No racial profiling, says Cayman Islands police commissioner
Stuart Kernohan,
Commissioner of Police
by Norman 'Gus' Thomas
Caribbean Net News Senior Correspondent
E-mail: rc@caribbeannetnews.com
Wednesday, November 23, 2005
GEORGE TOWN, Cayman Islands: Newly appointed
Commissioner of Police, Stuart Kernohan, speaking recently at a Royal Cayman
Islands Police Service (RCIPS) Community Meeting, said that it is not his
intention to target any particular nationality as his department carries out
its job in combating crime in the territory.
When quizzed in reference to the steps the police here are taking with regards
to the Jamaicans, especially those who have over stayed the time granted to
them upon their original entry, Kernohan said his department is "not in the
business of racial profiling. We are in the business of arresting criminals no
matter where they are from. Authorities in
the Cayman Islands have been accused of racially profiling Jamaicans,
especially with the recently introduced visa requirement system.
However, the territory's top cop pointed out that, I would not want to be
drawn into the visa issue in relation to Jamaicans. There are many Jamaicans
working in this Island that have never even thought of committing a crime. We
will assist Immigration in trapping any overstayers no matter where they are
from. When asked if he knew how many
overstayers are in the territory who are not Jamaicans, Kernohan said he did
not have those figures, adding that that's a matter for the Immigration
Department. Last July, crime fighters here
pointed to immigration lines, suggesting that there lies the source of crime
and linked the presence of illegal immigrants to the rise in crime in the
Cayman Islands. Speaking at an earlier media
briefing on crime, stiff action including stop-and-search and roadblocks were
outlined for implementation. Meanwhile, many
Jamaicans here are angry with the police for stating that, the vast majority
of residents in the expatriate (ex-pat) community are law abiding citizens",
adding that, "but there are always elements that come with illegal
intentions. This, the Jamaicans contend,
suggests that the ex-pats are law breakers and argues that the statement
smacks of racism. Caribbean Net News
has learnt that officials in Jamaica intend to raise the issue at the next
Caribbean Community (Caricom) Conference of the Heads of Government slated for
July next year. The Cayman Islands has
associate member status while Jamaica has full membership.
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