Police Commissioner Wendell Robinson has confirmed that crime on the island is down.
Speaking on State media, Tuesday, Robinson said over the last three or four months the police have been successful in reducing the number of crimes in Antigua & Barbuda.
“In some areas aggravated robbery has been reduced by well over 50 percent,” the commissioner said.
“We have areas where crime has become so low that it is even more than 75%. But, I don’t like to use statistics so soon because as soon as you talk about crime, something happens.
He said usually by this time of the year the island would have recorded somewhere in the region of five homicides. However, there have only been two so far.
Prime Minister Gaston Browne used the same statistics in his Labour Day address on Monday, while lauding his government for its approach to crime in the country.
Robinson also said he believes public confidence in the force had increased over the past few months.
Additionally, Senior Sergeant Frankie Thomas said it is critical for the force to have the public’s support in its crime -fighting initiatives and took the opportunity to remind the public of the force’s “See something. Say something” programme.
“That’s the tagline and it’s very important. If you see something, don’t hold that information close to your chest, because you never know how important it is in terms of solving a matter.”’
His appeal comes as both the police and the family of the teen found in Lightfoot Pond urge the public to come forward with any relevant information about the teen’s mysterious death.
“I think we have been getting the level of support that we anticipated. Of course, there is always room for improvement. But, our outlook, in terms of support, is encouraging and we continue to appeal to the general public to lend us its support,” Thomas said.