New beat cops join EE and NS teams

RCIPS Community Policing Department

(CNS): The Royal Cayman Islands Police Service says that two new beat officers have joined their Community Policing Department to cover the districts of East End and North Side and that they will be based at the local sub-stations. Both MLAs in those districts have advocated for years to get permanent officers in the two geographically largest constituencies in the Cayman Islands. But over the years previous police commissioners have redeployed officers sent to those districts when there has been an increase in crime. But this time, police management has said the two new officers will be permanently on the beat in those districts.

Covering Beats 1 and 2, they join four other officers that have already been placed in the two districts – two on each beat alongside the supervising sergeant who oversees both beats. The officers will fulfill dual roles as community officers and as responding officers to local 911 calls for service.

“These reinforcements are a recognition of the fact that police responding to the Eastern Districts from George Town or Bodden Town cannot be as swift as needed, and that residents in those districts need a police response on par with the rest of the island,” said Police Commissioner Derek Byrne. “By basing an additional two officers per district we are moving in the direction of providing all residents in Grand Cayman with the connectivity to the police that they need.”

The officers are working out of the local stations and they will fall under the commands of both the Area Commander for the Eastern Districts, Inspector Winsome Prendergast, as well as the Head of the Community Policing Department, Inspector Courtney Myles. With the addition of staff to the Eastern Districts, fixed hours at the sub-stations are being planned and will be announced shortly, officials added.

Meanwhile, the RCIPS has also received a welcome donation of 22 smart phones from Cayman Crime Stoppers to improve connection to their beat communities. The donation means that every beat officer in the Community Policing Department will have a work-issued mobile device to access their work email, participate in WhatsApp groups, and field phone calls from members of the community.

“We are extremely grateful for this donation of mobile phones from Crime Stoppers to our community policing efforts,” Myles said. “It is really encouraging to be supported in this way in what we are trying to achieve. These phones will enable our officers to be in better contact with the neighbourhood watches and residents on their beat, and help us deliver the service the community is asking for.”

Myles said that having the smart phones will mean better communication with residents and quicker access to photos and information.

“An officer cannot answer the phone non-stop, and will need to develop his or her own guidelines around how they use it. But it is another very important way for our officers to be more connected and responsive to the communities they serve,” he added.

The new mobile numbers for all beat officers will be on their beat pages on the RCIPS website.

Community officers will respond to calls and messages they receive while on duty, and ask residents in their beat to send them a text or WhatsApp message if the phone is not answered, or follow up with an email, which can also be found on their beat page.

Emergency calls should always be directed to 911, and not to these mobile numbers.

Byrne said he hoped the increase in beat officers and the new phones will have a positive impact on community policing efforts. “We look forward to the results these efforts can have in terms of crime prevention and public safety,” he added.