Browne Says Former Gang Members Have Graduated From ABICE
Prime Minister Gaston Browne says several former gang members have successfully completed training at the Antigua and Barbuda Institute of Continuing Education (ABICE), describing the achievement as evidence that intervention programmes can help steer at-risk youth away from crime.
Speaking on the Brown and Brown Show on Sunday, Browne said a number of young people who had previously been involved in gang activity have turned their lives around through government-supported skills training.
“You all will be pleased to know that a number of them have now graduated from ABICE,” Browne said.
He said the programme had helped reform participants by equipping them with practical skills and creating opportunities for further education and employment.
“The intervention that we have actually made would have saved a number of them and reformed them to the extent that many of them now have a skill,” Browne said.
The prime minister said the government intends to continue supporting the graduates as they build new careers and improve their prospects.
“We will continue to nurture them and see how we can encourage them to reach new heights too,” he said, adding that some could eventually pursue studies at the University of the West Indies.
Browne also said the government plans to strengthen vocational training by further developing ABICE to produce highly skilled tradespeople.
“We want to make sure we get ABICE to the level that we have the most skilled workers anywhere,” he said.
The remarks came as Browne discussed the government’s broader efforts to reduce crime through rehabilitation and education, while emphasizing that intervention programmes can provide young people with alternatives to gang involvement.
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