Newly released crime statistics from Antigua and Barbuda’s police force reveal a mixed security landscape for the first seven months of 2026: while total reported offenses have continued a steady multi-year decline, the nation is grappling with a troubling uptick in violent gun-related crime, including homicides and shootings.
Assistant Commissioner Lisbon Michael, who leads the country’s Criminal Investigations Department, shared the latest data during a public briefing addressing growing community anxiety over surging gun violence. Between January and July 2026, local police recorded 11 homicides, marking a 22% increase from the nine murders reported in the same seven-month window of 2025. Shooting incidents have also jumped sharply, climbing from 18 incidents in 2025’s first half to 24 this year.
These rises in violent crime run counter to the broader downward trend in overall reported offenses across the island nation. This year, 1,756 total crimes were reported to police between January and July, down from 1,887 in 2025’s corresponding period. The decline is even more pronounced when compared to 2024, when 2,227 crimes were logged over the same seven months.
Patterns across non-violent offense categories are similarly mixed. Robbery, another offense often linked to the illegal weapons trade, bucked the upward trend seen in homicides and shootings, falling from 115 incidents in 2025 to 94 this year. However, residential and commercial break-ins have moved in the opposite direction, rising from 85 last year to 97 in 2026 – a 14% increase year-over-year.
In response to the growing public concern over rising gun-related violence, Antigua and Barbuda’s police force launched a targeted intervention called Operation Restore Confidence. The two-week initiative launched on August 15 and is set to wrap up on August 29. Michael outlined that the operation has already seen officers deploy aggressive, community-focused tactics including routine stop-and-search patrols, the execution of long-standing arrest warrants, the seizure of illegal firearms and recovered stolen property, and the arrest of multiple individuals linked to violent crime. The core goals of the operation are straightforward: crack down on the surge of serious violent offenses, reduce the circulation of illegal guns on the islands, and rebuild public trust in local law enforcement’s ability to keep communities safe.