From GoToCayman.com - the Wiki for Cayman
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The Immigration Department has opened a new call centre to deal with | The Immigration Department has opened a new call centre to deal with | ||
questions about work permits, residency applications etc. The number to call is (345) 949 8344. | questions about work permits, residency applications etc. The number to call is (345) 949 8344. | ||
| + | |||
| + | |||
| + | More than 18 months after it was built, Cayman's first modern abatoir has opened | ||
| + | near the Department of Agriculture in Lower Valley. | ||
| + | |||
| + | Although the facility has stood since April 2005, structural problems with the | ||
| + | interior walls and floors demanded a retrofit which delayed normal operations | ||
| + | until September 2006. Since that time the department has successfully processed a | ||
| + | number of animals as part of their pre-opening evaluations. | ||
| + | |||
| + | In his remarks at the official opening, Minister for Agriculture, the Hon. Kurt Tibbetts acknowledged those farmers who continue to engage in traditional practices of meat processing especially during the "Christmas beef" season. He assured them that | ||
| + | government would not outlaw their tradition of slaughtering "under the tree" but this | ||
| + | practice could only continue for private consumption. With the abattoir now open to the | ||
| + | public, all meats sold through supermarkets and restaurants, must be processed through | ||
| + | the new plant and inspected by the Department of Environmental Health. | ||
| + | |||
| + | Mr Tibbetts, an avid chef, welcomed a new era of sanitary and hygienic meat processing. "I believe that given the opportunity to observe the professional operation of this facility, most farmers will understand why it's necessary to aspire to these high standards." "In today's world, consumer confidence is paramount in the sale of food products, particularly meats. This abattoir will ensure a high level of food safety and hygiene and allow us to promote and sell our meat products with a level of confidence and certification never before possible." | ||
| + | |||
| + | Recognizing that the timeline for the abattoir project extends back over twenty years, Mr Tibbetts acknowledged the contributions of Melbourne Watler and his family who donated the land on which the abattoir stands, and former Minister of Agriculture, Gilbert McLean whose administration built the abattoir. | ||
| + | |||
| + | |||
| + | A change in the law now allows for 'Alternative Sentencing'. Alternative Sentencing | ||
| + | aims to allow an offender to live as normal a life as possible, while ensuring compliance with a Court Order. The new legislation provides a wider range of options in ensuring that offenders are punished but allows judges and magistrates latitude to take | ||
| + | account of individual circumstances in the context of rehabilitation. | ||
| + | "We recognize that it is incumbent on Government to ensure that persons who are | ||
| + | involved in criminal activities are not simply convicted and warehoused somewhere at | ||
| + | Northward without hope," the Attorney General, the Hon. Samuel Bulgin, QC, said. | ||
| + | |||
| + | Alternative sentencing will be less expensive than incarceration of prisoners, | ||
| + | the Attorney General said. He noted that it costs $53,000 a year to keep one person in | ||
| + | prison for a year. In contrast, the use of electronic monitoring, which will be an | ||
| + | important new tool in the alternative sentencing basked, allows an offender to live | ||
| + | as nearly as possible a normal life, ensures compliance with an appropriate Court Order, and costs much less. | ||
| + | |||
| + | "We have seen comparisons which state that three months of an electronically | ||
| + | monitored curfew are nearly five times cheaper than three months in custody," the | ||
| + | Attorney General explained. UK statistics show that, on an average, it costs £1,300 to | ||
| + | monitor an offender who has been released from prison on Home Detention Curfew for 90 | ||
| + | days compared to £6,500 for the same period in custody. | ||
| + | |||
| + | Amendments to the Prison Law are expected to follow shortly to modify sentences | ||
| + | that result in prison time for less serious offences. These changes will allow | ||
| + | subjects to be initially imprisoned but will enable an early release, upon the | ||
| + | condition that the offenders concerned can be monitored electronically to see if | ||
| + | they can comply with the conditions prescribed for the remaining period of the sentence. | ||
| + | |||
| + | In addition to electronic monitoring, a number of other sentencing tools become | ||
| + | available to the judiciary with the introduction of the new law. These include: | ||
| + | <ul><li>Curfew orders - these prescribe the times that the sentenced offender has to remain confined in certain specified places;</li> | ||
| + | <li>Intermittent sentences -- these are conditional sentences and suspended sentence supervision orders, all of which can enable the sentenced person to spend a part or all of his sentence living in the community;</li> | ||
| + | <li>Exclusion orders - these can specify places that the offender has to stay away from;</li> | ||
| + | <li>Community orders - these are the means by which an offender has a chance to make reparation to the community for his or her crimes.</li></ul> | ||
| + | |||
| + | New and innovative concepts that the law proffers to the judiciary now include: | ||
| + | <ul><li>Restitution Centres - these are special imprisonment domains where the offenders can work and use their prison earnings to compensate their victims;</li> | ||
| + | <li>Fine Option Programmes - these allow the subject to work, imprisoned or not, with the option of applying the resulting payments to the fine the offender is sentenced to pay; and</li> | ||
| + | <li>Victim Impact Statements - these are made by either the victim or the prosecution and may be taken into consideration by the court before pronouncing sentence.</li></ul> | ||
Revision as of 14:48, 27 December 2006
GoToCayman.com - News from Cayman (ISSN: 1744-7690)
December 2006
Tha Cayman Islands Monetary Authority's Year in Review (1st July 2005 - 30th June 2006) has been published and is downloadable (in Adobe .PDF format) from their Web site at http://www.cimoney.com.ky/uploadedFiles/Publications/Speeches/2005-06YearInReviewFINAL.pdf
The report records that during the 2005-06 fiscal year the number of active mutual funds regulated by the Authority grew by 20 percent to 7,845 funds at 30 June. Captive insurance licences (held by entities writing non-domestic business only) increased four percent to 737. In the banking sector, while the total number of banking and trust licences declined by six percent (19 licensees) to 296, due mainly to continuing consolidations worldwide, the assets and liabilities of licensees continued to increase. Total international assets booked through banks in the Cayman Islands stood at US$1,413 billion at 30 June this year, a 12 percent increase over the same date last year. Liabilities at 30 June totalled US$1,373 billion, a 10 percent increase over 30 June 2005.
