Statement from Hon. Kelvin Simon

Violent crime strikes again in St. Mary’s South and my heartfelt prayers go out to the elderly gentleman who was brutally beaten in a home invasion in Jolly Harbour last night. This is the second incident that has occurred in just over a month and it appears that criminals are at war with innocent citizens, especially the elderly.

This administration has left us to fend for ourselves because public safety is not a priority. The Bolans Police Station is still not fully equipped and officers have not been empowered with the requisite resources to function effectively. To date, no arrests have been made in connection with the last violent home invasion, and there are many unsolved crimes in our community.

The government seems unconcerned about the reality of this brutal crime crisis. Our community continues to live in fear because of the lack of concrete action on the part of the government. Yet the Attorney General is still trying to convince us that Antigua and Barbuda is much safer than other countries. We must get real and deal with this crime problem immediately. We have had enough of the “sweet talk” and it is time to upgrade our crime fighting techniques by coming together as a community to ensure that the public is safe.

Very shortly, I will organize an anti-crime townhall meeting in St. Mary’s South to get direct feedback from ordinary citizens and qualified persons about how to deal with this crime situation. We must restore public confidence and come together to give our suggestions. This will allow us to build on solutions and strategies to fight crime. All ideas and recommendations made during this townhall meeting will be compiled into a crime action report.

We need to lead the way in developing a comprehensive plan to tackle the crime scourge and to restore hope and comfort to our community. We need to get the input of citizens in real time and to address burning questions from all stakeholders.

The Minister of National Security has failed to demonstrate leadership. He has failed to mobilize stakeholders to properly assess the problem and find solutions. He refuses to address operational and administrative deficiencies in the police force that have resulted in rampant crime not just throughout our community, but throughout the length and breadth of this country.