Opposition Senator Malaka Parker accused unnamed politicians of using their influence to help criminals escape the consequences of their actions, saying some offenders believe the law will not apply to them.

“Certain criminals have certain politicians on speed dial,” Parker said during debate on the Firearms Amendment Bill, 2026. “When police lock them up tonight, they’re gone tomorrow with a phone call.”

Parker said her own family had experienced the effects of violent crime. Her brother was killed by a stray bullet while walking in Gray’s Farm, she said, leaving 10 children without their father.

She said the man convicted of killing her brother was sentenced to 16 years in prison and was released recently. Parker alleged that he should have been deported after his release but was instead allowed time to make arrangements because he had access to a politician in a high position.

“Because he has certain politician on speed dial in high places, he was freed,” she said.

Parker did not name the politician or the former prisoner, or provide details supporting the allegation. She said some criminals were not afraid of tougher firearm penalties because they did not believe those laws would be applied equally.

Her criticism formed part of a wider argument that the firearms bill’s focus on increasing sentences would not address the causes of rising gun crime or failures in the justice system.

Parker said she had no sympathy for gun-wielding criminals and agreed that violent crime, particularly gun crime, was increasing. But she said the trend had developed over years and the government should be held responsible for examining what it had done — and failed to do — before supporting harsher punishment.

She said the government was responsible for most of the machinery involved in fighting crime, including border security, police staffing and resources, youth interventions in schools and communities, and the tools needed to apprehend offenders and solve cases.

A government, she argued, could not fail in those areas and then blame the judiciary for low sentences.

Parker also challenged Prime Minister Gaston Browne’s public claim that about 250 repeat offenders were moving in and out of the justice system. She said the government had not provided a breakdown showing how many had previous firearm convictions or what offences were involved.

“Policy needs to be driven by evidence, not people’s feelings,” she said, calling for reliable data before lawmakers changed sentencing policy.

Parker said she had found cases in which the Court of Appeal reduced sentences imposed by lower courts, including at least five cases in March 2026. She argued that appeals were the proper way to challenge sentences considered too lenient and warned against politicians pressuring judges.

“If there is a fault or a flaw in the system, if, as the Prime Minister claims, he knows that there are judges who are taking bribes and judges who are routinely giving low sentences, you need to talk to his DPP,” she said, urging the prosecution to appeal sentences it believed were inadequate.

She accused the government of replacing leadership and effective crime prevention with new legislation, saying tougher penalties could become a political gesture if underlying problems were left unresolved.

Parker also called for consistent enforcement, accusing politicians of associating with criminal figures when it suited them and condemning offenders only when politically convenient.

“If we’re going to be tough on crime and criminals, be tough on crime and criminals all the time,” she said. “Not just the ones that are not yours out of season.”

This article was originally published by Antigua News Room. Read the original article here: Malaka Parker says criminals have politicians on speed dial in Antigua and Barbuda.