The Antigua and Barbuda Chamber of Commerce has announced plans to address mounting security concerns following the fatal shooting of businessman George “Charlie” Barnes outside his Ottos New Town home last week.
The Chamber’s 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 “concrete solutions” to present to the authorities.
“We need to have a meeting of all membership to understand exactly how the business community has been impacted by the proliferation of crime,” Cave told Observer Media. “We’re hoping to have some concrete solutions that we can present to the authorities… Can we work in concert to address the scourge that we have?”
Chamber Director Celia Samuel added that business owners are increasingly uneasy. “We do not feel safe,” she said, calling for increased police patrols, wider use of security cameras, and deeper collaboration between government and the private sector.
The Chamber’s 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.
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.
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While I welcome and encourage the plan to implement 200 cameras, this does not, in my eyes, prevent the crime or acts as a major deterrent. I personally think business owners need to be granted firearms. Or course this comes with the necessary training and ensuring they spend time on the range to hone their skills. Of course, background checks etc and all the additional requirements and screening that come along with it. People have the right to protect themselves and cameras very seldom stop this from happening. They only help after the fact with investigations and sometimes yield no results.
This is just my view and I know not everyone agrees with it. That’s fine. But yall ain’t John Wick who took out three people with a pencil… Just saying….
everything goes back HOME TRAINING, so the “Business Leaders” need to meet with the Nation PTA. Last time I checked, the President was Allister Thomas.
PARENTS must train their children properly. When the family unit is broke, everyone in society is affected too.
See this is part of the problem…….
Everyone sits back and waits for someone else to fix the problem. No one is working together.
How about we hear what the authorities are doing and then businesses come together and say what the can do to minimize the threat and temptation.
Business men and women are being targeted because criminals think that they have cash on them and most of them do!
Stop the practice of holding large amounts of cash in businesses or on your person and you as a target will go away.
You need to tackle the problem at its source, no Cameras or giving business people firearms will solve this problem my people.
The culture is already engrained if the fabric of our society, a culture that was specifically invited and imported by ruthless politicians.
It has become like an evasive specie, once allowed to infect the society, it becomes impossible to contain.
That is the nature of crime in the society..
Cameras, street lights, neighborhood watch, and also need to put cameras on police, we need to make sure their doing their job right cus they can’t be trusted
Something shouldn’t always have to happen for something to happen
From blue light to ring cameras, that have been around for decades they do not stop crime nor criminals. To those in the business community, how about you clean up your palaces, mansions and businesses which are contributing to the illegal drugs and weapons markets?
How about seeking stiffer punishments for fraud, embezzlement, insider trading and the likes? Your henchmen and runners will get the message and stop supporting your criminal enterprises.
The recent crime surge is not just worrisome, it is frightening and it is sending chills down the spines of members of the business community in particular. The government must utilize the police force and army to conduct patrols, vigilance and lookout islandwide and do regular spot checks. We also must seek to increase the headcount in the police force as a matter of priority. We also need a volunteer unit of the police force comprising of trusted and disciplined citizens who are honourable , credible and reliable. Citizens are on edge at the recent happenings.
Usless Chamber of Commerce. Only reactive when something affects a member of the business community. Don’t your members live and make money here? What role have they played in assisting government, schools and civic organisations to deal with this problem? It has been said that guns are coming via business containers that are given special treatment by corrupt officials. What have members of the business community done to safeguard their businesses? What happened with George is tragic and sad but George ran a cash business. We must all be aware that the world has changed. This is not just an Antigua problem. Gun crimes are happening all over the Caribbean and the world. Dominica just had one. Jamaica and Trinidad have had hundreds for the year so far. We must all be aware of our surroundings at all times. We must be always alert. We must take all necessary measures to protect ourselves, family and property. And most of all do not depend on the Police to protect you.
I want to say to the business owners, I empathize with the pain, insecurity and inability to expand your business in a way you want and that would be nationally important because of fear of criminality and inadequate assurance of safety by the police’s lack of strategy. I do feel your pain and I promise I will continue to push the heads to act in a reasonable, prudent and innovative ways based on pragmatic understanding of crimes, criminals and victims (criminology and victimology).
I will strongly recommend for the fire department be properly equipped with radios, and for that department to do business visits, to give information on fire safety and other safety hazards within their expertise. This will also provide deterrence, as presence of such uniformed folks tend to do this, deter, remove/reduce opportunities to commit crimes.
I will once again, provide strategic patrol, day and night, guided by crime prediction models. I will ensure officers are out and about, but not just as rapid response teams but stable presence in the communities, even those most isolated areas. These officers will be there frequently that criminal will be confused on when an opportunity exist.
All police reports will be taken, and analyzed, so it can be used to guide police preventative actions in the future.
Officers will be hanging out on the block in plain clothes, those officers who are mostlikely to not be known to be an officer in those communities.
Officers will be giving safety and community seminars in schools, colleges, churches, etcetera. The more we can have presence in the community and at various times around the clock, the most likely we will be able to reduce opportunities and condition criminals back into hiding (not acting). If we do this for substantial periods of time, we would be on our way to a substantial reduction of crimes like burglary, larceny, robbery, assaults with deadly weapons, gun and ammunition crimes, etcetera. This would highly impact homicides, in a positive way.
The businesses will be back to striving and expanding in ways that will have expanding impact on the economy.
I must say we must formulate crime victim benefits to ensure criminals know there is a higher motivation for cooperation of police and community to bring criminals to justice.
It is time we innovate and it is time that experts lead.
All of us who have business interests in the country and beyond should get together and march down to Parliament and let those who govern us take action against the criminal underworld immediately.
On behalf of Charlie Barnes and those who have lost their lives as entrepreneurs deserve answers and a stronger response those we elected.
Again, RIP Charlie 🙏🏾 this could have happened to any of us hardworking citizens.
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