CCTV Network Expands Beyond Crime Detection as Government Plans Wider Public-Safety Use

Information Minister Melford Nicholas says the national CCTV network will no longer be limited to crime detection, as the government moves to broaden the system’s role to include environmental monitoring, anti-litter enforcement and oversight of coastal areas.

Speaking during the Budget Debate, Nicholas said ministries have requested access to the platform because its value “doesn’t stop at crime,” and its functions now extend across several public agencies.

As part of the upgrade, Nicholas announced plans to install 200 additional cameras nationwide, saying the Cabinet has already approved the next phase of expansion.

The new installations, he said, will widen coverage and strengthen the system’s usefulness to multiple sectors. He noted that officers in the Criminal Investigations Department have reported that existing cameras have provided “good assistance… to detect and to enter the crime and help with the prosecution of these crimes.”

Nicholas said the Minister of Health has asked that cameras be deployed along major highways to help enforce anti-littering laws, especially in areas where dumping continues to challenge environmental management.

The Development Control Authority, he added, intends to use CCTV to monitor beaches and coastal spaces where unregulated activity has been reported.

He also referenced community-driven systems such as the private CCTV network in Pigeon Point, installed after the killing of a tourist. While such networks have helped residents monitor their surroundings, Nicholas said they raise regulatory questions.

He told Parliament he intends to seek new rules requiring private CCTV owners to provide footage to law enforcement when criminal incidents occur.

The minister linked the surveillance expansion to the government’s broader upgrade of emergency and communications systems. He outlined improvements to the E911 platform, including a new Motorola system and the distribution of hundreds of radios to the police, Defence Force, ONDCP, beach lifeguards and APUA teams. Nicholas said the new radio network now provides communication coverage across Antigua, Barbuda and the marine corridor between the two islands.

He said both the CCTV expansion and the upgraded emergency network form an integrated infrastructure aimed at improving response times, strengthening enforcement and supporting a coordinated, technology-driven approach to public safety and environmental management.

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