Members of the RCIPS panel are (left to right): CPO Rob Stewart, Sergeant Casey Conolly, Deputy Copmmissioner Anthony Ennis, Commissioner Stuart Kernohan, Chief Inspector Reginald Branch, Inspector Angelique Howell, and Detective Superintendent Kenrick Hall.
There is a strong potential for gangs to develop on the Brac, Community Police Officer Rob Stewart told the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service (RCIPS) community meeting held on the Island recently.
In an appeal made to all Brac parents, CPO Stewart said that Brac children are unique in their politeness and respect for adults.
"However, I have seen elements creeping into their behaviour in imitation of the US media, copying some of the gang-related symbols portrayed there," he said.
"This kind of behaviour has come to the notice of the local police, and it is easy to see that it is an imitation of real gang behaviour. If we are not careful," he warned, "it will become the real thing."
With this in mind, he put out an appeal to the community. "We can help," he explained, "but only if the parents see changes in the behaviour of their children - other than that of normal teens - and let us know about them. Please come to me and let me know on a confidential basis, and I will make recommendations to the various agencies concerned to help deal with the situation."
On a positive note, CPO Stewart reported that he has qualified as a DARE instructor and will teach the programme at Spot Bay Junior School this year.
He said that the focus of the training has changed from "trying to scare it out of them" to a much more flexible syllabus that addresses different age groups, from kindergarten through high school, in age-appropriate ways.
Still on the subject of youth, one Brac resident asked the RCIPS panel led by Police Commissioner Stuart Kernohan whether the police could find a way to prevent previously convicted felons and those accused but on bail from coming to the Brac and making contact with young people on the Island.
The speaker said he had seen instances of young people hanging out with such criminals, and would like to see a stop put to it to prevent this kind of bad influence on our youth.
Commissioner Kernohan responded that he thought the principle of letting the Brac police know when a potentially violent criminal was travelling to the Brac was a good one.
He also said he couldn't see any reason that travel restrictions to the Sister Islands could not be made part of an accused person's bail requirements.
However, he added, such information would "have to be restricted to police officers", and work would have to be coordinated with other agencies such as the Department of Immigration.
Earlier in the meeting, Chief Inspector Reginald Branch provided a summary of crime statistics on the Brac. Comparing the year ending July 2006 with the previous year, Chief Inspector Branch said there was a total of 691 reports this year compared with 740 last year. Most offences were domestic in nature, he said. There were eight burglaries (six detected) compared with 15 last year, and the same number of grievous bodily harm convictions - two.
"As far as drugs are concerned, the RCIPS and Customs task force are working together on the task force, with 30 people arrested for drug-related offences," he said, adding that he would like to have more help from members of the public in this regard.
On the roads, there were 40 alcohol-related traffic offences this year compared with 20 last year, and a total of 61 traffic convictions compared with 115 last year. He added that he expected the addition of two new police cars and related radar units will be effective in curbing speeding on the Brac.
Inspector Angelique Howell, director of the RCIPS Family Support Unit, reported on the work of the joint working group on domestic violence that is now active on the Brac. The committee includes CPO Stewart, Insp. Howell, Probation Aftercare Officer Alicia Roach, Social Services representative Kerry Parchment, Brac Haven Counsellor J.B. Skye, and a representative from the Business and Professional Women's Club.
Among the initiatives underway are centralisation of the referral system, awareness programmes in Brac schools and in the newspapers, training of RCIP officers, and investigation of the possibility of a crisis centre or women's shelter on the Island.
