Setting the Research Agenda for the Future:
A Symposium on Gangs and Gang Violence in the Caribbean
Friday, February 17, 2012
American University
Washington, DC
This international symposium convened leading scholars who study the gang problem in the Caribbean. Participants examined the latest findings related to gangs and responses to gangs to improve the knowledge base on the Caribbean region’s gang-related problems and their potential threat to democratic governance and human security in the Caribbean.
The symposium covered a range of gang types, from inexperienced and disorganized neighborhood youth gangs engaged in petty property crime, to more organized and violent adult gangs that represent a serious threat to public order in some nations. The symposium also focused on the causes, correlates, and consequences of the gang problem, including the destabilizing effects of gangs on legitimate governance in Caribbean nations.
The main purposes of the symposium were to discuss the strengths and limitations of existing research on gangs and gang violence in the Caribbean and to develop a research agenda for the Consortium about these issues.
