Robbers strike three times in one night
(CNS): The spike in robberies on Grand Cayman continued Friday with three armed stick-ups in less than two hours by what appears to be the same culprits from the descriptions given by the RCIPS. Police were called out to the first mugging at around 9:30pm at the parking lot by Seven Mile Public Beach. A man at the location was approached from behind by two masked men, one of whom appeared to be carrying a gun. The robbers took his bag containing cash and fled in a white vehicle in the direction of West Bay.
Some ten minutes later, officers were sent to the scene of another street robbery, this time in West Bay by Centennial Towers. A woman was walking along the West Bay Road when two masked men approached her. One of the men brandished a gun and robbed her of a bag, which contained cash and personal items. The men, who were both about 5’7″ tall, were dressed in black and wearing masks.
Then at around 10:50pm, a food truck on Crewe Road, near the Grand Harbour roundabout, was robbed. Two masked men, also dressed in all black, approached the truck. One brandished a firearm, while the other had an unknown object in his hand and demanded cash. The men fled the scene with an undisclosed amount of cash.
Robberies have been piling up to unprecedented levels this year, with police currently working on around 30 unsolved muggings, stick-ups and heists on the street, gas stations and restaurants since August. Last month at a press briefing to update the public, Detective Superintendent Peter Lansdown said officers were now closing in on the culprits, but so far there have been no charges.
Police Commissioner Derek Byrne said the crime spike was the work of around ten local suspects, all known to the police, who were part of a loosely affiliated crime gang.
- Fascinated
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Decades later, HM Northward is still not big enough, or secure enough, for the criminals that need to live there. There do not seem to be any published rehabilitation criteria to qualify for parole. Consequently, dangerous recidivists are being released early to get back on their carousel, the only one they know. Gotta make space for all the newer inmates so DPP can sell us the idea that they are going through the case backlog. We need a bigger facility.
Wasn’t there a big back patting ceremony recently when they promoted half a dozen RCIPS to DCI’s? Money well spent. Given that we elect convicted criminals and thugs to parliament, is it really any surprise that violent crime is getting out of hand? Only a matter of time before a tourist gets a gun stuck in their face and this place will never recover. ROPER, RCIPS and CIG need to get on top of this now!
Is there a legal process that would lead to declaring the RCIPS incompetent followed by dismissal of its chief and the other staff?
I understand that the UK is in a free fall itself and time is ticking for Sunak, still nobody has cancelled the system of external checks and balances aimed at ensuring that police, including in overseas territories, carry out their duties properly and are held responsible if they fail to do so.
interesting idea – can you elaborate, which staff would you remove; replace the entire service or simply defeund the organisation and not replace ?
in relation to checks and balances of overseas territories government including law enforcement and the judiciary why not have a look at bvi commission of inquiry report. this looks like an example of when the UK government has actually stepped in to review a failing system and made extensive recommendations to remedy these failures, albeit it has been watered down somewhat due to local resistance which I would be very confident would be the same case here.
Sounds like no one should be out at night. Curfew needed?
curfew yourself.
curfew is not needed, but a real police force is! Do your job, RCIPS!
If people are saying not to go out after 8-9-10 pm… there’s serious issues!
Uh yea, that’s exactly what is repeatedly said! And haven’t you been reading the headlines the last few months? Cayman is certainly not the safe, welcoming territory it used to be.
Three strikes and not out in Cayman.
We just don’t go anywhere after 8 pm ish. Home doors locked, baseball bat at the ready if im honest
Most times when I am walking, I carry a Spanish Elm walking stick. Not a cane — a smackie stick. I am not suggesting that we all carry clubs, canes and sticks, however I would guess that if we did, these robberies and thugmuggings might decrease. I have an old injury and thus a limp, so the stick is justified. I am elderly. I have had enough.
I firmly believe that it should be legal for women to carry registered capsicum spray cannisters. Certainly none of these are defence against a gun, at least not a real one, and nobody should risk their lives for their purse or wallet or jewelry. People should never carry pepper spray or mace if they haven’t trained as there is an equal health risk for the untrained user as the assailant.
Pepper spray is illegal in the following countries: Denmark, Luxembourg, Norway, Netherlands, Belgium, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Hungary, The United Kingdom, Turkey and Sweden. I am sure there are many others. Research for yourselves the *reason* it is illegal; I’m afraid my interpretation would not be accepted.
Be safe out there, and if you see something going on, scream and yell and get attention. As with 5:20 Elvis, we don’t go out much at night. What I get from the above and other stories is that people who are vulnerable are often alone and not in sight of others. Don’t give these criminal cowards an opportunity. Be aware of your surroundings, and should God grant you the tiny window to crush their testicles without risking your own life, then by all means crush away with bad manners.
