In a three-part feature series starting today, we look at how the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service has responded to the challenges posed by the crisis and how they are policing the curfew while monitoring crime on land, in the air and at sea.

Along Seven Mile Beach, an officer on patrol in an all-terrain vehicle leaves fresh tyre tracks in the sand.

Outside the supermarkets, police reservists check the identification documents of masked shoppers along well-spaced lines.

Jet-ski patrols cover the waterways while the helicopter, supported by aerial drones, provides the ‘eyes in the sky’. On land, an expanded squad of officers is ready to respond.

Almost overnight, the nature of policing in Grand Cayman has changed.

It is not just about monitoring the curfew.

Crime may have significantly decreased over the past five weeks since Cayman’s shelter-in-place regulations came into force, but the underground economy has not shut down completely.

For Deputy Commissioner Kurt Walton, part of the challenge is to ensure that normal law enforcement services are maintained in partnership with the COVID-19 operations.

It is unique territory. In 33 years of policing, including through Hurricane Ivan, Walton says he has never seen a situation like this.

He has committed a book of new regulations and laws to memory, some of them beyond what he could ever have imagined asking officers to enforce. But he believes clear messaging and broad public understanding of the danger posed by the virus is making a difficult job much easier.

Operation COVID

A separate command centre has been set up for COVID-related operations, and curfew violations and other data are logged and used to inform strategy.

Police numbers have been swelled by support from Customs and Border Control, Workforce Opportunities & Residency Cayman, and the special constabulary. Recently retired officers have also rejoined the force as volunteers and are working on everything from supermarket patrols to helping prepare files for prosecution.

So far, just over 600 people have been ticketed, warned for prosecution or arrested for curfew breaches.

One individual who was caught three times ended up in custody, but in most cases, unless there are aggravating factors, arrest is not considered necessary.

Policing such a strict new set of rules has been made much easier by the buy-in of the vast majority of the community, Walton said.

“Overall, the support we have gotten has just been phenomenal.”

He said police officers and their families felt the strain of the stay-at-home order as much as anybody and appreciated the support of the public, despite the inconvenience.

“We just ask that people adhere to the stay-home mantra until [the spread of the virus] is suppressed to the point where we no longer have to worry about our loved ones.”

Public beach ban

Walton acknowledged there had been some confusion as the rules had changed frequently in the early days of the soft and hard curfew. He said those changes, including restrictions on supermarket shopping, had been a necessary response to what police were seeing on the streets.

“We were looking to suppress the spread of community transmission of this COVID-19 and there were far too many vehicles on the road,” he said.

Closing the beaches was another regrettable but necessary step, Walton insists.

The decision stemmed from what police believe was an uncontrollable situation on Good Friday, when large groups were spotted gathering by the police helicopter.

In some cases, those groups dispersed when officers arrived or split into ones and twos and claimed to be exercising. Some were more blatant, gathering around domino tables and drinking beer.

“Simply put, the gathering at the beaches was getting out of control,” said Walton.

Crime has almost halved

While the curfew has provided extra work – around 60 officers are on dedicated COVID duties – regular police work has not stopped.

With numbers bolstered through a condensed shift pattern and additions from other agencies, Walton said police were able to stay on top of the crime situation.

Intelligence work continues, and 24 cases, including an operation to break up an illegal cockfighting ring, have been processed in court cases via Zoom video chat.

“The criminal justice wheel continues to turn during this period,” Walton said.

When curfew-related offences are taken out of the equation, overall crime is down 41%.

Over the five weeks since the shelter-in-place regulations were put in place, there have been 166 fewer crimes reported compared with the same period last year. This includes a 53% reduction in burglaries and a 75% drop in thefts.

While he doesn’t believe the underground economy is closed for business, Walton believes the heavy police presence is deterring the criminal fraternity.

He warned it was a bad time for anyone to chance their arm.

“Don’t think with the COVID focus at the moment that there is an opportunity for other types of crime,” he said.

“In fact, I would advise strongly against it because we have got a lot of police officers on the streets at this point.”