Antigua and Barbuda to introduce Legislation to curb gang violence among youth

Gaston Browne, Antigua and Barbuda’s Prime Minister, in his statement, revealed that the nation is planning to create new legislation to combat the growing trend of young people being included in gangs and resulting violence.

The move was escalated further when the latest homicide was suspected to be gang-related, and in a national address on Tuesday night, Browne called for the violence among youths to be put on a halt.

In order to address the problem, the government is going to pursue the anti-gang and juvenile curfew legislation. These measures are meant to reduce criminal activity by minors and to safeguard them from the harmful influence of gang masterminds.

Browne was keen to point out that the legislation is just one of a range of measures to protect the youth of Antigua and Barbuda.

Speaking at the ceremony, Browne disclosed that the police force has already formed a guns and gang suppression unit. This unit is responsible for tackling gangs, which have become a nuisance to society since their prevalence was observed some years back.

“Our gang suppression strategy will also include counselling as well as anti-gang education in our learning institutions,” said Browne. He emphasized the need to tackle youth immediately with prevention campaigns that would reduce and discourage the formation and joining of gangs.

PM Browne will also propose the pipeline of reformative measures which are to be implemented in the prison system to encourage the young offenders’ intention of decreasing the rate of gang engagement.

An important part of the government’s strategy is the construction of a juvenile prison on the territory of the defence force at Crabbs Peninsula. This building will accommodate youths involved in the criminal activities, whereby they will be offered a safe place that shall offer the right support and rehabilitation services.

Compounding the fight against the use of prohibited firearms, PM Browne underscored a cash reward initiative that will encourage people to supply information for the disarmament of those firearms. The program has worked effectively with seventy firearms resent last year while over forty have already been resent this year.

By the Prime Minister’s announcement, it becomes clear that government is determined to tackle with the problems resulting in youth violence and provide with a society safer for youth of the country.

From the above descriptions it is evident that the region of Antigua and Barbuda is on the right track to combating the pacing violence problem in society with the legislation that is being implemented alongside community efforts in addition to the police force.