The government of Antigua and Barbuda is currently developing a single, centralized public registry that will include the full names and photographs of all registered sex offenders, the nation’s Director General of Communications Maurice Merchant confirmed during a post-Cabinet media briefing Thursday.
At present, information about accused and convicted sex offenders is only released to the public incrementally, as legal cases move through the stages of arrest, charging, and final conviction. The new unified list will consolidate all this scattered information into one accessible resource that any member of the public can reference, a shift designed to improve transparency and public safety.
“What the authorities are looking at is having a general list, a comprehensive list, and publishing that,” Merchant explained to reporters during the briefing.
Merchant emphasized that the project is still ongoing, and no firm timeline for the public launch of the registry has been set. He also declined to clarify a key outstanding detail: whether the finalized list will include all offenders already entered into the existing confidential registry, or if it will only apply to individuals convicted after the new public disclosure rules go into effect.
Thursday’s announcement came as part of a broader policy discussion centered on addressing sexual violence against women and children, and the government’s ongoing push to strengthen legal penalties and enhance public protection measures.
In addition to advancing the public registry plan, the Cabinet has thrown its support behind a proposal put forward by Prime Minister Gaston Browne to evaluate chemical castration as a sentencing option for repeat sex offenders. Merchant added that other legislative reforms, including steeper fines, longer prison sentences, and additional penalty enhancements, are also still under review by government officials.
Further concrete details about the government’s full package of reforms targeting sexual offences and expanding child protection are expected to be released when the nation’s Parliament convenes on September 28. Until the comprehensive public registry is finalized and published, the existing policy of releasing information about sex offenders on a case-by-case basis will remain in effect, Merchant confirmed.