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Antigua and Barbuda’s Performance in Combating Organized Crime

Overview

While Antigua and Barbuda has made efforts to address organized crime, significant challenges remain.

Criminal Justice and Security

The country’s judiciary is independent, but faces issues with inefficiency and backlogs. Corruption within the police force is a concern, although allegations of misconduct are investigated. Despite these challenges, the country lacks a specialized unit for countering organized crime, but sniffer-dog units have been deployed to combat drug trafficking.

Key Challenges:

  • Inefficient judiciary
  • Corruption within the police force
  • Lack of specialized unit for organized crime

Economic and Financial Environment

Antigua and Barbuda has faced criticism for its reputation as a tax sheltering country, but efforts have been made to address money laundering and terrorist financing risks. The Office of National Drug and Money Laundering Control Policy (ONDCP) works with financial institutions to prevent money laundering.

Key Initiatives:

  • Strengthened cooperation between ONDCP and financial institutions
  • Efforts to address money laundering and terrorist financing risks

Civil Society and Social Protection

While shelters for victims of domestic violence are available, NGOs face funding issues and may be under political influence. The government has mechanisms in place to protect legitimate businesses from criminal activities.

Key Challenges:

  • Funding issues for NGOs
  • Potential influence on NGOs by the government

Recommendations for Improvement

  1. Addressing Corruption: Efforts should be made to reduce corruption within the police force.
  2. Improving Judicial Efficiency: The judiciary’s efficiency and effectiveness need to be improved.
  3. Enhancing Law Enforcement: Strengthening law enforcement efforts against organized crime is essential.
  4. Supporting NGOs: Funding for NGOs working on issues related to organized crime and social protection needs to be increased.

Overall, while Antigua and Barbuda has made progress in addressing organized crime, there is still much work to be done to address these complex issues.