Gang tensions increase in West Bay
(CNS): Police Commissioner Derek Byrne said a recent resurgence of gang tensions in West Bay resulted in a shooting in the district on Wednesday night and a serious machete assault early Thursday morning. Speaking at Thursday’s COVID-19 press briefing, the CoP said that overall crime was not increasing but there were issues of concern surrounding persistent curfew breaching, and that officers would be clamping down.
With the spate of gang violence, he said policing in West Bay would be increased, with the armed support unit patrolling the district as well.
According to an RCIPS release about the shooting on Wednesday, the police received the first report about shots being fired in Foremast Close at about 7:40pm. Officers respond but found nothing to substantiate the report. However, soon afterwards a second report was received that shots had been heard in the area at around the same time as the first report.
Then, in what is now believed to be a connected incident, at around 10:00 on Thursday morning a report was received about a serious assault in the same street. On arrival, police found a man with a severe machete wound to his hand. Emergency services attended the scene and the man was transported to hospital for treatment.
Soon afterwards, a 34-year-old man known to the victim was arrested on suspicion of assault GBH and remains in police custody.
Commissioner Byrne said he expected a second arrest in what appears to be a limited resurgence of gang violence. He said the police believe they know the motive and do not expect a further increase in serious violence.
However, the CoP said there were concerns over people breaching the soft curfew regulations on Grand Cayman as well as an increase in traffic and speeding.
Since the curfew started there have been 592 breaches of the curfew, and tickets have been issued across all districts for a variety of reasons, including nine people caught playing dominoes at the back of a George Town bar.
He said that another man was caught running a barber shop along with three customers side by side, and a group of six people were caught out snorkelling together. But he revealed that only two dump truck drivers have been ticketed over the last six weeks since the curfews began.
Byrne said that with the incremental decrease in the restrictions this week, more people were doing their best to circumvent the rules, putting the community at risk and undermining the purpose of the curfew to protect us all from the COVID-19 virus. He warned that the increase in traffic was such that it was not that far off the numbers before the virus.
Byrne said the police were struggling to get a small number of people to comply with the regulations, and as a result there would be an increase in enforcement and a lot less compromise. He also warned landscapers and their bosses about social distancing and said that as well as prosecuting those who beached the rules, they would be reported to curfewtime and their exemption revoked.
The CoP also raised concerns about speeding, especially food delivery drivers at night.
“There is no exemption for speeding,” the commissioner said. “The intention of the police in enforcing the regulations is to be fair and balanced in our approach but this is becoming increasingly more difficult,” he said, adding that he had directed heightened enforcement this weekend.
The commissioner confirmed that the RCIPS quality control department had been flagging some of the 600 or so tickets that officers might have have issued incorrectly since the curfews began but none of them had been rejected.
Byrne said it had been decided that every ticket was going to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions for the lawyers there to rule on. He admitted that it was a chaotic situation in the beginning and some tickets may have been issued in error.
But although the police have been kept busy dealing with people breaching the curfew, other types of crime has not been increasing. Despite public concerns that there had been a surge in car thefts and the stealing of auto-parts because of closed garages, the commissioner said there had been none.
Commercial break-ins have also been lower than might be expected. Police confirmed to CNS Thursday evening that since the 23 March, there have been 15 commercial burglaries, including 12 in George Town and three in West Bay.
Police are asking witnesses to the incident in West Bay to call 949-4222.
Anonymous tips can be provided to the RCIPS Confidential Tip Line at 949-7777 or the police website. Tips can also be submitted anonymously via the Miami-based call centre of Crime Stoppers at 800-8477(TIPS), or online.
See Thursday’s press briefing on CIGTV below:
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