I thought they announced they knew who these locals were over a month ago and building a case.
Cant they have surveillance on the culprits since they know who they are and catch them in the act?
Or was it all hogwash talk for the press conference, and they actually don’t know sh*t
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I’m a returning visitor to the island, from my experience back home this is how it all starts. The police don’t crack down, the crime increases until it gets out of hand.
The police need to put a stop to this immediately. They need to add more police on the roads to surveillance or people will be harmed and eventually tourists will go elsewhere if they don’t feel safe.
I have a big feeling they are using those fake guns brought in for Halloween. they removed the orange piece and now you have an imitation firearm. They better come good because if i notice its and imitation firearm they will be beaten with no mercy and anyone who get in the way.
Fake guns! I thought it was illegal to import fake guns?
This is frightening!!!! What has Cayman become?
Can’t go out without having to worry about someone putting a gun to you and robbing you of your money and jewelry.
Sad you can’t even spend a late evening out on the beach anymore. these delinquents need to be dealt with. they feel they can commit these crimes and get away. that’s why they have spiked. feel there is no consequences
I’m not sure if the police are “closing in ” on these robbers as I’m sure they can outrun our police officers.
Don’t anyone worry as the police are right on top of it as they have a good idea who is doing these bad things and will round them up. Probably will have another news conference to let us all know the good news!
it’s not safe anywhere here. the cops don’t enforce traffic laws, they don’t patrol, they would probably catch some of these thugs if they started to actually pull people over during the day instead of waiting for the evening hours only.
Not safe anymore. You used to be able to leave your doors open, but not anymore.
Ten in the gang?! Grab one and sweat him til he talk. They need the taste of old fashioned McArthur Milk.
I might be naive but if the police is familiar with the culprits can’t they just swarm down on the locations where they know they live or hangout and take them in for search and questioning? This has been going on for quite awhile and nothing seems to have been done so far. Why does it take so long to “close in” on them? Perhaps it is time to bring in some assistance! Are they waiting for someone to get injured or something worse happening?
“Human Rights” is what one officer told me when I suggested they do what they did in the past.
well, they are still too lazy to find legal ways of arresting anyway.
I heard today of a couple who have just cancelled their planned holiday here as a result of this spate of robberies.
I heard of a Canadian family who canceled. Been coming down for many years, but don’t want to worry about armed robberies while on vacation because Cayman was always safe before.
Sad.
I rent a condo on SMB and three cancellations in Jan/Feb 2023 came through last week. One of them mentioned the crime, the others did not respond.
I haven’t cancelled living in Cayman, but I have almost entirely cancelled be out at night past 10pm. Looks like I’ll need to move that up to 9pm.
A white vehicle. Is it too much to narrow down the scope of possible vehicles to a bike, tricycle, scooter, sedan, hatchback, coupe, police car, pickup truck, or van? It seems like robbers are free to do as they please, and needn’t brandish anything more than a crescent wrench. No chance of catching them with these amateur witness/victim interview details.
The recent surge of crime is disturbing and disgusting. This is socially unacceptable and needs to stop.
Tell that to young Caymanian men that are forced out of the job market.
Yeah because laziness and a lack of paying attention in school can always justify armed robberies…..SMFH
No young Caymanian men are forced out of the job market. They quit so they can be GANGSTAS!
What an ignorant reply.
So what you’re saying is the only thing keeping Caymanian men from being violent armed robbers is a job? In other words, they have no moral compass at all and really aren’t good people. Thanks for clarifying that for me. It explains a lot.
Yeah because violent, dishonest, lazy losers would make excellent employees right?
I would love to tell that to young Caymanian men that felt forced out of the job market. I would love to counsel them and tell them the strategies others in similar situations employed to pull themselves up — often with zero help from anyone or any organisation — to a level where they were self-subsistant.
I would love to tell them how turning to crime will lead to a dead and wasted life. I would love to talk with them about the realities of being a man, how it means to be responsible for you and your family, how it means to compromise with your spouse, how nobody can take from you your self-worth, your honour or your integrity.
Finally, I would be proud to talk with them about how their ancestors had it significantly harder than they, but they would NEVER EVER have considered robbery or muggings as a means to make ends meet, because those are the marks of a fucking coward, who has willfully chosen to give up on themselves and everyone around them, and taken the easy way out.
It takes balls to work a menial job day after day, barely making ends meet. It takes sand to look for a job and take something that is less than your skills warrant. It takes guts to work extended hours to end up with nothing left for the sake of your family.
I hope if you know any young Caymanian men who fit this mold that you sit them down and tell them the reality of being a MAN. It is to be responsible…. responsible for the consequences of their actions.
