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Caribbean Islands National Security
Neither the Cayman Islands nor the Turks and Caicos Islands had
armed forces--either under local or under British control. Each
territory did, however, have a small local police force that was
under British control.
The Royal Cayman Islands Police Force (RCIP), with limited
resources, was considered one of the best in the Caribbean. The
police totaled 170, of whom 161 were stationed on Grand Cayman and
the remainder on Cayman Brac. They were supported by volunteer
special constables. The RCIP had three main departments: General
Duties Department, Criminal Investigation Department, and Traffic
Department. The Criminal Investigation Department included the
Special Branch, the Commercial Crime Branch, the Drug Squad, and
the Crime Intelligence Section. The Maritime Section, with three
boats at Grand Cayman and one at Cayman Brac, performed coastal
patrol duties. British instructors provided police training. The
islands had only one prison, with a maximum capacity of twenty
inmates. Major offenders were sometimes transferred to prisons on
Jamaica.
The crime rate in the Cayman Islands was low. Efforts against
drug trafficking were moderately successful, with 140 drug arrests
in 1982. The RCIP Drug Squad received technical assistance from the
United States DEA.
The Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force had ninety
members under a chief of police. Most were stationed on Grand Turk
Island, with other police stations on Providenciales and South
Caicos. The police handled coastal patrol duties. Training was
provided at a center on Grand Turk Island. Like the RCIP, the Royal
Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force operated under British
control.
No insurgencies or related activities were reported in either
the Cayman Islands or the Turks and Caicos Islands in 1987.
* * *
Literature specific to these two groups of islands is limited.
The most useful sources of information are a series of yearbooks
and compendium discussions of the Caribbean islands. Richard
Green's Latin America and Caribbean Review (published
yearly) is an excellent source of information on economic and
political events of the past year. Current events can be followed
through the monthly British newsletter the Latin American
Monitor: Caribbean. Useful business information can be found in
Jane Walker's Business Traveller's Handbook. (For further
information and complete citations, see Bibliography.)
Data as of November 1987
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