Pat Butcher

positive p]Pat or Donna what ever you want to call yourself

I'm not Donna


I only pm people who are interested in coming here along with numerous other officers because i like to give a balanced opinion of what life is like here and this site has become a very negative thread dominated by a few( 3-4) ex pat officers who didnt like it here. I do give negative info to the officers but its not blown out of proportion

I don't think my opinions are out of proportion


i spent a long time on shift at george town so i know what shift work is like...i knew what the job title was when i accepted the job (to work as a uniformed officer on patrol in cayman) were you offered any thing different?

How many years, and why did you leave shift?


the figures you have quoted for the housing etc etc are totally wrong along with the staus issue (as you know we are exempt from it on our passports so we can work here for as long as we like) thats why i dont give info here on the thread anymore

Real Estate agents fees are way above those in the UK, and stamp duty was 7.50-9% or is it still reduced to 5%? As for the stamp in your passport you only have that for as long as you have a contract and you get a contract if there are no Caymanian people or other Caribbean Officers who want the job. They have priority over UK Officers.

i think you need to go and work for the Daily Star as you often make a sensational story from information which isnt even true
(were you the source for the wayne rooney beating his girlfriend story which cost the paper thousands in damages!!!!!


No not me

i must stop this bickering its not productive

You love it

Zulu1

This message is for those people considering applying to join the Royal Cayman Islands Police. It's not for those who left under a cloud or those who left because they wanted to by their own admission but now can't stop talking crap and attempting to spoil it for others.

I too am an ex cop from the UK who has spent a number of years with the RCIP. I spent plenty of time in the uniform department before moving to a specialist unit which I hasten to add involves dealing with the bad guys and not sipping tea in an office or a hotel.

The RCIP isn't perfect but that's why we all left the UK right? Contrary to some of the comments previously made on this thread the Cayman Islands are still one of the safest and most affluent countries in the Caribbean. Yes we have our problems including gun and drug crime but what is a police force for?

It is also possible to progress your career and yes I mean career, without a*s licking senior officers as mentioned by the lovely Pat Butcher. The trick is to have the right attitude, want to work hard and actually talk and socialise with people in addition to fellow ex-pats, something that many of the contributors on this thread failed to do.

I am still in touch with numerous serving police officers in the UK who constantly tell me I made the right decision to leave and that being a police officer in the UK is a thankless task coupled with increasing workloads and a form to fill in in triplicate for your every move. Policing in Cayman allows you to do just that - police. The law is firmly on the right side and new legislation is regularly being brought in giving the police more powers to fight the minority of serious law breakers. The rest of the stuff, the domestics, thefts and burglaries, well that's what we get paid for.

Whilst police salary is poor in comparison to accountants and lawyers on the island it is on the increase and it is already possible to achieve an excellent standard of living, a quality social life and still have money in the bank.

I have never regretted my move to the Cayman Islands and would encourage anyone who wishes to experience a quality lifestyle on a beautiful island and who relishes the challenge of new job to apply and enjoy!

positive p

thanks pat for your extremley abusive pm which i have forwarded to the site managers to complain
if i have upset you then write a sensible message without the profanities i dont like them

i am here for the right reasons if i have upset you then i apologise

zulu 1 nice to see there are other people giving balanced postings on this site whoever you are

Pat Butcher

Um one word is extremely abusive? Apologies, but please don't print names of people based on your assumptions. I never mentioned any names......

Chastity

I am just wondering why the RCIP seem to have such a problem retaining Officers. It seems they were only recruiting in the UK less than a year ago and they have apparently recruited a bunch from other caribbean islands. For a relatively small force that seems to be a large percentage. So many negative comments on this alone have been made.

Why are so many people upset with working in the RCIP? The people who post the positive comments why are you so desperate to entice people over there?

I have to think long and hard about this as my pension is so important and I'm not sure 7 years extra in the Police for 2 in the Caymans is worth it.

