A number of residents were moved following the discovery of the object in the Rockfergus Avenue area of Carrickfergus shortly after 9am, while residents in Cushendun also remain evacuated.
Mr Dickson said he was “disgusted” at the actions of those responsible.
“The people behind these alerts are sick individuals, with no respect for the lives of others. To leave a device which had the potential to explode in a residential area is a callous move.
“The only thing it is achieving is disrupting the lives of the vast majority of people in the local community.
“The public does not support these incidents and wants them to stop. I would urge anyone with information to contact the police immediately.”