In 2023, out of the 850 individuals who faced arrest and charges, 470 were repeat offenders, as reported by Superintendent Lisborn Michael, Deputy Head of the Criminal Investigations Department.
He disclosed these figures during a crime forum, drawing attention to a concerning trend that has caught the attention of both government officials and law enforcement.
CLICK HERE TO JOIN OUR WHATS APP GROUP
In response, the government is set to propose legal changes in Parliament on Thursday, aimed at tightening bail conditions for those accused of certain violent crimes. This move is part of a larger effort to address the recent rise in crime and violence.
During the forum, Police Commissioner Atlee Rodney highlighted that intensified law enforcement measures are beginning to yield positive results, noting a noticeable drop in crime reports in the latter part of August.
CLICK HERE TO JOIN OUR WHATS APP GROUP
“We are seeing improvement, and that’s largely due to the arrests of several individuals involved in criminal activities. Some have already been brought to court, and more charges are expected soon,” Rodney said, cautioning against complacency despite the progress.
“The heightened patrols will continue, along with the deployment of intelligence officers providing crucial information to our operations department. There will be visible efforts, as well as those that are less apparent,” he added.
CLICK HERE TO JOIN OUR WHATS APP GROUP
Brigadier Telbert Benjamin, Chief of Staff of the Antigua and Barbuda Defense Force, also pledged ongoing support from the ABDF. “We partner with the police to ensure they can effectively remove those who need to be taken off the streets. This effort has been ongoing since January 1st and will continue until January 1st next year,” he stated.
CLICK HERE TO JOIN OUR WHATS APP GROUP
CLICK HERE TO JOIN OUR WHATS APP GROUP
CLICK HERE TO JOIN OUR WHATS APP GROUP
CLICK HERE TO JOIN OUR WHATS APP GROUP
Advertise with the mоѕt vіѕіtеd nеwѕ ѕіtе іn Antigua!
We offer fully customizable and flexible digital marketing packages.
Contact us at [email protected]
Bring back sentences ‘with hard labor’ for repeat offenders. Let them clean our cemeteries, clear out storm drains, cut trees that overhang our streets etc.
And I suggest that if any of these “repeat” offenders are foreign … deport dem backside, so that innocent and hardworking Antiguans can go about their business safely once more.
Immigration Department Officer Katrina Yearwood please get those Deportation Orders in the pipeline!
Let’s Make Antigua Safe Again (MASA) 🇦🇬
There is no doubt that many of the current criminal offenders are former jail birds. The cycle is likely to continue if we do not seek to offer proper rehabilitation and counseling to prisoners such that when they are released they can be productive and useful. The current system really leaves them no choice.. Once they have served time in prison, they are seen and treated as outcasts and getting a job is literally impossible. So many prisoners are forced into a further life of crime and theft in order to survive. Our prison is a harsh punitive institution, dirty, contaminated, fifty, lousy and foul. To survive the trauma of 1735 requires counseling, direction and help and until we are able to provide that to the inmates, the dreaded cycle of in and out, in and out, would continue.
@Audley Phillip. September 4, 2024 At 9:31 am
Audley you have heard of the saying, “you can lead a horse to the well but you cannot make it drink.
What have you done to educate yourself about the rehabilitation programs presently available in our prison? Do you know that prisoners can go to the library and read books? Do you know that prisoners can study even at UWI FI. Do you know that prisoners study at Gilbert Agricultural and Rural Development Centre? https://agriculture.gov.ag/index.php/2024/06/12/9897/
Don you know that through the Happy Homes Prisoners are thought construction.
https://ab.gov.ag/media_page.php?page=124
https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/building-homes-for-the-homeless-in-antigua/
https://antiguaobserver.com/editorial-happy-with-hapi/
That said, there was some good news coming from the prison that has not received the attention that it deserves and needs to be highlighted. In the most recent Post-Cabinet press briefing, it was reported that the Superintendent of Her Majesty’s Prison was invited to Cabinet to address the contribution of prisoners to the HAPI programme. For those not familiar with the programme, HAPI, which stands for Home Advancement Programme for the Indigent, is described as a programme that “allows the government to build homes for the indigent when the housing conditions are deplorable.” According to the Post-Cabinet report, the government will leverage the carpentry and home-building skills of prisoners to support the programme. Bravo!
Audley why is it you like to chat without having facts. You sound stupid. I have told you that on many times. I will call you out.
Prisoners can be rehabilitated only if they choose to. Not if they don’t want to. That is their choice. If you are not aware of the program just call the superintendent of prison and speak to him. It’s as simple as that
And another thing Audley, since the private sector is not willing to hire these ex-convicts the government gives them an opportunity by hiring them in State Owned Enterprises and Statutory Corporations, such as National Housing and CMC. But many are lazy I must say and do not want to work for a living. They have made friends in prison. Friends who are in the drug trade, and who has convince them that their is more money to be made in that than to go to a 9 to 5 job for a minimum wage. That is where the major problem lies.
@Brixtonian September 4, 2024 At 7:45 am
Brix, you speak the words of Gaston Browne. He has called on the Immigration Department to do their job.
I agree totally with this. Just like the USA send home ALL our bad apples. They don’t want them.