One week after Grenada took similar steps, the Government of Antigua and Barbuda, in collaboration with the United States Government, launched a specially-appointed National Task Force and endorsed the Caribbean Citizen Security Toolkit to strengthen the use of evidence-based programming and policy-making for crime prevention under the aegis of the United States Agency for International Development’s (USAID) CariSECURE Project.

Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Legal Affairs, Public Safety and Labour, Mr. Steadroy Benjamin, announced and officially appointed the Task Force during a ceremony at the Jolly Beach Resort in Bolan’s Village. He also signed an agreement to officially endorse the Toolkit that will help agencies standardize, disaggregate, and share crime data under the USAID project being implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

USAID Mission Director for the Eastern and Southern Caribbean, Christopher Cushing, told launch participants the effects of crime and violence had far-reaching implications for productive societies and for youth. “The complexity of these challenges requires innovative and data-driven solutions. Research is showing us that using evidence-based practices leads to proactive crime fighting and crime prevention strategies. This approach also leads to more effective and efficient interventions that are critical in an environment of reduced resources,” Mr. Cushing explained. He added  that the Caribbean Citizen Security Toolkit, when used in tandem with  social data as well as local knowledge and expert experience will enable Antigua and Barbuda, and other countries in the Eastern and Southern Caribbean, to improve citizen security data management, analysis, and monitoring and craft sustainable home-grown solutions to rising issues of crime and violence.

Team Leader, CariSECURE (UNDP) Paolo Del Mistro, emphasized the benefits afforded through the Project: “The CariSECURE Project will provide public institutions in Antigua and Barbuda with the necessary tools to make evidence-informed decisions, and design policy and programming to address the underlying causes of violence and crime,” he said.

The Task Force is comprised of key representatives from the Ministry of Public Safety and Labour; Ministry of Legal Affairs; Royal Police Force of Antigua and Barbuda; Her Majesty’s Prison, Family, and Social Services Division; and the Statistics Department.

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