CARICOM has established a new youth advisory committee to give young people a direct role in shaping the region’s response to crime and violence, as Caribbean governments confront persistent concerns about youth vulnerability, social exclusion and violent crime.
The CARICOM Youth Advisory Committee on the Prevention of Crime and Violence (YAC-PCV) was formally announced on September 8, 2026, according to the CARICOM Secretariat.
The initiative is designed to create a structured mechanism through which young people can provide input, guidance and participate in developing and refining CARICOM crime-prevention initiatives.
The committee consists of eight young people between 18 and 29 years old drawn from CARICOM Member and Associate Member States, with attention to gender balance and representation of marginalised groups.
The move comes against a backdrop of serious crime and violence across parts of the Caribbean, where young people are frequently among both the victims and those most vulnerable to recruitment into criminal activity.
CARICOM says the committee will focus on issues including justice reform, crime prevention, youth development, cybersecurity, restorative justice, diversion from the criminal justice system and community engagement.
The organisation has also identified structural issues—including unemployment, social exclusion, limited access to justice and prolonged pre-trial detention—as factors that can increase young people’s vulnerability to crime.
The new committee is intended to move young people from being passive recipients of government crime-prevention programmes to active participants in designing solutions.
That represents a significant shift in emphasis for a region where crime responses have traditionally focused heavily on policing, prosecution and incarceration.
The committee’s work will include participation in regional dialogues, technical workshops, webinars and symposia, as well as contributing to the development of practical policy tools.
The initiative builds on CARICOM’s wider work on criminal justice reform, including research examining pre-trial detention, non-custodial sentencing and alternative justice mechanisms.
The timing is significant because crime remains one of the most politically sensitive issues across CARICOM member states. Governments face pressure from citizens demanding stronger action against murder, gang violence, firearms trafficking and other serious crimes, while human-rights advocates have warned against policies that can disproportionately affect young people and overcrowd detention facilities.
The committee therefore creates an opportunity to examine crime prevention from a different perspective—one that includes the experiences of young people themselves.
CARICOM Secretary-General Dr Carla Barnett also highlighted the importance of youth participation in regional affairs in a message issued for Caribbean Wellness Day on September 12, 2026.
The wider youth agenda includes employment, mental health, peace-building and life-skills development.
Those issues are closely connected to crime prevention. Limited employment opportunities, social exclusion and lack of access to education and support services can leave young people more vulnerable to criminal networks.
CARICOM’s new approach consequently places greater emphasis on prevention rather than relying solely on punishment after crimes occur.
The committee’s establishment does not itself guarantee a reduction in crime.
Its effectiveness will depend on whether governments act on recommendations from the young people involved, provide resources for prevention programmes and incorporate youth perspectives into national and regional crime policies.
But the initiative sends a clear message: CARICOM is acknowledging that young people are not simply part of the region’s crime statistics. They are also being given a formal role in determining how the Caribbean responds to one of its most persistent challenges.
The first major test will be whether the committee’s recommendations translate into concrete programmes addressing the conditions that place young people at risk—and whether those programmes produce measurable results in communities across the region.
