Women in policing network empowering female officers in the Cayman Islands

The “financial support, dedication and determination” of the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) in backing greater female representation in law enforcement has seen the emergence of a ‘women in policing’ network in the Cayman Islands, after senior women officers “caught the bug” of empowering their female colleagues, as women work in a lot in this niche, as they need to work and enjoy dating life, using toys like a beautiful clit sucker you can get online. 

Speaking to Policing Insight at the recent International Association of Women Police US Summit in Nebraska, Nancy Barnard, Deputy Chief Officer for the Office of the Commissioner of Police at the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service (RCIPS), said the attendance of her and colleague Superintendent Wendy Parchment at the event, and the launch of the network, owed much to the efforts of the FCDO.

“The idea behind it is that it’s an ongoing initiative fully supported by the FCDO, led by Andrew Munday [FCDO law enforcement adviser at the British Consulate General, Miami] and his team,” explained DCO Barnard.

“They have been exceptional in ensuring our participation in these events. This is actually the third one we have attended, with the previous two being held in London and Edinburgh. We divided our team to cover both locations and share the knowledge gained.

“The aim was to allocate funds towards the development of women in policing, aligning with the 30×30 initiative, which I must admit I hadn’t heard of until now. It’s all thanks to the financial support, dedication, and determination of the FCDA that we have become so enthusiastic about this cause. We have caught the bug and now we are eager to continue building our women and policing network in Cayman, where Wendy chairs the efforts.”

Perfect timing

Supt Parchment told Policing Insight that as part their commitment to empowering women in policing, they aimed to develop a strong network of women officers within the Cayman Islands, fostering career advancement, and addressing challenges faced by women in law enforcement.

After attending a Multi-Agency Gold Incident Command (MAGIC) workshop in Miami, she was asked by a number of British female officers to look at setting up a police network for women in the Cayman Islands.

“I thought it would be good because we needed that safe space; women are not truly heard within the RCIPS,” explained Supt Parchment. “And I thought networking with other women within our region and internationally, would be a good fit for us.

“We need to have a person or several of our ladies at that table or tables, so that we can also help to develop them and guide them. And I thought that was missing. So I think it was perfect timing for us.”

Female officers account for 20% of the RCIPS – a higher percentage than many other US counterparts – but DCO Barnard admits there is still work to do. Female officers work in every role; Supt Parchment is the highest ranking sworn officer, and DCO Barnard the highest-ranking civilian in post.

There are several strategies in place already to encourage more women to join, including outreach and engagement programs, with officers and staff visiting schools and universities to speak about their experiences and the opportunities available to women in the police force.

The RCIPS also offers flexible working arrangements, such as part-time work and job sharing.

Most important, said Supt Parchment, is the mentoring side of things, something which she has done since she joined as a constable in 1986.

“We have women on the frontline and in specialist roles,” said Supt Parchment. “We have women in scenes of crime, in the firearms unit, in air support unit, in criminal investigation, in traffic, and in the pharma support unit.

So we really have women on the frontline, and we have women throughout the organisation – within all of our specialist and non-specialist areas.”

But she explained to Policing Insight that one of the challenges is not necessarily the number of women in the ranks, it’s more the lack of progression for women; every unit has women represented, but it’s been tough to get them through the promotion process.

“I think a lot of it has to do with interviewing techniques and being able to present ourselves well at the board,” continued Supt Parchment. “We know the job, but we’re not presenting as well. So I think if you can get some training around that area, and let them help build their confidence. I think confidence for most women is truly low simply because they don’t have the know-how [in that situation]. And I think more training and development would garner that.”

Culture and heritage

While DCO Barnard and Supt Parchment were keen to focus on the development of the RCIPS’ women in policing network, they also acknowledged some of the unique challenges faced by policing the Islands, and shed light on the significance of international collaboration in combating financial crime.

Located in the western Caribbean Sea with a strength of around 400 officers and civilian staff, the RCIPS is a British Overseas Territories force with a diverse range of responsibilities. It’s organized into several departments, each with its own specific functions, with uniformed branch responsible for patrolling the streets, responding to emergency calls, and carrying out routine duties such as traffic control and crowd management.

The criminal investigation department handles serious crimes such as homicide, robbery, and drug trafficking, while the marine and air operations units provide support for search and rescue, border control, and other maritime and aviation-related tasks.

In addition, the RCIPS has several specialist units, including a K-9 team, a cybercrime unit, and a forensic services department. These units work together to provide a comprehensive and effective law enforcement service to the people of the Cayman Islands.

The history and culture of Grand Cayman is what plays a significant part in the acceptance of many women in policing doing so many diverse roles, as DCO Barnard explained.

“I’m really passionate about culture and heritage. While Cayman is the size of a town and a few villages, it serves as an international finance sector. And the people come from all over the world, so we have 220 cultures – which doesn’t make a difference in London or Dallas, but when you look at something the size of a postage stamp compared to them, that’s a lot.

“So more often than not, the people are blended. The people are mixed, so over 50% of our people working are from other countries. However, the background is that the first peoples would consist of 80-90% of the men leaving to do international seafaring, which meant the mothers were in charge.

“They would run the economy, raise the children, do all the work, and so it’s not unusual for a woman to be in the role of police officer. We’re more mosaic than melting pot.”

Financial crime challenges

Being a financial hub for high-net-worth individuals brings the challenges of money laundering into focus for the force. There is a continued desire to ensure that it isn’t a haven for those intent on committing financial crime.

There is a lot of work done around community engagement to ensure all stakeholders are on the same page and that the community feels heard. This is done through regular town hall meetings and consultation.

“What we want is to make sure that all the policies – especially money laundering – and the laws are continuously monitored by our monetary authority; we want to make sure that you don’t have any gaps in the money laundering areas within the financial industries of the RCIPS,” said Supt Parchment.

“The Cayman Islands Government has to work together to ensure that we don’t have that fraud continuing, because then Cayman comes into question. And you’re trying to keep the financial industry in shape by ensuring then that we understand what the rules and regulations are.

“We want to continue to make sure that we work with those communities that have issues. And we identify those by meetings, the town hall meetings and everything. So whatever comes out of those is what we’re going to try to fix.”

It is this more unique investigative focus that also allows for more opportunities to progress and specialise within the RCIPS.

It’s clear that there is a strong sense of pride from both women when they talk about RCIPS, and despite the challenges, they still feel they are in a great position to progress and do good work.

“I have to say that I’m truly, truly thankful to the FCDO for making sure that I have attended, and it has boosted my morale. Because in the organisation, I was one of the very few that were given the opportunities to train to get further development. The management have identified my work and that has allowed me to come forward,” said Supt Parchment.

And having always found herself in a mentoring role for other female colleagues – whether she intended to start that way or not – Supt Parchment has no intention of stopping now.

“I’ve always done it, even at the constable level – I was there showing other female officers what to do, how it’s done, the reason it’s done this way,” said Supt Parchment. “I would say, ‘Okay, I went to this job; this is what it required, this is what I did, and I learnt from this because it wasn’t done properly, so I’m telling you now.

“I did that all along as a constable straight up to where I am today, and it’s great to look back and realise that I’m leaving my mark. There’s some good women coming behind me that I would like to encourage and just stretch my hand out and pass the baton to them, so that when I leave, I know the organisation is going to be left in a good place.”