Facing a recent surge in violent criminal activity across the nation, the Cabinet of Antigua and Barbuda has approved a sweeping package of reforms designed to strengthen the country’s troubled criminal justice system, headlined by a plan to expand the prosecution team at the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).
Director General of Communications Maurice Merchant laid out the full scope of the approved measures during a post-Cabinet media briefing on Thursday, following days of intensive deliberations by government officials over how to reverse the upward trend in crime and violence.
During their review, Cabinet members conducted a comprehensive audit of every critical pillar of the criminal justice system, ranging from frontline law enforcement and correctional facility administration to sentencing guidelines and prosecution capabilities. The meeting concluded that even stricter criminal laws and enhanced policing tactics cannot deliver safer communities without a properly resourced prosecution service that can move cases through the system efficiently and secure successful convictions.
To address this gap, the government has given formal approval to hire up to five new additional attorneys for the DPP’s Office. These new recruits are tasked with boosting the agency’s overall capacity to handle a growing caseload, particularly the high-profile, serious and legally complex criminal cases that have overwhelmed existing staff in recent months.
Beyond short-term staffing expansions, Cabinet has also greenlit a long-term talent development initiative: full scholarships for two currently serving police officers to enroll in the full law degree program at the University of the West Indies Five Islands Campus. Once the officers complete their degrees and graduate, they will be permanently assigned to the DPP’s prosecution team. This unique approach is designed to bring prosecutors with firsthand, on-the-ground experience in policing and criminal investigations into the office, bridging the gap between investigation and prosecution.
To further elevate the performance of the existing prosecution workforce, Cabinet has also approved funding for a specialized ongoing professional training program tailored for current prosecutors. The curriculum focuses on building advanced skills specific to handling serious and complex criminal matters, ensuring every attorney representing the state has the up-to-date legal knowledge and procedural expertise to effectively advance the government’s case in court. Officials note this training initiative will work in tandem with the new recruitment drive and the police-to-prosecutor scholarship program to create a more robust, capable prosecution service over both the short and long term.
In addition to changes focused on prosecution, the government is moving forward with legislative reform to address two pressing public safety concerns: violent gun crime and sexual offenses against minors. Cabinet has agreed to introduce new legislation that will set mandatory minimum and maximum sentencing ranges for these serious crimes. Before the bill is finalized and submitted to Parliament for a vote, the government will open a period of public consultation with key legal and community stakeholders, to ensure the proposed measures receive thorough legal and technical review and reflect input from those affected by the current system.
Officials emphasized that the newly approved reforms are part of a sustained, holistic strategy to improve public safety. Moving forward, the Antigua and Barbuda government will continue to pursue a coordinated approach that combines strengthened law enforcement operations, targeted legislative updates, and systemic upgrades to prosecution and other core components of the criminal justice system.