The Tribune

“THE Cayman Islands has brought in British police to tackle a rise in gang-related crime that business leaders fear could hurt the territory’s image as a safe finance and tourism destination,” Reuters news agency reported in 2010.

“Fourteen British officers arrived in the Caribbean hedge fund hub after they were requested by Cayman Police Commissioner David Baines.

“The murder rate in the small British territory, with a population of 55,000, remains low compared with Caribbean states like Jamaica where crime is out of control and the country has one of the highest murder rates in the world. But the 390-strong local police force has been stretched since the start of the year by five murders, a kidnapping, armed robberies and shootings,” Reuters reported.

“Victims included a 4-year-old boy killed in crossfire.

“Cayman authorities and local leaders in tourism, financial services and real estate are worried the spike in crime could damage the islands’ reputation for safety and security, which has underpinned its emergence as a legal domain for many of the world’s hedge funds,” said the report.

“If we can’t crack the problem and bring down the murder rate and restore a much better level of law and order, in the long term, it is going to damage the Cayman Islands,” the British-appointed governor, Duncan Taylor, warned.

“Varying factors like the release of violent gang members from prison, a greater prevalence of firearms and leadership battles appeared to be contributing to the violence,” it was reported.

That was five years ago. Cayman Islanders were sufficiently worried about its country’s reputation that officials moved quickly to crush the criminals, before they crushed the Caymans.

Here in The Bahamas, criminal gangs, born in the early years of the Pindling administration, have climbed steadily over the past half century until in the eleventh month of this year it peaked with a record 127 murders. We have lost count of the many shootings where victims, admitted to hospital, have survived thanks to our skilled surgeons.

In all these years, it seems that the most the politicians can do is make false promises and point accusing fingers. Even the Commissioner of Police, doing the best that he can with some politicians even trying to make him a scapegoat, is up against a court system that has been too lenient with granting bail. As the Commissioner has complained, he and his men are delivering the accused to the courts, but no sooner are they in than many of them, despite their long rap sheets, are out on bail awaiting a trial date. The police chase starts all over again as the same culprit commits another crime and has to be handcuffed back to court. The Commissioner and his men are tired of the chase.

But the most disconcerting accusation came in the Senate last week when Senator Keith Bell, State Minister for National Security no less, who had spent 23 years in the police force, said that criminal gangs flourished under the former FNM administration. His government now had to “clean up the mess left by the FNM’s inaction and deal with today’s crime challenges”. However, he failed to put his words into historical context by omitting that those criminal gangs were born, took root and flourished for 25 years under the PLP government of Sir Lynden Pindling. By the time the FNM won its first ten-year term in 1992, the criminals were well entrenched. Crime continued to grow. In 2002 Prime Minister Christie’s PLP party took back the government – crime was still growing. In 2007 the FNM was back in power, with crime still a problem. In 2012, the PLP were returned, but this time they had promised voters that if elected they would reduce, if not eradicate, crime.

But despite them, and their promise, in the eleventh month of this year the 127th murder made the record — and it was all under the PLP.

Unfortunately, our National Security Minister, who is a doctor, knows nothing about crime control. But his Minister for National Security, Keith Bell, who is a trained police officer, appears to know even less.

Today we have “swift” justice, but it is not in the courts — it’s on the streets, around dark corners, in parked cars. Gun-toting criminals exact vengeance for the killing of one of their “brothers” in crime. The courts would be doing these criminals a favour by sending them to jail until their trial date. Of course, the next problem is the over crowding of an already over crowded prison.

Over the years, Bahamians have urged that a small group of foreign police be brought in — as was done in Jamaica and also in the Caymans. Bahamian politicians and the police force – with the exception of the late Paul Adderley who was attorney general — have resisted the suggestion. Such an act, it was argued, would show a lack of confidence in our men and women in uniform.

We do not agree. They do their best, but human nature lets some of them down. There are few police officers who have the temperament of the late “Gussie” Roberts, of whom it was always said that he would not hesitate to put the cuffs on his own mother if she broke the law.

This really is what we are fighting against — the weakness of human nature. Former Chief Magistrate Wilton Hercules – 1968-1977 – noted as a no-nonsense, lock ’em up magistrate, could tell many a bitter story of the political interference he had to endure while on the bench.

On this page today, a letter writer explains why outside investigators succeeded in the Caymans, and why they would succeed here. They would be a great help to our already overworked force.

We agree with the writer. She explains the problem in the Caymans, the same problem that we have here and why it succeeded in the Caymans and why it would succeed here.

Wrote Nancy Treco: “Crime is now under control (in the Caymans). Our Caymanian friend explained to us why it only took a year. It was because this ‘outside help’ did not have anyone affiliation with people in Government or in the public. They came to do their job. They did not have a cousin who was arrested for murder, but who knew the judge’s sister’s auntie and therefore got a slap on the wrist. They didn’t have a brother who knew the member of Parliament, who made a call and arranged a quick bail. They did not know the gang member’s mother who knew the uncle of a ‘big wig’ in Parliament, so he was released after a year. God knows I could go on and on but I am sure you know what I am talking about.”

We all know what she is talking about — an independent group could be of great assistance to our hard working police force.

We hope that the police will have the good sense to support the idea. We know many of the public are already urging it.

We all want to see crime under control and, for the sake of the country and its people, we can’t let false pride get in the way.