IPMBA News

Cops get on their bikes to get back into community

Cayman News, August 27, 2016, [Cayman News Service]

Photo: RCIPS officers patrol Cayman by bike

(CNS): Police bicycle patrols around Grand Cayman have been redeployed as part of the RCIPS’ goal to enhance its neighbourhood policing strategy and increase community engagement. Police officers from the neighbourhood policing department got back on their bikes on 17 August and since then, they have been out daily at different times in different areas of George Town to increase police visibility, interact with the public and respond proactively to any threats to public safety they encounter. The patrols are considered important in the fight against crime and will be extended to other districts, police management said.

“This is about community engagement and community reassurance,” said Robert Graham, Superintendent of District Operations. “But it’s also about fighting crime, because this kind of nimble, responsive police presence has a deterrent effect. My plan is to extend these patrols to all districts in time.”

PC Christopher Donaldson, one of the neighbourhood officers who has been on the bike patrol over the last ten days, explained some of the advantages of the pedal patrol.

“On the bikes you can stop easily and speak to anyone, so you are in the community more. But also, you can reach rural areas not easily reached by cars, and disrupt illegal activities like ganja smoking, among other things.”

“There are burglars who use bikes, and also street indecent assaults have been committed using bikes – it’s easier to catch someone on a bicycle if you are too,” PC Charles Ebanks said, just a few days before a tourist was robbed near Sunset House by a suspect on a bike.

While chasing down criminals on two wheels has its advantages, the pedaling police said that they also found being on a bike made it easier to engage with residents in some rural areas with very narrow roads.

They related one instance in which they spoke at length with an elderly woman in one such area who said she had not interacted with a police officer in many years.

“But they are really useful for tourist areas as well,” said PC Ebanks. “We can maneuver easily among crowds of people when the cruise ships arrive. The only drawback is the heat,” he noted. “It can get a little rough around midday.”

Share this post


Leave a comment