Antigua and Barbuda’s Prime Minister Gaston Browne has announced a milestone in the country’s youth crime intervention strategy: multiple former gang members have successfully graduated from career skills training at the Antigua and Barbuda Institute of Continuing Education (ABICE). Speaking during an appearance on the Brown and Brown Show this past Sunday, the nation’s leader framed the graduation as tangible proof that targeted, government-backed intervention programs can redirect vulnerable young people away from cycles of criminal activity and gang affiliation.
Browne emphasized that the training program has delivered transformative results for the participants, who have completely reshaped their life trajectories after leaving gang life behind. “You all will be pleased to know that a number of them have now graduated from ABICE,” he told listeners. “The intervention that we have actually made would have saved a number of them and reformed them to the extent that many of them now have a marketable, in-demand skill.”
Looking ahead, the prime minister confirmed that the government will not end its support after graduation, committing to ongoing mentorship and guidance as the former gang members launch new professional careers and work to improve their long-term life prospects. “We will continue to nurture them and see how we can encourage them to reach new heights too,” he said, noting that some graduates may even go on to pursue higher academic degrees at the University of the West Indies in the future.
Beyond supporting this cohort of graduates, Browne outlined the government’s broader plan to expand and strengthen vocational training opportunities across Antigua and Barbuda by growing ABICE’s capacity and programming. The ultimate goal, he explained, is to elevate the institute to a standard that produces some of the most highly skilled tradespeople in the region. “We want to make sure we get ABICE to the level that we have the most skilled workers anywhere,” he said.
Browne’s comments came as part of a wider discussion of the government’s holistic approach to cutting crime rates, which centers on rehabilitation and education rather than punitive measures alone. He stressed time and again that intervention programs create viable, sustainable alternatives to gang involvement for at-risk young people, giving them the tools they need to build stable, fulfilling lives outside of criminal activity.