Antigua and Barbuda
| Author | George Kurian |
| Pages | 147-148 |
Page 147
Official country name: Antigua and Barbuda
Capital: Saint John's
Geographic description: Caribbean islands between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean
Population: 68,722 (est. 2005)
The Antigua and Barbuda Police Force dates from 1886 when Antigua was the headquarters of the Leeward Islands. In 1965 the force was granted the prefix Royal. On independence in 1981 the Leeward Islands Police Force was disbanded and the Antigua and Barbuda Police became a separate organization.
Part of the Judicial and Legal Services Commission, the Royal Antigua and Barbuda Police is headed by a commissioner with divisional headquarters at Saint John's and subdivisional headquarters at All Saints, Barbuda, Bolans, Parham, and Saint John's. There are specialized branches or departments dealing with crime, traffic, prosecutions, state security, riots, crowd control, immigration and telecommunications. The police are also responsible for the fire service.
The principal grades in the police service are: commissioner, deputy commissioner, assistant superintendent, inspector, service sergeant, sergeant, corporal, and constable.
The working dress for the junior ranks is a gray short-sleeved shirt, navy-blue serge trousers with a white stripe on the seams, and a peaked cap. Women wear skirts of the same color. Senior ranks from inspector up wear a khaki bush tunic with matching shorts (trousers for commissioner and deputies) and a blue peaked cap. For ceremonial occasions all ranks wear a white tunic and blue trousers with a white stripe (buff stripe for officers). Lower ranks wear white spiked helmets while the senior ranks wear caps. Members of the force are not generally armed.
There are no formal police training facilities on the islands. Officers are generally sent abroad for training.
Total Police Personnel: 636
Population per Police Officer: 120
The government generally respects the human rights of its citizens. The police are organized, trained, and supervised
Page 148
according to British law...
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