Lecturer Craig Pinkney called in to help deal with State of Public Emergency in Jamaica

Craig Pinkney, criminologist and lecturer with UCB’s School of Education, Health and Community, has been contacted by the Jamaican Ministry of Justice to help deal with the State of Public Emergency recently declared in the country’s Parish of St James.

In an official letter from Kahilah Whyte, Restorative Justice Co-ordinator for the Jamaican government, Craig was invited to a public lecture, conference and community meeting held by the Ministry to respond to a dramatic recent upsurge in violence and organised crime in the area.

“First and foremost, I am planning to work closely with local authorities and the communities affected to establish a state of calm,” said Craig, who has worked on a number of projects working to reduce gun and knife crime among disadvantaged young people in the UK.

“My role will then be to discuss practical solutions to the situation. I am so honoured to be going – it is the biggest milestone of my career so far.”

Craig will present a paper at the Restorative Justice Conference on methods of responding to the crisis situation in St James. This will be his second time abroad in his capacity as a UCB lecturer and course leader, after presenting a paper at the Annual Conference for the Homicide Research Working Group in Memphis, Tennessee, in June 2017.