Against the backdrop of ongoing public safety conversations in Antigua and Barbuda, newly released official crime statistics reveal a mixed picture of law enforcement outcomes for the first seven months of 2026. While overall reported offenses and robbery cases have declined compared to recent years, the nation is confronting a disturbing uptick in severe violent crimes that has prompted urgent police action.
Assistant Commissioner Lisbon Michael, the senior official leading the country’s Criminal Investigations Department, shared the latest data in an exclusive interview with ABS’ *Antigua Barbuda Today* program. During the discussion, he broke down key trends in criminal activity and outlined the police service’s evolving strategy to address a recent wave of gun-related violence.
According to Michael, law enforcement agencies logged 94 reported robbery incidents between January and July 2026. That marks a notable 18 percent drop from the 115 robberies recorded in the same seven-month window in 2025, a reduction of 21 total offenses. This fall in robberies is not an isolated trend: it aligns with a broader downward shift in overall reported crime across the country.
In total, police counted 1,756 criminal offenses from January to July 2026, down from 1,887 in the matching period of 2025. The decline is even more stark when compared to 2024, when 2,227 crimes were reported in the first seven months of that year.
But this encouraging overall trend masks a worrying rise in some of the most harmful categories of violent crime. Homicides, for example, climbed from nine cases in the first seven months of 2025 to 11 cases in the same period of 2026. Shooting incidents also saw a significant jump, increasing from 18 incidents last year to 24 this year. Non-violent breaking-and-entering offenses also moved higher, rising from 85 incidents in early 2025 to 97 in 2026.
In response to growing public concern over the surge in gun-related violence, the Antigua and Barbuda Police Service has ramped up targeted operational activities. A new initiative dubbed Operation Restore Confidence launched on August 15 to curb violent crime and reassure communities, as authorities work to reverse the recent uptick in deadly offenses.