by Linda Straker
- Increase in overall crimes by 1.6% compared to 2023
- RGPF solvency rate of 74.8% of all crimes reported in 2024
- RGPF employing broad-based technology to fight crime
Acting Commissioner of Police Randy Connaught said that in 2024, Grenada saw an increase in overall crimes by 1.6% compared to 2023. That increase is not reflected in the major crimes category, but in the area of petty crimes and property crimes.
“This increase is in respect to petty crimes such as obscene language, threatening language and other misdemeanours,” Connaught told the media during a news conference on 24 April 2025. He further explained that the force had a solvency rate of 74.8% of all crimes reported. “This success rate is among the highest in the region. The goal for 2025 is to take the solvency rate up to 80%,” he said.
The Head of Crimes of the Royal Grenada Police Force (RGPF) ACP Vannie Curwin shared more details about the strategies that will be adopted. He said that the RGPF will be employing technology-based devices to fight and reduce crimes in the country, including several new initiatives and expanding its drone unit. “We are employing broad-based technology in the field of crime fighting. There are a number of things that we will be doing in 2025 that we have not done prior; there are a number of initiatives and technologies we will employ in 2025 as we move forward.”
Curwen explained that the RGPF does not require any legal instrument to operate drones as part of its crime-fighting strategy. “One of those is the expansion of our drone unit. I do not want to delve too deeply into this because there are some sensitivities in talking about the technology that we employ, so I will just say that we will be expanding our drone unit,” he said.
Grenada has no law or policy as it pertains to the use of drones for private or state use, but private owners are required to register their drones with the RGPF. In September 2024, Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell told parliament that through the Ministry of National Security, Grenada will develop rules and policies pertaining to the use of drones, and these guidelines will focus on identifying no-fly zones.
“Drone technologies are revolutionising the world,” said the Prime Minister, who is also the Minister for National Security. “Within the national security apparatus, we have to create the rules and policies to regulate the use of drones and the Police itself need to be equipped with drones that can allow them to fight, detect and prevent crime,” he told the House while justifying the request of EC$530,000 for the RGPF in the 2024 supplemental budget which was allocated to purchase law enforcement equipment to assist the police with solving crimes.
