(CNS): The opposition leader has said a PPM government would invest more in law enforcement, rehabilitation and youth prevention programmes in order to fight rising crime. In a video message delivered Thursday, just before another three robberies that night, Roy McTaggart criticised the PACT Government and the police for not doing enough to curb the increasing violent crime.

Although four robbery suspects were arrested and a bank robber charged this week, unofficial sources, not yet confirmed by the RCIPS, say there were three armed robberies last night, from George Town to West Bay and involving two fast food restaurants and a convenience store.

CNS has contacted the police, but they have yet to release any details of the crime rampage.

Meanwhile, the PPM is pledging more resources for law enforcement if they are elected to office. Last month CNS reported that the police budget for 2022 was $52 million and is expected to be even more next year as recruitment issues are addressed.

But McTaggart said the Progressives were prepared to invest more where needed, not just on the necessary equipment, such as more CCTV cameras, but on inmate rehabilitation and crime prevention programmes, especially for young people.

The opposition leader said he was not trying to scare people as Cayman’s crime levels are still low compared to the rest of the region, but like many people in the community, he said that he and his opposition colleagues were concerned about the spikes in crime and that not enough was being done to tackle it.

McTaggart criticised the government, stating that PACT was keeping much too quiet on crime and crime prevention while armed robberies were causing widespread concern. However, the two PACT George Town MPs, ministers Kenneth Bryan and Sabrina Turner, will be hosting a community meeting at Constitution Hall next Thursday about crime in and around the capital.

The PPM leader said it was time to act to prevent crime from spiralling out of control and stop Cayman from going the way of other Caribbean islands.

“To do so requires a government willing to act to prevent crime and to deal with criminality,” McTaggart said in a video message on social media. “No excuse about the governor being responsible for national security removes the government from also bearing some responsibility for the security of our constituents and residents. The government, and the opposition, must use whatever means of persuasion available to influence positive results regarding security… including increasing resources to law enforcement if needed.”

The Progressives supported the crime prevention proposals the PACT government had indicated it would take in its early days, but since then, the promised actions have been dropped or watered down, McTaggart said. 

“PACT’s recipe now seems to be more data collection and some social media posts as a substitute for real action to stem the rising tide of violence. This is not good enough,” the PPM leader said. “Controlling crime cannot just be left for the next two years while the premier hopes for better
and the PACT ministers continue to argue amongst themselves.”

McTaggart called for more direct action by the police to disrupt criminal gangs, target prolific, persistent offenders and achieve more arrests and convictions, adding that they must be more persistent and consistent. 

“We need to support the police commissioner to implement measures such as ‘hot spot policing’, which focuses resources on specific trouble areas, and we need to hold him to account to ensure that we see results quickly,” the opposition leader said, adding that the community policing programme must produce results.

“If more resources for equipment to support law enforcement are required, such as new-generation CCTV systems, we must find the necessary funding,” he said. “The RCIPS, the coastguard and Customs and Border Control should work jointly to improve our capacity to detect illegal boats bringing drugs and guns and criminal elements to our islands.”

But McTaggart said that the government needed to support those leaving prison to help prevent a return to criminality. This is an area that has been chronically underfunded for many years, including during the last two PPM-led administrations,

But he called for enhancing training and other opportunities available to inmates to help them gain access to employment and more support on their release. He also said that proper housing, mental health and addiction services, counselling support and cognitive behavioural programmes to help tackle criminal attitudes and beliefs were all needed.

“We need to work with our young people to prevent them from getting involved with gangs and divert them from criminality,” he said, as he set out what the Progressives’ policies on crime prevention would be if they were in power.

He said this work would have the most impact in the long term, not just on the safety of our communities but on the improved life chances it would create for many young Caymanians. 

He claimed the last PPM government had made significant progress in developing a strategy and action plan to take these ideas forward — though crime was higher in 2019 ahead of the pandemic than last year. Nevertheless, McTaggart blamed Premier Wayne Panton and said that PACT seemed determined to “reinvent the wheel rather than getting on and implementing what was already there” and was “getting little, if anything, done”.

McTaggart accepted that there was work to be done at the community level and that the safest communities are those that help to look after themselves. “We support expanding the Neighbourhood Watch Programme to help improve community safety. And, of course, we encourage all citizens to say something if they see or know something,” he added.

Despite the political nature of his statement, he said this was a time for the politicians “to come together for the benefit of our people, not score political points”. However, he said that action must be taken to cut serious crime and maintain Cayman’s reputation as a safe place to live, work, visit and do business.

See the opposition leader’s full video address below on YouTube:

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