{"id":250057,"date":"2025-09-16T09:24:26","date_gmt":"2025-09-16T13:24:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/?p=250057"},"modified":"2025-09-16T09:24:26","modified_gmt":"2025-09-16T13:24:26","slug":"business-leaders-demand-action-amid-crime-surge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/business-leaders-demand-action-amid-crime-surge\/","title":{"rendered":"Business Leaders Demand Action Amid Crime Surge"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Antigua and Barbuda Chamber of Commerce has announced plans to address mounting security concerns following the fatal shooting of businessman George \u201cCharlie\u201d Barnes outside his Ottos New Town home last week.<\/p>

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The Chamber\u2019s Executive Director, Martin Cave, said the organisation will convene a meeting of its members to discuss how businesses have been affected by a rise in violent crime and robberies. The aim, he said, is to generate \u201cconcrete solutions\u201d to present to the authorities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe need to have a meeting of all membership to understand exactly how the business community has been impacted by the proliferation of crime,\u201d Cave told Observer Media. \u201cWe\u2019re hoping to have some concrete solutions that we can present to the authorities\u2026 Can we work in concert to address the scourge that we have?\u201d<\/p>

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Chamber Director Celia Samuel added that business owners are increasingly uneasy. \u201cWe do not feel safe,\u201d she said, calling for increased police patrols, wider use of security cameras, and deeper collaboration between government and the private sector.<\/p>

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The Chamber\u2019s announcement coincides with a government initiative to install an island-wide surveillance system. Prime Minister Gaston Browne confirmed that negotiations with providers are in their final stages, with 200 cameras expected to be deployed in the first phase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Both Cave and Samuel welcomed the development but stressed the need for broader measures to restore a sense of safety for the business community and the wider public.<\/p>

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The Antigua and Barbuda Chamber of Commerce has announced plans to address mounting security concerns following the fatal shooting of businessman George \u201cCharlie\u201d Barnes outside his Ottos New Town home last week. The Chamber\u2019s Executive Director, Martin Cave, said the organisation will convene a meeting of its members to discuss how businesses have been affected […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":247046,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-250057","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nBusiness Leaders Demand Action Amid Crime Surge - Antigua News Room<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/business-leaders-demand-action-amid-crime-surge\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Business Leaders Demand Action Amid Crime Surge\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Antigua and Barbuda Chamber of Commerce has announced plans to address mounting security concerns following the fatal shooting of businessman George \u201cCharlie\u201d Barnes outside his Ottos New Town home last week. The Chamber\u2019s Executive Director, Martin Cave, said the organisation will convene a meeting of its members to discuss how businesses have been affected […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/business-leaders-demand-action-amid-crime-surge\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Antigua News Room\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/antiguanewsroom\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-09-16T13:24:26+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/ChatGPT-Image-Aug-19-2025-06_56_39-PM.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Editor\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@AntiguaNewsRoom\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@AntiguaNewsRoom\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Editor\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/business-leaders-demand-action-amid-crime-surge\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/business-leaders-demand-action-amid-crime-surge\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Editor\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#\/schema\/person\/36cac05ef6398fe56ae3e6317f8535c5\"},\"headline\":\"Business Leaders Demand Action Amid Crime Surge\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-09-16T13:24:26+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-09-16T13:24:26+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/business-leaders-demand-action-amid-crime-surge\/\"},\"wordCount\":244,\"commentCount\":11,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/business-leaders-demand-action-amid-crime-surge\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1024\/h:1024\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/ChatGPT-Image-Aug-19-2025-06_56_39-PM.png\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/business-leaders-demand-action-amid-crime-surge\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/business-leaders-demand-action-amid-crime-surge\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/business-leaders-demand-action-amid-crime-surge\/\",\"name\":\"Business Leaders Demand Action Amid Crime Surge - 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