Would you serving Officers, if you were applying now, had to move onto the new pension scheme on your return to the UK still do it?

The Officers that left did you regret going? and how is it back in the UK now you have returned.

I would love the opportunity to work there but I worried about making the wrong move and having to suffer the consequences on my return.

Zulu1

[QUOTE=Chastity]
The people who post the positive comments why are you so desperate to entice people over there?

Chastity

Not a case of being desperate at all, just trying to give you a balanced point of view before you make a big decision.

Chastity

[QUOTE=Zulu1]
Zulu, Thanks for your reply but it doesn't answer my question. If you were applying now and had to take a career break / resign and go onto the new pension scheme when you returned would you still do it???

Chastity

Rumcakelover

Chastity, as an ex RCIP officer now back in the UK, I can say that it is a very interesting place to work. As has been stated in earlier replies there are morons out there but there are also lots of decent hardworking local officers and others from the rest of the Caribbean. the work ethic is very different and you see things going on which wouldn't be tolerated in the UK. It is generally very easy for local Caymanians to join the force and they can and do switch careers to other parts of the civil service or banking sectors who offer more dosh for less grief. If you are a young officer then I would take a leap of faith and sign up as we will all be working here until we're 65 in some form or other! and the loss of a few years pension will seem a minor issue to the life experience you could have. It's a great place to live and travel from too. That said, I do not consider my time there to be career enhancing as such but I did have an enjoyable time and the good memories out-way the time at the cells at Central Police Station ( a vision of hell!!)

Chastity

Thanks RumCake, now what would you recommend for a person who is an experienced detective and has paid into their pension for the past 15 years?? I could retire on the full pension in 15 years time, if I had to go onto the new scheme thats and extra 22 years YIKES!!! But I would still love to do despite all the negatives...........

Rumcakelover

Chastity, this new pension scheme is a real bummer! Obviously the initial contract is for two years but that flies by...I don't know what your aspirations are in the RCIP, i.e. whether you intend to move into CID or FRU but I believe that you will probably have to do at least one year on response at one of the main stations before a lateral move. If you did move into a 'specialist' post then you would have only just got your feet under the table before its time to go back to Blighty! Some of the guys I went over with are still there on the FRU etc but they all (I believe) were lucky enough to get secondments!! To be honest, it's a tough call for someone with your level of service ...you could try a secondment especially if your force has someone out there on a secondment !
s?? I could retire on the full pension in 15 years time, if I had to go onto the new scheme thats and extra 22 years YIKES!!! But I would still love to do despite all the negatives...........[/QUOTE]

Chastity

[/QUOTE]

Secondments are a 'no no', I've been on the fence for a while - promotion (I've done part 1 & 2 of ospre) or a couple of years on the beach....... The new pension scheme has got me worried and i think that if i get an interview i will go then decide later. Hopefully some more ex rcip'ers will reply. Thanks very much for your input!.

Chastity

[/QUOTE]

What is the FRU by the way? Is that another name for Commerical crimes?

Rumcakelover

What is the FRU by the way? Is that another name for Commerical crimes?[/QUOTE]
When I was there we had a Commercial Crime team investigating low level frauds etc and the FRU-Financial Reporting Unit that dealt with the money laundering type crimes...

Rumcakelover

When I was there we had a Commercial Crime team dealing with deceptions etc and the FRU-Financial Reporting Unit that dealt with money laundering. When I was there we had a Commercial Crime team investigating low level frauds etc and the FRU-Financial Reporting Unit that dealt with the money laundering type crimes...[/QUOTE]

ape2

Chastity,

Do you only swap to the new pension if you start your career break after the April 2006 date. The information relating to career breaks that start before it, and end after that date all states that the officers will retain their conditions of service and return on the old scheme. There is nothing to say that a career break started after that date will result in a switch to the new scheme or is this a new ruling?

Can you clarify as this will affect us out here.

Thanks

Ape2