1st Edition
Crime, Violence and Security in the Caribbean
Security challenges pose significant hardship for citizens of Caribbean nations. Public safety is threatened by high rates of crime – especially violent crime – in much of the region, the plague of the illicit drug trade, transnational organized crime, gangs, the current global proliferation of crimes of terrorism and related violent extremism and radicalization. The situation diminishes morale among the youth, their education and their future, and operates as a major push factor.
Yet, surprisingly, there has been a scarcity of scholarly work that addresses these conditions. This interdisciplinary volume succinctly responds to the gap in criminological and security studies on the Caribbean by drawing attention to the understudied nexus of crime, violence, and security that is so pervasive in the region, and the ways in which underdevelopment re/creates environments for insecurity.
The book is organized in three parts:
- Part one encompasses conceptualizations of crime, violence and punishment.
- Part two takes up country cases on crime and security.
- Part three addresses issues of regional security, both public and private.
This timely volume will be valuable reading for scholars, students, practitioners and policy makers who share a critical interest in the scope, impact, and inter-relationality of crime, violence, and in/security in the region.
Foreword
[Ramesh Deosaran]
Introduction
[M. Raymond Izarali]
Part 1: Crime, Violence and Punishment
1. Crime, Violence, and Public Safety in the Caribbean
[Randy Seepersad]
2. Drug Trafficking and Gang Violence in the Caribbean
[Sheridon M. Hill and Patrice K. Morris]
3. Exploring the Link Between Corruption and the Rule of Law in Five Caribbean Countries
[Nirmala Sookoo]
4. Prisons in the Caribbean: Structures, Conditions and Effectiveness
[Karen Lancaster-Ellis]
Part 2: Country Cases on Crime and Security
5. The Torture of Inner City Boys and its Contribution to the Construction of Repeat Killers in Jamaica
[Herbert Samuel Gayle]
6. Risk and Fear of Crime Paradoxes in Trinidad
[Derek Chadee, Mary Chadee and Simon Alexis]
7. Cuba: Challenges of Security and Social Polarization
[Dalbir Ahlawat and Aavriti Gautam]
Part 3: Issues of Regional Security
8. An Emerging Regional Power: Trinidad and Tobago’s Role and Influence on Caribbean Security
[Sheridon M. Hill]
9. Private Security in the Caribbean
[Matthew L. Bishop and Annita Montoute]
10. Vulnerabilities and Security Threats in the Caribbean
[W. Andy Knight]
11. The Caribbean in Current Global Security Affairs: The Issue of Terrorism
[M. Raymond Izarali]
Biography
M. Raymond Izarali is a philosopher and associate professor in the Department of Criminology, Wilfrid Laurier University (Brantford Campus), Canada. His research interests include international crime and justice, globalization, global terrorism and security, human rights theory, Africa, the Caribbean, and South Asia. He has published one co-edited book called The Contemporary Caribbean: Issues and Challenges (Shipra Publications, New Delhi, 2013) and another called Security, Education and Development in Contemporary Africa (Routledge, 2017). He has also published peer-reviewed articles in Critical Criminology, Global Studies Journal, International Journal of Social Inquiry, and Africa Review.
'This text is an excellent, well researched, and timely source of information on crime, violence and security matters in the Caribbean. It deals with current issues in the region whilst drawing attention to potential and foreseeable ones, and should be of great significance to the security sector and scholars.' - Azad Khan, Lecturer, Faculty of Education and Humanities, University of Guyana
'This path-breaking volume brings together notable scholars from varied disciplines who astutely engage different methodological approaches to tackle and enhance our understanding of crime, violence and corrections in the Caribbean. It would benefit any person who wishes to be knowledgeable on the increasing crime and violence in the Caribbean, whether locally or globally-emboldened, which has been adverse to the region’s economy, foreign investment and tourism.' - Dion E. Phillips, Professor of Sociology, University of the Virgin Islands
