Cabinet yesterday approved $289.6 million for the continued fight against crime.

The new plan will see the hiring of more manpower, modernisation of the response technology and more police vehicles, says National Security Minister Jack Warner.

Warner was speaking yesterday at the post-Cabinet news conference at the Diplomatic Centre, St Ann's.

He said $60 million would be spent on the full-time establishment of 5,000 Special Reserve Police officers (SRPs) in varying ranks to be determined in consultation with the acting Commissioner of Police.

Warner said it was anticipated that these persons would be trained and deployed on the roads before Christmas.

He said $5.1 million would be spent to immediately establish police community-support-group officers throughout the nine divisions of the country.

Some 3,000 SRPs, he said, would be posted in the police community- support branch and would undergo specialised training "to work in non- confrontational areas and the aim is to address anti-social behaviour and disorder".

Warner said $164.5 million would be spent to acquire Information Technology solutions to aid in crime detection and would also see an improvement in the E999 rapid response system.

Another $300 million will be used to purchase some 300 vehicles for the Police Service and will give officers the opportunity to take the cars home. He said a vehicle maintenance policy was also approved by Cabinet.

Warner said the United Nations disarmament office has agreed to help this country establish an integrated data system for the registration of small arms.

He said the process is currently undertaken and recorded manually and there was need to maintain accurate and comprehensive data as it relates to arms and ammunition.

Warner, who was appointed National Security Minister in June and has since promised a new crime plan, reiterated that it was in the works and promised a safer country.

"I know all attempts have been made to jumbie me so to speak and to have me announce this prematurely. I will not be rushed into that," he said.

"Let me advise you once again, that you shall feel the effects of the plan, when the plan is implemented it shall be swift, it shall be surgical, it shall be clinical and this country shall begin a new era of safety," said Warner.