Over the past year, the Ministry of Defence has recorded significant strides in strengthening national security.

Defence Minister Wayne Sturge said stronger inter-agency coordination, legal reforms and enhanced surveillance over the past year have disrupted criminal networks and reduced illegal firearms.

“So we were able to, in essence, determine how many murders come from the inside, from the intelligence, hits called from the inside. And we felt that once we were able to, in a sustained way, cut off the communication from those on the inside who were calling the shots and in essence, planning murders from the inside. Once we could deal with that part, we could see a reduction in crime and we could move towards dealing with the other portions.”