📋 Tender Overview
For those listening on radio Im speaking to you from the Premiers Office. With me I have the Premier Hon Charles Washington Misick the Commissioner of Police and the Minister of Education Hon Rachel Taylor in whose Constituency the tragic events of this weekend unfolded. Many members of Cabinet are with us in the room.The tragic events of the weekend that the Commissioner will talk to in some detail dont for the moment need any further description from me other than to say that this weekend the historic community of Five Cays at the hands of a small number of criminals degenerated into a lawless place of gang and gun violence and lethal retribution. Fear stalked a community where citizens should be able to go about their lives feeling safe in the streets that most grew up in.The Premier Commissioner Honourable Taylor and myself were in Five Cays this morning talking to residents shop keepers and school aged children. It didnt take them long to tell us they were frightened. We promised them we would deal with this and we promise you. We do that against a back-drop and we shouldnt hide the fact that we know there are those determined to continue this cycle of violence and that for some they are beyond reason.We therefore stand together as one team determined to deal with this. We have different responsibilities and different powers that overlap and these powers are best deployed in concert be that operational command of the Police the ability to fund different branches of government and pass laws the opportunity to bring in international support and provide oversight and the need to work closely with the community.Along with all members of Cabinet and the NSC we also have the ability to bring multiple arms of Government together often convened through the NSS. When she speaks Honourable Taylor may touch on such longer term initiatives that she champions in her crucial role of Minister for Education. Whatever a National Security Council meeting convenes tomorrow that will develop and strengthen the immediate response we are going to collectively describe to you now.Before I say anything further let me say this. Those who are intimidating a whole community are small in number. They can think no further than their ego reputation or their wallet. While they seemingly live in the moment unthinking of the consequences to themselves or others all that will eventually happen and faster than many imagine is that they will die at the hands of a rival or be imprisoned.One of our media outlets talked about these young men walking with a metaphorical target on their backs and that is right. Its not a question of if but when one of these two outcomes occur. We all have enough evidence in terms of what is happening to the young men who choose this way of life to know that this is true.For today though Im going to keep my intervention short and describe the immediate action that is underway to bring in strategic support to our overall enforcement posture.I will end with an action that you can take that may well be more important than anything I say today. I thank the Beckles and Cox family for alerting the Territory to this in their plea over the weekend a weekend that saw them bury Justin. Channelling the families voice of a wholly innocent victim of gun crime is where I want to end my intervention.First lest there be any doubt whatsoever and addressing this particularly to the Residents of Five Cays there is only going to be one outcome to the immediate problem we face it is going to be dealt with firmly - because it has to be dealt with. If it isnt chaos reigns. This result isnt discretionary it has to happen.Second The Tactical Unit of the Police were in Five Cays in the early hours of this morning. They were there again around midday. Over coming days they will be making arrests against a list of individuals that we believe are responsible for this mayhem. If this is you I strongly suggest that if and when the Tactical Unit confront you you immediately lie down with your arms out-stretched showing beyond any doubt that you are not armed. If a Police Officer fears for his life or anothers life his rules of engagement are very clear and unfortunately very final. They are well trained well-armed and you wont win.Third Police resources are presently being reconfigured to ensure the thin blue line that stands between the population and the criminals prevails. More Police will be visible. The Commissioner may say more on this but that operational planning has been done and is now being executed.Fourth Ive requested Helicopter support from the Cayman Islands - with night-time surveillance capability. This can provide an over-watch for Policing operations and for the community. I am grateful to the Governor Premier and Commissioner in Cayman and colleagues in London that this has been very quickly supported. It will arrive shortly and it will be in direct support of our police force. The surveillance it can provide close in or stood a long way off is a very significant Force Multiplier to law enforcement.Fifth I was in a senior officials meeting this morning with UK Home Office Ministry of Justice Ministry of Defence and Foreign Office colleagues laying out the challenge we faced in TCI over this weekend. In terms of the Overseas Territories it will be one of the first things new UK ministers will be briefed on. The officials are anyway familiar with the context because many have visited.The UK has been building lines of capability within our Police Force. But as of my meeting today with UK officials we are now working through how we can deliver a far more significant uplift to the UKs direct support in terms of forming a unit focussed on Gangs Guns and Drugs. The preparatory work has been done though a report the Commissioner and myself had already asked UK policing to prepare. In
