GEORGETOWN -The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) has established the CARICOM Youth Advisory Committee on the Prevention of Crime and Violence (YAC-PCV) aimed at placing young people at the centre of regional efforts to reduce crime and violence.
Membership of the Committee comprises eight youth members aged 18 to 29 years, drawn from a selection of CARICOM member states and Associate Members, gender balance, and the inclusion of marginalised groups.
The Guyana-based CARICOM Secretariat said that the Committee’s purpose is to provide a structured mechanism for youth-led input, guidance, and co-creation in the design, implementation, and refinement of CARICOM’s crime prevention initiatives.
It said that through this platform, young voices will directly shape interactive webinars, practical toolkits, and policy-relevant outputs under the Crime and Security and Youth Development programmes of the CARICOM Secretariat.
”With the establishment of the YAC-PCV, CARICOM is reaffirming its commitment to youth leadership, ensuring that young people are not only beneficiaries of crime prevention strategies but active partners in shaping a safer, more inclusive CARICOM.”
Programme Manager for Youth Development at the CARICOM Secretariat, Michele Small-Bartley, said that the YAC-PCV is tasked with ensuring that regional strategies reflect the realities and perspectives of CARICOM youth.
She said it will also serve as a bridge between youth perspectives, policy practitioners, and regional institutions in justice, security, and social development.
“By mainstreaming youth into CARICOM’s crime and security governance, the Committee will strengthen inclusivity and accessibility, ensuring participation from young people in remote areas, those with disabilities, and individuals from diverse linguistic and socio-cultural backgrounds,” said Small-Bartley.
She said the Committee will also play a vital role in promoting youth understanding of alternatives to incarceration, restorative justice, diversion mechanisms, cyber safety, and public health approaches to prevention. Its contributions will extend to regional dialogues, technical workshops, and symposia.
“Research has shown that youth across the Caribbean are disproportionately affected by crime and violence, whether as victims, persons at risk, or in contact with the justice system,” stated Small-Bartley.
“Structural challenges such as unemployment, social exclusion, weak access to justice, prolonged pretrial detention, limited use of non-custodial sentencing, and emerging threats like cybercrime heighten their vulnerability.”
The CARICOM Secretariat said that to address these challenges, the 15-member regional grouping commissioned a Tripartite Study on pretrial detention, non-custodial sentencing, and alternative justice mechanisms.
It said that this initiative was executed through close collaboration between the Secretariat and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), resulting in the development of two evaluation tools: the CARICOM-UNDP Diagnostic Document and the CARICOM–UN Action Framework.
Programme Manager for Crime and Security at the CARICOM Secretariat, Sherwin Toyne-Stephenson said CARICOM is developing tools grounded in a public health, prevention oriented, and integrated justice approach.
“The YAC-PCV is central to ensuring these efforts remain relevant, accessible, and sustained.”
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