip around it. Now, as I am older- I fly into the island on a Saturday so that I can rest my first night and the rest of the week I can go out and enjoy without feeling like I am on a curfew. I agree with post 8:03- it would be nice for places to be open later on Saturday even if not serving alcohol.
Of course citizens aren’t supposed to bring squabbles, drugs, and weapons to bars. If they are drinking at a nightclub, chances are they probably shouldn’t be planning to drive home either. But it’s up to the Police to get out there and make the leap from theoretical to actual Police work, instead of complaining about humanity in the absence of visible deterrence. Their job is to safeguard society by apprehending those that break our laws, while they are breaking them, not arriving an hour or more later to fill out a report and add it to the great hanger of unsolved crimes. We don’t need any more CoP’s of the passive janitorial school of policing – we need to see action.
All true. And at the same time, the people drinking and clubbing are 100% responsible for there actions.
And yet no stores can open on Sundays or God might get mad. Third world rules.
but this is a christian nation we have to listen to a book and believe in that big sky daddy or we’ll burn in “hell”
You is already in hell bro
Get your facts straight. Small grocery stores are now legally allowed to open. During the consultation period the supermarket operators made it clear that they were not interested to open on Sundays.
The nightclub owners should also be responsible for bussing the drunks home safely to ensure that they do not get into their cars to cause harm to themselves or others on the roads. Why don’t the LL Board include that clause in their license and enforce it! While the RCIPS can be out in force policing popular nightspots it is not the responsibility of the Police Dept. to baby sit the selfish/careless drunks. Ever heard of drinking responsibly or don’t drink at all! If you know you don’t have a designated driver then do the responsible thing and take a taxi to and from the bar. Don’t drive yourself to the bar because obviously you’re about to make a stupid decision by getting into your car while intoxicated to drive yourself home which could result in an accident. The cops need to be more vigilant outside nightclubs/bars and when an individual walks to their vehicle and sits behind the wheel and starts their vehicle, that is enough to arrest them for DUI. Don’t wait until they get on the road for someone to then call 911 to report a drunk driver. Be proactive and take precautionary measures.
Stop blaming the bars for these criminals and blame the ghost police of Cayman… I say that because visitors here ask if we even have cops cause they never see them out. Patrol the streets, set up in the parking lots of bars, hide in dark corners off streets where cars race down the road at 4am. Most people who live near a main road know exactly what I am talking about. If I were a cop here I would ticket the crap out of people everyday with the violations I see. It’s shocking.
Or……. maybe the people using alcohol could be responsible. Just sayin.
And if you did ticket them you would be called out by a bunch of mouthy locals for interfering in their culture. Like when they USED to boot lazy-ass illegal parkers.
Simple solution. Make it mandatory for licensed establishments (or landlords) to properly light up their exterior areas (parking lots, etc.) after 1 a.m. Proper LED lighting of these areas will not incur much power costs, but the light will strongly encourage patrons to quickly disperse once they exit the building. Plus it make it safe for patrons to get to their vehicles and allows CCTV to record clearer images.
“Cops stirred up over longer booze hours”
If James Bond were the chief cop here, the headline would have read:
“Cops shaken up over longer booze hours”
….ridiculous! The Liquor License Board should be held accountable when fatal/hit and run accidents happen due to DUI being involved! There needs to be accountability for this reckless decision!!!
Actually, this has nothing to do with the board.
It is the person who chose to drink and drive who is to blame…..
Damn right, we are all responsible for our own behaviour..blaming others is a growing disease
This is nothing short of being an absolute reckless decision! Were they drunk when they made this decision? Or are they deaf, dumb and blind to what has been happening in our community with the high level of crime: stabbings, shootings, fatal accidents, fatal hit and run accidents, robberies and the list goes on and on! How can you have the public’s best interest in mind by making such an irresponsible decision. Let’s use commonsense… I’ve always been told that with every action there’s a reaction and with that comes consequences. And this decision can only reap negative consequences. Long before 2am people are drunk and a danger to themselves and others let alone extending the already extended hours. For those of us who choose to drive responsibly and have a conscience for others, we will have to be even more careful on these already dangerous roads in Cayman.
“DCI now has its own enforcement officers…..”
A private secret-police force in the making.
Remember this happened before when Tom Jefferson set up a ‘police’ unit separate from the RCIPS. The then commissioner was 24 hours away from arresting him when it was shut down.
Congratulation to the LL Board for waking the RCIP patrols up. They should have been doing heavy nightclub patrols already
The DCI say the extension was a result of constant requests from licencees, what sort of reason is that to justify increasing the nightly mayhem outside a lot of these establishments?.Once again it seems that vested interests and commercial profit outweigh common sense and the safety of the public.
