Attorney-General claims that his office is still mulling the separation of the Fire Department from the Police Force

Discussions on the separation of the Police Force and the Fire Department are
continuing after years of talk and no action.
 
Minister with responsibility for the Police Force Steadroy “Cutie” Benjamin
claims that his office continues to study the separation of the two entities.
 
Benjamin says that a decision will be taken following the examination of any
increased costs and other logistical intricacies that may result.
 
In June 2019, during a meeting attended by members of the Fire Brigade, a
vote was taken to see how many officers were in favour of the separation.
Support for the separation was said to be overwhelming.
 
Further reports are that, during those very lengthy discussions, views were
expressed that the time had come for progress to take place, which would be
accomplished once the departments were separated.

Accordingly, a document was submitted by the departments’ chiefs to the
Cabinet, outlining the details for the separation process.
Benjamin said then that the decision was ultimately up to the policymakers,
but the voting exercise was in the interest of participation.
 
Former Fire Chief Elvis Weaver had been a voice calling for the separation of
the departments; and on March 17, 2022, before he left office, he reiterated
that call.
 
Weaver had noted that Antigua and Barbuda is one of a few Caribbean
countries that still have the joint arrangement in place.
 

In June 2022, plans for the separation seemed to have been in the final stages
since Minister Benjamin announced that the relevant Bill would be taken to
Parliament.

This did not happen. However, Benjamin later reassured the members of
the Force that the separation was still on the cards and would be considered
in the new term of the Gaston Browne Administration when the Parliament
reconvened.
 
Then information surfaced last year (2023) that there were plans to shelve
the separation idea.
  
Reportedly, there were concerns that the Government would be unable to hire
new persons to augment the numbers within the Police Force due to financial
constraints.