Capture of Jamaican murder suspect flags weakness in Cayman’s borders | Loop Cayman Islands

Black Immigrant Daily News

There was excitement on Cayman’s social media on Friday, July 8 as news spread about the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service (RCIPS) making an arrest of 30-year-old Rudolph Almando Shaw, a man wanted for murder in Jamaica. While the RCIPS is to be commended, the real question is how a murder suspect could enter the Cayman Islands freely and without detection. Ultimately, the event raises serious red flags about the weakness of Cayman’s borders and concerns for the safety of residents.

The arrest

According to reports, Firearms Response Unit officers in a marked service vehicle, approached a vehicle with two occupants, one of whom was the wanted man. The occupants of the vehicle attempted to evade the police and rammed into the police vehicle, causing their vehicle to become disabled.

Police captured Shaw, however the other man escaped on foot. The man that escaped is described as approximately 5’9″ in height, of slim build and dark complexion, with short hair, and was wearing blue jeans, and white sleeveless shirt.

Shaw has since been formally processed and will be handed over to CBC.

The border issue

While the Cayman Islands Coast Guard has recruited new members, received training on new equipment and continues to work with the RCIPS and others to patrol Cayman’s borders, suspected murderers and suspected drug traffickers are still making their way through Cayman’s borders, undetected.

Some of these illegal landers are believed to enter Cayman, commit crimes and then leave. The ones that are caught are prosecuted and usually spend time in Northward prison.

For those that commit crimes and leave, this activity has the potential of leaving some crimes unsolved, perpetrators unidentified and victims without opportunity to redress abuses against them.

Those that end up in Northward prison do so at the expense of the public purse at a rate of approximately $5,000 per month per prisoner. At the end of the prison term, the illegal landers are typically deported to their country of origin… but only to return to Cayman in a few weeks on a high-speed canoe, breaching Cayman’s borders once again.

The known breaches suggest that more must be done to strengthen Cayman’s borders, including more resources and funding for the Cayman Islands Coast Guard, the RCIPS and others.

Possible dangers to residents

While the breaches continue, with some going undetected, they pose serious and immediate dangers to visitors and residents, in particular, the potential for murder, robbery and other crimes.

Another risk which is rarely talked about is to the youth of the Cayman Islands. Illegals who are gang members may attempt to influence and recruit young people in the Cayman Islands. Over time, this could lead to increased organised crime in the Cayman Islands and the presence of more guns, drugs and gang-related crimes in the Cayman Islands.

Solutions

In addition to the provision of more resources and funding to the Cayman Islands Coast Guard and others mentioned above, Cayman should consider increasing penalties for illegal entry where legitimate asylum is not being sought. As a deterrent, such penalties should be tripled when drugs or guns are involved.

The harsher penalties for illegal entry should also be enforced against residents who assist illegals where legitimate asylum is not being sought. This may discourage those who try to facilitate illegal entry to help suspected criminals to commit crimes in Cayman.

Notwithstanding the proposed solutions, it must be noted that increasing penalties and sentences for illegals is also a double-edged sword. This is because, while they are spending time in prison in Cayman, the people of the Cayman Islands are taxed for their stay.

Bearing this in mind, a further alternative may be reaching an agreement with neighbouring countries that if persons breach their borders and illegally enter the Cayman Islands, such neighbouring countries will foot the bill and/or house the prisoners themselves. This may place more responsibility on other countries to strengthen their borders and less of a burden on Cayman authorities.

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