Congratulations night club owners. You can now make even more money and spread more misery.
Liquor. Making the world a worse place for thousands of years.
So true 10:55am. It’s a shame people depend on it so much; especially here in Cayman.
Alcohol actually has no benefits for our health and the human body does not need it for anything at all.
People just drink to get drunk, “feel better”, or “forget” (temporarily) their pain or problems. Some just do it socially to fit in and what might be just a social drink today can become a bad habit in just a few short years and boom your an alcoholic.
Alcohol destroys lives, families, marriages, friendships, careers, opportunities etc.
But, it’s a money maker right? What makes the “world” go around? $$$$$$$$
P.S there are several types of alcoholics and they range from the binge drinkers to the everyday drinkers. If you drink even just 1 drink every evening you go home, yes, you are an alcoholic. If you drink just on weekends; yes you are an alcoholic. If you drink once a month (rare) technically, yes, you are still an alcoholic. If you can drink 2 alcoholic beverages per year, then you don’t have a problem; now, who out there can raise their hand to that?!
Right you are. Many many people are very uncomfortable with their un-drunk selves. Thank goodness not everyone.
Alcohol makes people violent and un respectful.
Another product you smoke makes you apathetic and complacent.
Let’s see, which would I rather have in my society if I HAD to choose between one of them.
Alcohol just has been in our society longer than the other – but in my opinion it’s much worse.
This is why the government need to establish a PROPER public transportation system so drunk drivers wont drive. SIMPLE. OR, implement a law that taxi drivers MUST charge a lower rate for people who need rides. It shouldn’t cost C.I 35 dollars to get from the cinema to south sound. Its bizarre. Extending hours of an establishment does lead for more unfortunate things in some cases to happen but its NOT the reason why they happen in the first place. Don’t blame for clubs for peoples misconduct. Blame the people who are supposed to be doing their job and watching out for these things… pretty sure we know who is supposed to be doing that.
The drunk drivers bear some responsibility for getting behind the wheel. Uber or Uber X can’t come soon enough.
I fully agree with Mr Ennis.
Extension of opening hours (Monday-Thursday) will not be a significant advantage to the general public or operators of licensed premises. However, Saturday and Sunday hours need to be revised. All licensed premises currently close at 12 Midnight on Saturday and Sunday, creating a tremendous impact on traffic and law enforcement resources. Public Safety is one of the Basic Objectives of the Liquor Licensing Law and Music/Dancing (Control) Law.
Yeah. That music/dancing is causing too many deaths and injuries.
And why to we need these extended hours????? really and truly we have to remove these bar and club owners from the liquor Boards, it is a self serving interest. I would further add that having security at these bars don’t help at all . We will have more crime , more accidents on our roads . Why do we have to follow other countries . I say its a bad mistake and time will tell.
It was a completely daft move that only stands to benefit a few well-connected bar and nightclub owners.
Not a good idea!!! Just change the opening hours on Saturdays until 2 am and leave the as they are.
Y’all are worried about drink driving but not calling on the RCIPS to get out and patrol the roads. They do not do that and that is the reason so many people drive drunk. Well that and the extortion criminals disguised as taxi drivers. Maybe look at letting the public buses run until 3am or regulate the taxiriminals. I don’t want to be on the road with drunk people so I would greatly appreciate if more people would start to call out the real problems and not the bars.
I guess it will cut into their nap time at the station
I agree. Besides the gang element, this puts more drunks on the road later at night.
So police the roads and enforce DUI checkpoints year round and not just in December.
drunk driving is a tradition here…the islands largest parking lot is Royal Palms…
Right in time for summer. School will soon be out….tons of under aged people will be out at the clubs and bars and some, if they’re lucky won’t get stabbed or shot at.
Then there’s the drunk drivers…..SMH.
Being on the road after 10pm is a huge risk in Cayman. Fact.
There are like no cars on the road after 10pm… its honestly more dangerous to drive in the morning with all these crazy drivers trying to make it to work on time because they can’t get up a half hour earlier…
Anonymous 8:35am – So well said!!
Now if we can get Caymanians to understand that a roundabout is NOT a 4 way stop!!
After 10pm its a risk? Do you not drive during the day? The standard of driving is shocking whether a driver is going home from the club at 3am or to work at 7am.
“Being on the road after 10pm is a huge risk in Cayman. Fact.” Now being on the road will be a huge risk at 5 a.m.
Not smart- really no reason to still be drinking at 4 a.m.