A senior police officer is emphasizing the importance of each family having an emergency exit plan in the event an intruder may try to gain forced entry into their homes or an unforeseen disaster.

Police Spokesperson Inspector Frankie Thomas gave useful advice in light of the recent increase in breaking in and entry and robbery which, he has described as very concerning.

“Families should adopt or practice safety drills in the event there is an intruder in the home because it may very well be that practice that will save the lives of the members of the household,”

“Know your home, you may not be able to run from your room to that room but in this technological era we all have cellular phones close to us, so have a signal or code to alert other members of the household and they should know what to do,” Thomas said.

Thomas was speaking as a panelist on a forum hosted by Monifa St John of Mental Health Talk Antigua.

The Facebook Live forum centered around ways residents can keep their minds and body safe.

Speaking further to the safety tips, he added, “Know the security features of your home, your windows, your doors. If you are leaving home for a prolonged period of time ensure that there is adequate lighting around the home”

The senior officer further cautioned, “We may want to look at our electricity bill but count or match that against losing your valuables, your equipment, furniture. It is important that we think about the greater picture of security.

As it relates to curbing incidents of criminal activities the police spokesperson noted that crime is not a friend of anyone and it takes the involvement of everyone to keep it under control.

President of the Women Against Rape (WAR) Alexandrina Wong also participated in the discussion.

She too, intimated that it takes the involvement of everyone to address the crime situation in the country and it starts in the home.

Nurse Wong was very quick to note that she is not putting the blame on parents or anyone else for that matter.

“This is not a blame game this is a time for us to sit down and crucially look at what is happening around us and look at some of the spaces where we can have corrective measures,” she said