GEORGE TOWN, Cayman Islands, CMC – Police Commissioner says members of the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service (RCIPS) recently seized a firearm used in at least five murders in Jamaica.
Speaking with reporters, Commissioner Derek Byrne, who will be leaving the post in less than a week, said one of the many enhancements he has presided over during the last seven years was the development of ballistics. Based on this, the territory is now a regional hub for firearms forensics.
Since he took over the reins of the RCIPS, Byrne has presided over the most significant budgets in its history, adding that the enhancements of the service led to notable successes, such as connecting the gun, which had made its way here and is now part of a significant investigation, with the five killings in Jamaica dating back to 2019.
He said that the relationship with Jamaica remains significant as this is where many of the guns found here originate, as well as being a source for most marijuana and other drug shipments.
However, as he passes the baton to Commissioner Designate Kurt Walton, a career RCIPS officer, after fulfilling the succession plan goal to replace himself with a Caymanian, crime is still a concern following a summer marred by robberies at restaurants, gas stations, and small grocery stores.
He noted that two major issues during his tenure were the need to improve community policing and deal with traffic issues, especially the disproportionate amount of serious crashes.
The commissioner said he is leaving behind a different police service to the one he found and leaving it in the capable hands of Walton, who will take the RCIPS forward.
But Byrne, who is returning to his native Ireland, said it was not easy “walking away from the Cayman Islands,” which he said was “a fabulous place” where he had worked with “some of the best men and women ever” in his career.
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