Ever wonder why women aren’t robbers? It’s because they aren’t usually cowards. It’s also because they are more attuned toward enduring pain for the good of their family. Not fair. It’s not fair. Just the way it is.
Doesn’t the Honorable Governor Roper have ultimate responsibility for the police and the island’s safety? Why is he being so quite in all this?
because he’s leaving in a few months and this was always a last holiday assignment before retirement.
11.42am I was waiting for a “blame the Governor” comment.As has been said his job is not to interfere with the internal running of this country which is the responsibility of our politicians, except in cases of national concern to HMG such as proven corruption at the highest level amongst our leaders. If the Premier feels at any time that crime is out of control he can request the Governor to bring in specialist crime fighters from Scotland Yard who can act indepedently of local influence.
That would be great. Please relay to Scotland Yard that our police are looking for a white vehicle with a guy brandishing an unknown object. #TIA
Yeah 1:24. Alden basically stripped the Governor of all his powers related to internal matters.
So short sighted but Caymanian love it.
Responsibility for all failures of the RCIP is the responsibility of the Crown, Governor etc. whether it fits your narrative or not. No elected representative has the power of oversight over the operations of law enforcement. It is the pitifully transparent dishonesty of those like you why Cayman will be better off in the long run with those like you gone, regardless of all of the challenges we face specifically because of decades of your failure to be anything other than the upside down insect life Mrs. Sybil Fawlty observed on the bottom of her garden pond. You are the weakest link, goodbye.
Well anon seems like your wait is over! I for one do feel that this Governor is just hiding out instead of helping. Seems like all he wants to do is give old Alden honors. Hope he enjoys his retirement.
11:42, Caymanians need to start solving their own problems, however, perhaps we need direct rule because the overall situation is rapidly declining here and we seem totally incapable of dealing with crime anymore.
The reputation of our place as a tourist centre is getting out and it is not good. Seven Mile Beach is no longer a safe area after dark.
Direct rule will almost certainly find a white vehicle.
My family is spending a lot of money to come down there in a few weeks. Did I just read Seven Mile Beach is no longer safe after dark? Doesn’t it get dark by dinner hour? Should we plan on not going out to dinner? Cancel our trip until this crime is under control?
Come at your own risk at this point… Don’t walk the beach after dark; don’t walk back after a nice dinner; don’t leave your screen door open even on a third floor to enjoy the sound of the surf; don’t go to Public Beach; Calico’s is gone; No beach at the Marriott’s; Royal Palms is a dump. Basically, screw every reason to come! Cayman is a mess and CIG has no clue what to do.
I really wouldn’t worry too much. Like anywhere in the world, there are places in a country which are more advisable to avoid than others. However, Cayman is still one of, if not the safest territory in the region. As long as you use common sense you’ll be fine and have a great trip!
True, true. Like risking a murder in front of the Government House security gate, staffed 24/7, yet with no leads, CCTV, or statement from Governor. Don’t worry about the hotels next door. Pretty normal stuff, bad neighbourhood and all.
Do come. Just be cautious if going to out of the way places. Don’t flash jewelry, go to good restaurants, don’t go to the beach at night .. regular stuff. Enjoy your vacation!
Sorry, that is not what I will pay good money for; not a vacation the way you describe it.
Stop listening to the fear-mongering fools on social media. Your trip will be fine. Nobody is going to bother you. There are no Caribbean islands that are safer than Cayman.
I would plan to take a taxi and not walk if out at night. As a resident I am avoiding the smaller local restaurants. Camana bay is fine. I would also not walk anywhere after dark. Not the way Cayman used to be when I would feel safe running along West Bay Road at night. During the day it is still pretty safe as long as you avoid isolated areas. I would say it is still not as bad as much of the Caribbean however not as safe as cities in my home country- which is very safe.
The same power who you are suggesting we need the direct rule of is the same power who has had direct rule over the entirety of a supposed justice system, RCIPS included, here in Cayman for the entirety of the rapid decline which you are referring to.
Perhaps you need and the rest of the morons licking the boots of the teapot mafia need a reality check.
They are not a part of the solution. They are the problem, and if you are either not smart enough or not genuine enough to recognize that reality then so are you.
You know what, whoever it is needs to get this nonsense under control and fast before the island joins the ranks of Jamaica and Hatti with uncontrolled crime and violence. All I see written here is talk about this one and that one going to handle it but like everything else in Cayman, nothing gets done. It is time now for tough action and stop the whining.
Do something about it then. easy to say it needs to stop. Actions speak louder than words.
Maybe since these guys are known to police they can start pressing them on minor things. I’m sure they have excess window tint or obscured license plates. Heck get them for litter or jaywalking.
there’s no such law as jaywalking in the cayman islands