Thieves smash car windows to get at loot
(CNS): The RCIPS say they are seeing an increase in the number of reports about thefts from vehicles where windows have been smashed and items stolen. Commonly stolen items include tools, jewellery, electronics and money which people are leaving in their cars, attracting thieves.
Chief Superintendent Brad Ebanks said the police continue to see opportunistic thefts from vehicles “where unlocked vehicles have provided easy access to thieves”.
He said these crimes had become “targeted and brazen thefts, whereby thieves are seeking specific vehicles, predominantly work vehicles with construction and commercial tools, by smashing windows and taking items”. The thefts are often occurring at night, when vehicles are parked outside homes or at commercial premises.
Officers have made a number of arrests and will continue to investigate incidents that are reported, the RCIPS said. Police are also using other unspecified measures to aid in supporting further apprehensions, they said, but the public is also being asked to take steps to prevent becoming a target.
“We want to stress to the public the importance of removing all items of value from your vehicle when you return home at the end of the day, especially tools, jewellery, electronics and money,” Ebanks said. Items that cannot be removed, such as certain types of constructions tools, should be secured within the vehicle, and tools should be locked inside a heavy-duty tool box inside the vehicle.
The RCIPS reminded residents not to leave valuable items in a vehicle as a general rule, but if this is unavoidable, they should not be visible when unattended. Where possible, serial numbers should be recorded and photos of valuables kept. Another good practice is to engrave unique markings on items so they can be identified more easily if a theft does occur and for insurance purposes.
Owners should always secure windows and lock the doors of vehicles when they are unattended, especially overnight, and installing a vehicle alarm and CCTV cameras at the property are good additional measures. When owners are not at home, vehicles should be parked in well-lit areas and, if possible, in places with security cameras or security officers on sight.
Members of the public are asked to report thefts to the police by contacting 911, or the nearest police station.
Anyone with information about the whereabouts of stolen construction tools is asked to contact the RCIPS. Anonymous tips can be provided to the RCIPS Confidential Tip Line at 949-7777 or the website. Tips can also be submitted anonymously to caymancrimestoppers.com.
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You shouldn’t leave valuables on display in your vehicle. The temptation wouldn’t be there for people to break into the car. Times are changing in Cayman and sadly not for the better.
Everybody on this island knows exactly who these @holes are besides the police! They need to do they friggin job instead of ignoring and selecting who they are going to arrest and when they feel like it!
Poverty drives crime. You cannot Police your way our of a crime issue any more than you can build your way out of a traffic issue.
You need to deal with the causes of poverty on this island, the massive disparity in wealth, the deficiency in public services from healthcare to transportation, the ever climbing cost of living and the expansive gentrification of areas lower incomes peoples previously made use of.
We cant afford to buy a house, we cant afford to rent, we cant pay our electric bills, we cant afford food in the grocery stores, hell we cant even afford gas to get to work.
No one wakes up one morning and says “hmm you know what, forget all this safe ways to make money is for the birds, im going to find a much more dangerous and high risk way”. People turn to crime when doing so is more cost effective than taking part in society. This crime wave will continue until people can afford to live again.
Bullshit. I’ve been broke, but I didn’t steal from people.
Pisspoor excuse.
The people stealing now have stolen plenty of times before.
“We want to stress to the public the importance of removing all items of value from your vehicle when you return home at the end of the day, especially tools, jewelry, electronics and money,”
BS. Historically, residents of this country could leave valuables in cars, leave cars unlocked, etc. and not have to worry about theft. Crime has gotten out of hand, and rather than crackdown hard, RCIPS want us to adjust to the new normal??? Seriously?
How about catching the bad guys and creating a deterrent for future offenders? Small island, 100 sq miles, 80k residents, most of whom are law-abiding people. How hard can it be to find the bad guys and deter future offenders?
I guess RCIPS has yet to discover the concept of “bait cars”. Any solution other than putting the onus for prevention on the public sounds too much like hard work🙄
I keep my older car parked in my front yard, unlocked and with the key in it.
However, there’s a GPS tracker hidden deep inside with its own backup power supply. If I can do it, why can’t a police force with a multi-million dollar budget?
Oh wait, common sense is illegal here and these the same farce of a force that made me have to recover my own stolen vehicle “because we can’t believe your GPS”, and to this day can’t tell me who initially drove it cross the CCTV top of my road. Bunch of clowns that came here for a cushy life and making civilians have to fight crime themselves!
Anyways so it go.. try it bobo, and see you in a bit!
Good point, if the place was as safe and secure as it was a few years back, people could feel comfortable parking their vehicles basically anywhere, but, security officials seem to be busier just doing the easy work, like catching distracted drivers going a few miles over the limit instead of investigating and catching the real criminals, who, by the way are known to many…
Instead of blaming people for leaving their stuff in vehicles, especially work vehicles that are not easy to empty every evening and load up again every morning to go and earn a dollar, why not just catch and prosecute the 4 or 6 gangs that they always claim to have identified, behind the thefts ?
We don’t know what era of “time” you’re imagining…maybe some version of the pre-1970s? Non-performing Cayman government agencies have stoked both drug addicts and vehicle opportunists for over 30 years. It would be nice if there was a version of the CIG willing to recategorize this known social blight by prioritizing addiction treatment and interdiction, instead of continuing with y/o/y failing social recipes. Vote better Cayman.
JDF — err, RCIPS — are either completely incompetent, or involved. Probably both.
Another solution would be for criminals to be caught, the court system do its thing, and anyone convicted who isn’t from Cayman is deported at the first available opportunity, after justice has been served.
Immediate deportation would be even better, and cheaper.
These are Caymanian drug addicts. Why do these people exist is the social quandary. Jail and reason doesn’t fix the mental problems and addiction diseases. It needs resources that haven’t been applied effectively.
Cheaper, but not much of a deterrent. First offense that is prosecuted becomes a free hit.