NEWS
Public Health Joins the Fight Against Crime
I n a novel approach to fighting crime, several agencies, including public health stakeholders, have joined forces to tackle the root factors and effects of gun violence. The initiative titled “Pathway to Policy, Integrating Security and Public Health Responses to Firearms Trafficking and Violence in the Caribbean” focuses on a transdisciplinary and a whole-of-society approach in the fight against crime. It is driven by a multisectoral Advisory Committee of experts drawn from regional and international agencies including the Caribbean Community Implementation Agency for Crime and Security (CARICOM IMPACS), the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) ; The UWI, Cave Hill-based George Alleyne Chronic Disease Research Centre (GA-CDRC) ; and the Small Arms Survey , an associated programme of the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies , Geneva.
enforcement perspective to tackle crime. According to him, research indicates that the most effective way to tackle gun violence is through a multisectoral approach, with a particular emphasis on involving the public health sector as first responders to firearm- related incidents. A pivotal two-day inception meeting of the Advisory Committee took
Lt. Col. Michael Jones Executive Director of CARICOM IMPACS
place in Bridgetown, Barbados, on 20–21
Lt. Col. Michael Jones , Executive Director of CARICOM IMPACS, emphasised the importance of moving beyond a law
November 2023. This committee, comprising experts in diverse fields such as economics, governance, forensic ballistics,
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