Leader of Government'saddress
Hon. McKeevaBush
The following is the text of a Speechdelivered by the Hon. McKeeva Bush, OBE, JP. Leader of GovernmentBusiness for the UK Caribbean Overseas Territories and BermudaPolice, Customs and Immigration Law Enforcement, Tuesday, 23 April2002 at the Grand Pavilion Commercial Centre
" It is a distinct honour to welcome visiting delegates tothe Cayman Islands for this annual conference of law enforcementleaders from the UK Caribbean Overseas Territories and Bermuda.The Cayman Islands is proud to serve as the host for the firsttime to this impressive gathering and we look forward to successfuland productive deliberations.
Organizers of this year's conference shouldbe commended for the honest reflection and relevance of this year'stheme, "Where are we now, where do we want to be?" Recentworldwide events underpin the wisdom and necessity of self-assessmentand innovation. Your commitment to this goal is greatly appreciated,in particular by your respective governments. The role that lawenforcement agencies play in any society is often taken for granteduntil that society faces imminent crisis. It is typically onlyin times of stress that the contributions the uniform branchesmake in protecting and preserving our social fabric and well beingare most apparent.
This has certainly been the reality of postSeptember 11th, when the traditional demand for sun, sea and sandhave been effectively supplanted by people's need worldwide toattain what we here in the Cayman Islands have always had andstill do - safety, security and serenity.
In the Cayman Islands we have respondedto this call and we appreciate the role that our own local lawenforcement agencies play in partnership with government to preservingpeace internally while promoting confidence externally.
In my dual capacity as both Leaderof Government Business and Minister of Tourism - I can appreciatethe valuable role that law enforcement plays. I commend our localrepresentatives Police Commissioner Thursfield, Collectorof Customs Mr. Powery and Chief Immigration Officer Mr. Connor- for their concerted efforts to address the evolving challengesand threats facing Cayman. And I say to them as I will share withyou, the answer to meeting these challenges lies in communicationand partnership.
George Bernard Shaw said, "If you havean apple and I have an apple and we exchange these apples thenyou and I will still each have one apple. But if you have an ideaand I have an idea and we exchange these ideas, then each of uswill have two ideas." -
As important as industry and trade are toour respective people, so too is safety and security. Government'smust embrace this reality and work with law enforcement to realizea shared and common goal. We have a zero tolerance on crime andwe are glad that police services can respond quickly and effectivelywhen we have a problem. As a government we will do our part inputting in place good resources.
I'm a happy to see the Foreign and CommonwealthOffice represented here today in the form of Mr. Osbourne.
My message is that the Cayman Islands haszero tolerance on crime and we would want the FCO to be mindfulof policies that they would pass down to us. They should understandthat we are different from them. That is my special message.
I believe it is now abundantly clear toall of us, that effective law enforcement is possible only ifthere is a multidiscipline and interconnected approach. Police,customs and immigration officers must work in partnership to poolresources and share intelligence.
I believe that in the Overseas Territories,in particular, there is much potential to share expertise andresources both financial and human in order to effectively tacklesimilar problems associated with firearms, illicit drugs and otherprohibitions.
Getting better results is crucially dependenton the quality of the intelligence, and that will never be asgood as it can be unless all agencies share it freely.
If you can address these and other issuesconstructively during the next few days, I believe this week'sconference would have been extremely worthwhile.
Thank you and once again, on behalf of thepeople and government of the Cayman Islands, welcome and enjoyyour visit".