The final report of the Ombudsman, Ms. Sharon Roulstone’s, own-motion investigation (OMI) at the Cayman Islands Detention Centre (CIDC) was tabled on Wednesday, 29 April in Parliament.
The Office of the Ombudsman (OMB), after receiving several reports of prisoner injury or attempted self-harm at the CIDC in a relatively short period, became concerned regarding the security of the facility and the potential risks associated with operating it. OMB opened an OMI at the CIDC in May 2025 and completed an Interim Report containing findings and recommendations, which was sent to the Commissioner of Police and HE the Governor in September 2025. A summary of findings from that Interim Report was made public in early October 2025 and was released to the Cayman Islands news media.
In December 2025, the Office of the Commissioner of Police provided a substantial response to the 18 recommendations contained in the Interim Report. The separate responses and actions are contained in the final report which was tabled in Parliament.
The final OMI report made further findings and an additional 12 recommendations based on investigations conducted by OMB staff. Among the more serious findings in this report are:
· A fire alarm system outage at CIDC persisted for approximately five years before it began to be addressed in 2024.
· An attempted detainee escape was facilitated by an external security door being left ajar.
· Internal security doors at CIDC are routinely being left ajar.
· RCIPS policy requirements that detainees be searched upon entry to the CIDC were not adhered to in many cases.
· It is probable that both attorney-client discussions and police interviews were not able to be conducted confidentially at CIDC
· There have been numerous incidents of attempted self-harm within CIDC in the past two years and attending officers are not always appropriately trained to deal with these situations.
· CIDC officers are often not performing hourly prisoner welfare checks as required by RCIPS policy, or are not recording these checks when they are done.
· Understaffing and sheer volume of work both serve to significantly hinder CIDC officers from completing their duties effectively.
· Language barriers with some detainees can create risks for CIDC officers dealing with these individuals, especially as translators are often not available after hours.
OMB will continue to follow up with the RCIPS command on outstanding recommendations to ensure all recommendations are met, to the extent possible.
The full report may be found here: https://www.ombudsman.ky/images/pdf/outcomes/OMB%20OMI%20RCIPS%20CIDC.pdf . The report has also been attached in PDF form for your ease.
Any member of the public wishing to submit a complaint against a government entity or against the conduct of a RCIPS officer may contact the Ombudsman at 946-6283 or email info@ombudsman.ky. For more information about Cayman’s Office of the Ombudsman, please see our website at www.ombudsman.ky.