The Royal Cayman Islands Police Service (RCIPS) can confirm a successful, high-visibility policing operation over the weekend at the "Out of This World" Music Fest, held at the Festival Green in Camana Bay.
With the large-scale event drawing thousands of residents and destination travellers to the venue, the RCIPS deployed a significant contingent of officers, to police the event. The primary focus of the operation was assisting event organizers with crowd management, ensuring road safety along major thoroughfares, and maintaining public peace and order.
While the overwhelming majority of festival-goers enjoyed the high-energy performances responsibly, the high-visibility police presence provided security and safety assurances for the attendees as well as to actively intervene in any public order incidents. Throughout the event, police officers successfully de-escalated a few minor altercations and handled isolated incidents within the event, and more significantly, a physical altercation that took place immediately outside the festival, after the event had ended. The latter incident is being investigated by the police and anyone with information or video footage of the entire incident is encouraged to provide the information to the police. Any media files being sent of the incident may be sent through our website here, or alternatively to our Instagram page @rcips_cayman.
In addition to police staff being present, the Department of Public Safety and Communication also had a satellite station at the event for rapid dispatch of emergency services. The emergency services present were the Cayman Islands Fire Service, who ensure that event’s safety protocols were adhered to and were on standby in the event of an emergency, and the Health Services Authority who also responded to a number of minor medical incidents as part of the overall preparedness and contingency planning.
The Cayman Islands Regiment also assisted by providing the Falcon, a mobile communication centre, and other assets, making it possible for the emergency response team to function efficiently from the festival location. The RCIPS sincerely thanks all our partners for the hard work that allowed the attendees and organisers to have a successful and well attended event.
The RCIPS Traffic and Roads Policing Unit also managed the heavy flow of vehicles surrounding Camana Bay, ensuring minimal disruption to local traffic flow and conducting targeted roadside checks following the conclusion of the event to ensure road safety.
Superintendent Roje Williams, who was the commanding officer for the event stated, "Our objective for this large-scale gathering was to ensure a safe environment so everyone could enjoy the festivities. While a few isolated public order incidents required swift police intervention, the proactive positioning and high visibility of our officers ensured that peace and order were maintained seamlessly. We want to thank the community, visitors, and the event organizers for their cooperation with law enforcement for this grand event and congratulate the organisers on a successful event."
The RCIPS remains committed to working alongside community partners and event organizers to ensure the Cayman Islands remains a safe destination for major entertainment events such as these.