Brac residents quick to help police after robbery
(CNS): Chief Inspector Malcolm Kay has said policing on Cayman Brac is made easier by the support given to his team of officers from the people in the community, who show none of the reluctance when it comes to giving information to police as is sometimes the case on Grand Cayman. Speaking to CNS in the wake of the Brac’s first armed robbery at a bar last month, Kay said he was confident this was a one-off incident and that it was “very unusual” for such a crime to happen in the Sister Islands.
The veteran senior officer who heads up the RCIPS on Cayman Brac and Little Cayman said there may have been a “copycat element” to the crime, which had raised serious concerns.
“Unfortunately it has been a real shock to the peace and harmony of the Brac community,” he said. However, as well as the CCTV from the bar, the community had helped him and his team track down the suspect as people were more than happy to give the necessary information.
Once the suspect was identified, the Brac police received the support needed from Grand Cayman, and a firearms support team was sent to the island to help with the arrest. Kay said this had sent a message to anyone who might be contemplating anything similar and dispelled any idea that the police on Cayman Brac are different from Grand Cayman or that he cannot quickly arrange for the specialist policing needed to meet any situation.
“We are not separate here from the rest of the RCIPS. We may have 100 miles to cover but we can get the specialist support we need quickly,” he added.
Kay also said that help from the community is critical and it was not unusual in Cayman Brac. In this case, they were able to find the suspect as quickly as they did because of the help people gave. Although the suspect has not yet been charged and is currently back on the Brac on bail, Kay said the investigation continued and he believed the man would be charged.
He said that people on the Brac are “not at all reluctant” to talk to the police. As well as people calling in with information and intelligence, he has found that people on the Brac are willing to give written statements where needed, which he said was fundamental to the lack of crime there.
“People want to help the police here,” Kay said. “People are far more willing than they are on Grand Cayman to give us the information we need, as they know it’s the right thing to do. There is a morality that prevails in this community, and long may it continue.”
While there are concerns now about the growing use of cocaine on Cayman Brac, Kay said that it was not necessarily fuelling a significant amount of opportunistic acquisitive crime, though there was a concern about the increase in begging and people loitering on the streets. “That is much more evident,” he noted.
Nevertheless, given the size of the island, drug use feels more significant than the numbers reflect. Although it is challenging for the families involved and while the community looks to the police to solve the problem, it is still a broader community issue and a situation that is not unique to the Brac, Kay said, adding that “drugs are everywhere”.
Police officers on the Brac are aware of who is selling drugs and they are focusing on those individuals to get the necessary evidence to arrest them. Kay said he was very concerned about the dealers exploiting vulnerable members of the community and that targeting those selling hard drugs is a priority for 2023.
Kay noted that the level of drinking and driving also remained a problem. “We don’t have the same number of serious accidents here as on Grand Cayman but when we do it is almost always speeding and alcohol that causes them,” he said, adding that these factors caused one of the two road fatalities on the island last year.
He said that DUI was another area of focus for his officers this year to try and change the culture of drinking and driving, especially given the changes to the legislation that has reduced the amount of alcohol people can consume before they are over the limit to drive.
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Whats happening about the police Station ? why don’t the ones in charge say something and do something about that. Do the sensible thing and built a new Police Station on the Bluff across from the Aston Rutty Center( the ARC is a hurricane center also ) on Ashton Reid Drive. Thats like mid Island Bluff with a ramp off/on the Bluff on both the South and North sides of the Island.
Since Mr. Kay has arrived he has been doing an amazing job. He interacts with the community and I have heard from officers under him that he regularly takes their shifts and works nights on patrol even though he’s the boss. He even patrols in his own own car and on days off. I have lived in the Brac for more than 30 years and was pleased to see CI Kay back.
it’s our little Island & we must protect it and not let it turn into the situation Grand Cayman is in!! TAlk & TURM THEM ALL IN!!!! #100 BRACKA!!!
Things have got worse since Kay took over. All talk and no action. You got people dealing cocaine open in the open at a restaurant/bar.
Add to this the regular gatherings of people in the same district loitering and drinking alcohol in a public park – known as pop-a-top park. . . seen the police drive by many times – no enforcement.
There is a reason that this Chief Inspector was sent to Cayman Brac – it apparently wasn’t to be proactive.
@5:56am.
Rather than being anonymous on here , if you are seeing this things, be a good Bracka and call the Police..They can’t be everywhere at once..
Take care of our island rather than bitching and complaining, speak up. See something, say something!
What issues buddie drugs is mostly collected and ship to Cayman for sale a little stays for local distribution and consumption those traveling to and fro are couriers who seldom get caught if they have brac connections Erry ting Kris bra leave deh Brac alone nah wha do you you ??? Snorters in Cayman all happy !
Can you write in language that is understood? I’m not being disrespectful, I just cannot understand you… I suspect you have a meaningful thought, but I cannot discern it?
Fix the cocaine issue then KAY-man since you got it all under control.
Everyone knows the issues on the Brac!! It’s high time for the police, DCFS and other authorities to use that information and do their jobs quickly and proactively instead of waiting for things to spiral!
Go Braccas, keep ONE piece of the Cayman that we all loved .
This translates to the Brac being a smaller more close nit community. Sadly this is how Grand Cayman used to be, and even sadder it’s never going to revert back.
True to a certain extent but they wouldn’t have been so quick to inform had it been on of their own.
You are right about that 4:46. It wasn’t one of their own….this time.
Yes there is an increase of people loitering – whether it be locals or those from a bigger island that begins with a J.
You got overstayers (work permits expired) and even a guy on bicycle who lives in a tent.
Oooh, a “Guy in a tent.” That’s terrifying!