The Authority collected a total of $54 million in licensing fees on behalf of the Government as at 30 June 2006, compared to $47 million for the previous fiscal year. Total income for 2005-06 was $17.5 million and expenses totalled $11.7 million, resulting in a net income of $5.8 million. This compares to a net income of $2.4 million for fiscal year 2004-05.
The Year in Review notes CIMA's cross-border assistance and involvement on regulatory issues, including the processing of over 100 requests for assistance from overseas regulatory authorities and the negotiation of memoranda of understanding and other information exchange agreements with authorities in Canada, Brazil and the USA.
The Immigration Department has opened a new call centre to deal with
questions about work permits, residency applications etc. The number to call is (345) 949 8344.
More than 18 months after it was built, Cayman's first modern abatoir has opened
near the Department of Agriculture in Lower Valley.
Although the facility has stood since April 2005, structural problems with the interior walls and floors demanded a retrofit which delayed normal operations until September 2006. Since that time the department has successfully processed a number of animals as part of their pre-opening evaluations.
In his remarks at the official opening, Minister for Agriculture, the Hon. Kurt Tibbetts acknowledged those farmers who continue to engage in traditional practices of meat processing especially during the "Christmas beef" season. He assured them that government would not outlaw their tradition of slaughtering "under the tree" but this practice could only continue for private consumption. With the abattoir now open to the public, all meats sold through supermarkets and restaurants, must be processed through the new plant and inspected by the Department of Environmental Health.
Mr Tibbetts, an avid chef, welcomed a new era of sanitary and hygienic meat processing. "I believe that given the opportunity to observe the professional operation of this facility, most farmers will understand why it's necessary to aspire to these high standards." "In today's world, consumer confidence is paramount in the sale of food products, particularly meats. This abattoir will ensure a high level of food safety and hygiene and allow us to promote and sell our meat products with a level of confidence and certification never before possible."
Recognizing that the timeline for the abattoir project extends back over twenty years, Mr Tibbetts acknowledged the contributions of Melbourne Watler and his family who donated the land on which the abattoir stands, and former Minister of Agriculture, Gilbert McLean whose administration built the abattoir.
A change in the law now allows for 'Alternative Sentencing'. Alternative Sentencing
aims to allow an offender to live as normal a life as possible, while ensuring compliance with a Court Order. The new legislation provides a wider range of options in ensuring that offenders are punished but allows judges and magistrates latitude to take
account of individual circumstances in the context of rehabilitation.
"We recognize that it is incumbent on Government to ensure that persons who are
involved in criminal activities are not simply convicted and warehoused somewhere at
Northward without hope," the Attorney General, the Hon. Samuel Bulgin, QC, said.
Alternative sentencing will be less expensive than incarceration of prisoners, the Attorney General said. He noted that it costs $53,000 a year to keep one person in prison for a year. In contrast, the use of electronic monitoring, which will be an important new tool in the alternative sentencing basked, allows an offender to live as nearly as possible a normal life, ensures compliance with an appropriate Court Order, and costs much less.
"We have seen comparisons which state that three months of an electronically monitored curfew are nearly five times cheaper than three months in custody," the Attorney General explained. UK statistics show that, on an average, it costs £1,300 to monitor an offender who has been released from prison on Home Detention Curfew for 90 days compared to £6,500 for the same period in custody.
Amendments to the Prison Law are expected to follow shortly to modify sentences that result in prison time for less serious offences. These changes will allow subjects to be initially imprisoned but will enable an early release, upon the condition that the offenders concerned can be monitored electronically to see if they can comply with the conditions prescribed for the remaining period of the sentence.
In addition to electronic monitoring, a number of other sentencing tools become available to the judiciary with the introduction of the new law. These include:
- Curfew orders - these prescribe the times that the sentenced offender has to remain confined in certain specified places;
- Intermittent sentences -- these are conditional sentences and suspended sentence supervision orders, all of which can enable the sentenced person to spend a part or all of his sentence living in the community;
- Exclusion orders - these can specify places that the offender has to stay away from;
- Community orders - these are the means by which an offender has a chance to make reparation to the community for his or her crimes.
New and innovative concepts that the law proffers to the judiciary now include:
- Restitution Centres - these are special imprisonment domains where the offenders can work and use their prison earnings to compensate their victims;
- Fine Option Programmes - these allow the subject to work, imprisoned or not, with the option of applying the resulting payments to the fine the offender is sentenced to pay; and
- Victim Impact Statements - these are made by either the victim or the prosecution and may be taken into consideration by the court before pronouncing sentence.
