ANTIGUA COMPUTER HARD DRIVES STOLEN FROM GOVERNMENT PUBLIC INFORMATION DIVSION Caribbean Net News: Antigua's ?crime wave? continues as government information stolenAntigua's ‘crime wave’ continues as government information stolen

PM Baldwin Spencer is up
against a worrying crime
wave

by Norman 'Gus' Thomas
Caribbean Net News Senior Correspondent
E-mail: rc@caribbeannetnews.com
Tuesday, July 19, 2005
GEORGE TOWN, Cayman Islands: Having taken Caribbean Net News to task on national television some three weeks ago for a report carried in our daily news referring to a “crime wave” in Antigua, Prime Minister Baldwin Spencer must be not a little embarrassed to read Tuesday's edition of the popular Antigua Sun newspaper.

The Sun reports that the "worrying crime wave" continues as thieves allegedly cut the burglar bars and removed a safe containing EC$200,000 along with US$7,000 in a wheelbarrow from Goodwill Agencies on the All Saints Road. Police have confirmed the incident and indicated that it took place in the small hours of Sunday morning.

According to the popular daily, thieves also made a move on Dees Service Station at the junction of Pigotts and the Airport Roads where they reportedly cut through the roof to enter the building and allegedly stole money and automobile products.

Meanwhile, the state-owned ABS Television Station in its 7:00 pm newscast on Monday, reported that a computer in one of the offices of the Public Information Division (PID) was tampered with and the hard-drive removed, which is said to have contained "very important" government information. Confirmation of this incident was given to Caribbean Net News by one of the investigating officers at the Criminal Investigations Department.

Caribbean Net News tried to reach Information Minister Dr. Edmund Mansoor for comment, but he was unavailable.

News of this raised questions about the security of government offices and an already hard-pressed police force is working around the clock to try to bring closure to these investigations.

Prime Minister Spencer had earlier taken strong objection to Caribbean Net News' suggestion that there is a crime wave affecting the country, one in which several businesses and homes including several American, Canadian and British tourists were being attacked and robbed, with the latter worrying tourism officials.

Although our correspondent sought to report on the present crime situation in Antigua and Barbuda, based on facts confirmed by the police, Mr. Spencer sought to suggest that Caribbean Net News was not telling the truth and attempted to link the Caribbean Net News report to the opposition Antigua Labour Party (ALP) of dethroned former Prime Minister, Lester Bird.

However, the facts then and now speak for themselves