National Security Council Makes Decisions on Five Cays Intervention

Dana Malcolm

Staff Writer

#TurksandCaicos, September 8, 2022 – New laws are coming for the Turks and Caicos Islands which will give more power to the police in several spheres, including detainment and stop and search exercises.

Along with these new laws, the establishment of a temporary Police center, and drone-assisted policing were only some of the decisions made in Tuesday’s National Security Council meeting to put a cap on the violence in Five Cays, which recently left four residents dead.

The new legislation to be tabled with cabinet will,

• Strengthen police powers to stop and search when there is a reasonable suspicion that an individual may be armed.
• Strengthen penalties for gun-related offences and for those who support gang activity or interfere with criminal investigations by harbouring suspected criminals from the police or destroying evidence.
• Extend powers to detain, after initial arrest, for those involved in serious crime.
• Strengthen penalties around both the possession of, and the brandishing of, semi-automatic and automatic weapons in public
• Stiffen penalties for threats to harm and assaults on law enforcement officers and officers involved in the criminal justice system, including the RTCIPF, Immigration, and Customs Officers, and the Judiciary.

A great deal of the police’s recent successes with recovering illegal weapons and making arrests has been thanks to stop and search operations.  There have been multiple reports of young men trying to ditch guns before the police can catch up to them, an indication that the strengthening may yield more success.

Copiously absent were more stringent laws on witness protection and any indication of stiffer penalties for police officers who leak information that puts witnesses in danger, a lingering concern for residents.

During this meeting, it was also revealed that the promised Royal Cayman Islands Police Service Helicopter with night-time surveillance had arrived on Tuesday and would start working to augment police operation.  In addition to the helicopter, a newly formed drone unit has also been deployed and is active in the five keys area.

Along with this aerial support, the police will be using the community center as a temporary physical base in five keys.  No specified opening time was given, the NSC only said it would be open at agreed times based on policing and public need.

The meeting which is being described as extraordinary, was attended by Governor Nigel Dakin, Premier Washington Misick, Attorney General Rhonda Lee Brathwaite Knowles, immigration Minister Arlington Musgrove, Police Commissioner Trevor Botting, and other officials.