Why, When, Where, and How?: Introduction to The Palgrave Handbook of Caribbean Criminology

In this introductory chapter, the editor lays out the genesis of ‘The Palgrave Handbook of Carribbean Criminology’, some of its underlying unquestionable commitments, its structure, and discusses in detail the form and structure of its component parts. The author of the chapter also discusses the underpinnings of each chapter and also briefly reviews the research offered by the authors. Furthermore, a critical evaluation of the approaches adopted by the authors in the development of their chapters is presented. A discussion of the chapters’ facilitation of the development of a ‘Caribbean criminology’ is also proffered. Importantly, against the background of an increasingly uncertain and volatile criminological environment in the Caribbean, the current chapter highlights the hallmark of ‘the Palgrave Handbook of Caribbean Criminology’ as: (i) a response to Ken (Pryce, Caribbean Issues 2:3–21, 1976) call for a Caribbean criminology, (ii) an attempt to move Caribbean criminology from the periphery to the centre or closer to the centre, and (3) the systematic production of knowledge on criminology that is not steeped in ‘universalizing of knowledge’ in the context of a highly Western-centric criminological environment. In this light, the current chapter presents the scope and objectives of ‘The Palgrave Handbook of Caribbean Criminology’, followed by an overview with a summary of the seven parts and forty-three chapters contained in the Handbook.