This compilation of works highlights the historical, economic, and human dynamics behind youth offending in the nations of the West Indies. Youth Crime and Violence in the Caribbean offers insights into the slow rate of system change yet leaves readers with an optimistic picture of possibilities. Recent events in Haiti and neighboring Venezuela demonstrate how quickly dynamics in the Caribbean area can shift if crime is not addressed and people increasingly disengage from systems in a manner that allows despots to rise to power. When this happens, the impacts are not localized.

Sherill V. C. Morris-Francis is associate professor and graduate coordinator in the Department of Criminal Justice at Mississippi Valley State University.

Camille A. Gibson is interim dean of the College of Juvenile Justice at Prairie View A&M University and executive director of the Texas Juvenile Crime Prevention Center.

Lorna E. Grant is professor and director of the MS Criminal Justice Program in the Department of Criminal Justice at North Carolina Central University, Durham, North Carolina.