👮‍♂️ RCIPS to include crime detection rates in future reports

Detective Superintendent Pete Lansdown has indicated that the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service (RCIPS) is working towards including crime detection rates in its annual crime statistics report by 2024. Despite the complexity of measuring detection rates due to the numerous elements involved in the criminal justice system, the RCIPS management team is developing a method to report on charges and detections. The police force has completed the writing of a crime recording and detection policy and is currently training officers on its application. 📝

The RCIPS recorded 3,955 crimes and arrested 2,177 people in the past year, but has not yet recorded the number of people charged with a crime. The challenge lies in the fact that one person can be charged with multiple crimes, and several people can be charged with a single crime. Lansdown expressed optimism that by the time the 2024 crime statistics are presented, they will include a form of clean-up rate. He also noted that while the police have not been held accountable yet for their clean-up rate in specific numbers, the fact that the jail is consistently over capacity reflects the fact that the police are still getting criminals and suspects off the streets. 🚔

Among the crimes recorded in 2023 were 57 robberies and attempted robberies, 89 sexual offences, 41 gun cases, and four murders. Charges have been laid in all four murder cases, with one resulting in a life sentence for the perpetrator. The police have also made significant progress in robbery cases, with a number of charges laid last year. Despite the challenges in securing evidence against suspects, the rate of robberies has slowed down as the police have been able to charge people for other crimes, effectively taking them off the streets. 🚨