Ballistic hub helps track rent-a-gun crime
(CNS): There are currently 19 guns on the streets of Cayman that have been used in multiple crimes, the police commissioner has revealed, and another 66 used in at least one that haven’t been recovered. Police have a much better understanding of the illegal firearms currently on the road that are being reused in different crimes since the creation of the forensic ballistic hub that enables them to quickly link weapons fired at crime scenes even when the firearms are not seized.
As law enforcement tackles the smuggling of weapons via couriers, post, cargo and on drug canoes, there are now clear indications that guns are being shared extensively among criminals. One gun that police are still looking for has been used in at least nine different crimes from attempted robberies to murder over the last seven years and another one in at least four.
Speaking to the press last week the police commissioner, Kurt Walton said that at this stage the police don’t believe that this emergence of ‘guns for hire’ to commit crimes is necessarily a new commercial line of criminality but the ballistic unit is revealing that some people are renting out and profiting from the sharing of guns. Some of the weapons that have been identified after they were fired during crimes here have also been connected to serious and violent crime in Jamaica as well.
Walton said the RCIPS is using intelligence to track who is hiding guns after they have been used and where they are being hidden. The police believe that the girlfriends of gangsters and known criminals are helping to conceal these illegal weapons.
“We know that there are enablers out there who are holding guns for others or renting them out,” he said. Appealing to those people who know where the firearms are hidden he said, those “who help to conceal” illegal guns are complicit in the crimes they are used to commit. Getting people to come forward and share what they know about how weapons are moved around and hidden is central to getting these guns off the streets, Walton added.
So far this year police and other law enforcement agencies have recovered 19 illegal guns from the streets. Most of them were hand guns but police also recovered an AK47 and ammunition in September. But it is not the first time that an automatic assault rifle has been seized here.
Having spent some time during his police career in the firearms unit and investigating gun related crime Walton said he considers himself an expert on the subject of illegal firearms and that what he has often described as an insatiable appetite among young men in Cayman for guns, is a fundamental problem for our community and a national security threat.
While the ballistic unit has helped the police confirm that there are at least 85 different illegal guns currently on the streets that have been used since about 2016/17 what they don’t know is how many of those are now out of circulation or how many more are being used by criminals but haven’t yet been fired at a crime scene.
The ballistic hub, which is used now by law enforcement agencies around the Caribbean, has been instrumental in helping the RCIPS paint a picture of illegal firearm use and the commissioner pointed out how critical it was to get the guns off the street given the impact they have on the community.
With no one making guns in the Cayman Islands all of the firearms on the streets have come from somewhere else. But Walton said that focusing on just the Jamaican canoes as the source of their transfer is wrong as guns are coming from other places and via other means.
The commissioner pointed to the seizures by customs and border control officers who have intercepted smuggled illegal guns via the post and courier services as well as in cargo. He said that a gun was also found aboard a commercial fishing vessel from Honduras earlier this year. One man has been charged in that case and is expected to face trial next year.
While guns are undoubtedly a priority for the RCIPS to tackle Walton made it clear that he does not support making it easier for the public to arm themselves. He pointed out that more weapons will only fuel more violence. Walton warned it was a “slippery slope” as he pointed to the dangers of untrained citizens making decisions about firing weapons when they feel threatened. “You only have a split second to make difficult decisions and you don’t want people asking the wrong ones” he said, as he pointed to the danger of innocent people being killed.
While gun crime is increasing and well aware of the fear people have about gun crime Walton pointed to the numerous safer security measures people can take to protect themselves rather than resorting to an armed community.
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Category: Local News
Young Caymanian girls continue to disappoint. God help us.
Just taking off my dunce hat for a moment… if someone commits gun crime why would they keep it? Surely they’d get rid of and replace the gun they used and that’s how they’re getting used by different people in different crimes. I’m finding this guns for hire theory a bit incredible myself, but whatever it takes to get them off the streets.
My husband said something the other day that stuck with me.
He said: “ Our government was able to keep Covid…..an invisible virus… out of Cayman (for a period) but we can’t keep guns out and get the crime down? “
As a born and raised Caymanian and mother of 2 this is so frustrating to have to wonder if the next knock on your door is an intruder. Or to wonder if you’re putting yourself in danger by picking up some ice cream from the convenience store. I remember the days (as a kid) where our door was literally always wide open but now every door in my house is bolted shut. We are becoming a nation where you can only be rich or poor… is it any wonder why people are turning to crime?
We need Jesus. We all need Jesus.
You’re right, but I think all the thumbs down is for your last line, as he ain’t going to help at all.
you will see soon enough.
Alas, “those who help to conceal illegal guns are complicit in the crimes they are used to commit”, makes sense, but is not a statement supported by our recent case history. Hiding guns in toilet reservoirs (with amnesia) doesn’t earn more than a slap on the wrist.
LMFAO what a load of crap! There’s thousands and thousands of illegal guns on this island… from hand guns to AK47’s. Hell you can get grenades and rocket launchers here if you know where to look!
Bullshit, there’s millions of guns in Cayman
The RCIPS should have a publicly visible plan. It should encompass broad operational tactics like the ‘stop and search’ of people who are known to be connected to those suspected of having the guns in the first place. Search warrants should be getting executed REGULARLY on people’s homes with a dedicated plan to increase the level of community intelligence to support that. Regular and dedicated patrol plans should be put in place for armed police to be on the streets side-armed in the areas where the police KNOW these criminals live. It is about putting the criminals on the backfoot, constantly aware the chances of being caught in possession of a weapon is increasing. Make th criminals think more. Because that kind of activity will hurt them and protect the public. Cayman, you need to hold your Police to Account. They have a duty to protect you. Make them do it.
Unfortunately the police cannot just do a trawl and go knocking on doors because of a hunch.
They can however go in anywhere with cause due to a suspicion of drugs. Pull over a car that smells of weed? go around to the registered owner’s place, as well as the driver’s. Got passengers? let’s inconvenience them, too.
I agree with you generally. However, warrants should only be issued by Courts where probable cause exists, otherwise there could likely be a lot on infringements of privacy rights (contrary to s9, Bill of Rights), which could lead to legal proceedings against public officials.
Mr. Commissioner i I don’t feel any safer! Asking for a friend, didnt the judiciary system just released a convicted murderer who was released twice before but reoffended for burglary then a home invasion, should i feel safer?
Hang around the Rubis in Boddentown, if you ever lack a place for a stakeout. Shouldn’t take long.
Girlfriends?! When’s the last time they searched the ice cream trucks?
They’d at least be able to put a freeze on the assets seized.
Cayman should have a strict criminal code like Singapore. They have achieved very low crime rates, there is no reason Cayman can’t achieve the same.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crime_in_Singapore
There is a vast difference between Cayman’s Caribbean culture and the Asian Singapore culture.
Cayman has been a free for all for too long. And what made Cayman unique in the Caribbean is almost gone.
Caymanians have themselves to blame. They have willingly given up ownership and control of their land, economy and large sectors of the government to foreigners and are barely hanging on to political control. That too will be gone in another generation. Game almost over.
so what you’re saying is that culturally we’re incapable of following some rules and not committing crimes? Or are we importing cultures that have problems with those things?
Either way the solution is simple. Enforce the laws that are on the books and do so constantly and strictly. And stop importing people who can’t follow the rules. When they break a rule, send them home.
In Singapore I believe you can’t chew gum due to the littering implications. Citizens from Singapore would have a heart attack seeing our litter problem. It’s embarrassing to me.
Singapores crime rate has more to do with their education culture and economy than their “criminal code”
Walton. Be careful. You are going to get hounded out of office. Your enforcement mechanisms in general are much too lax. If the police in Singapore would not accept certain conduct happening under their noses, why do our police find it so acceptable here? Confront that! And the girlfriends you refer to are not aiders and abettors of other offenses. They are frontline criminals in possession of illegal handguns. It is a great disservice to suggest they are anything less.
Unfortunately, this probably indicates we actually need more armed officers. Not the ones we have, with big biceps and small brains, but properly trained in firearms and without the Rambo style ego.
Wasn’t there an accidental discharge that hit a SOCO van?
Professionals 🤣
When was the last time the Coast Gaurd intercepted a drug canoe. (10months ago)February of this year is the last one that I know about. So if your not catching the canoes how do you know what they are bringing? “Wanted Killers ain’t coming empty handed “
Better question – why are they not intercepting the canoes that are arriving every week if not every day – follow the money
A single drone – or bluff top radar in Cayman Brac could effectively and immediately stop it all.
And the police say and so nothing.
Old technology. Old methods. Old excuses.
I wonder perhaps if Cayman hadn’t banged on so much about getting more and more power away from the motherland whether they would more inclined to help with solutions.
I suspect the FCO has adopted a “you asked for this, you got it” mentality now.
Respectfully Mr. Walton, people in the Cayman Islands shouldn’t HAVE to rely on safer security measures to protect themselves. This is a 100 square mile island with significant resources at its disposal and only 80,000 residents. Public participation in finding the bad guys is helpful, but it is also a cop out. Find the bad guys.
I’ll bet if you started pulling over some of these lowriding Toyota Civic beaters and search them, you’ll find enough to start linking people to crimes. These guys aren’t THAT smart!
they don’t have to be smart when they have friends and family on team blue