The University of the West Indies (UWI) is pleased to announce the promotion of Dr. Anthony Harriott, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Government, Faculty of Social Sciences, Mona to the post of Professor of Political Sociology.

Professor Harriott holds the Bachelor of Arts degree with First Class Honours and the Doctor of Philosophy degree, both from The University of the West Indies, Mona Campus. He became a member of the staff of the UWI in 1995 as a part-time lecturer attached to both the Department of Government and the Department of Sociology. He was appointed a full-time Lecturer in 1996 and promoted to the level of Senior Lecturer in the Department of Government in 2002.

Anthony Harriott has established an impressive reputation as a scholar on topics pertaining to crime and justice, and has devoted his career to major problems of criminality and its effect upon the well being and economy of Jamaica. He is recognized nationally, regionally and internationally for his pioneering work in the study of crime and its control.

Professor Harriott has produced a distinguished body of original work centred on crime, policing and related issues in the Caribbean. He is the author of Police and Crime Control in Jamaica: Problems of Reforming Ex-colonial Constabularies and has served as editor or co-editor of several publications including the books Caribbean Drugs: From Criminalization to Harm Reduction; Crime and Criminal Justice in the Caribbean and Understanding Crime in Jamaica- New Challenges for Public Policy. His work is anchored in public policy concerns: the relationship between poverty and crime, the politics of governmental responses to crime, resistance to reform in policy, interpersonal and structural violence and the racial dynamics of the criminal justice system.
His outstanding research work resulted in his receipt of the Principals’ Award for Outstanding Research in the Faculty of Social Sciences on two occasions: in 2001 for “Best Publication” and in 2004, for ‘Most Outstanding Researcher’. He was also inducted an honorary member of faculty, Center for Hemispheric Defense Studies, National Defense University, Washington DC, USA.

A distinguished academic, Anthony Harriott designed and developed two new courses in research methodology at the graduate level and designed and introduced three new courses at the undergraduate level, facilitating the introduction of a criminology and criminal justice minor in the degree programme.

He has been active in professional conferences and has played a strong role in public commentary and public service. He also has an impressive record of public service in the context of institution building in the area of criminal law enforcement. In this regard, he has been a member of both the Jamaica Constabulary Force Staff College Advisory Council and the National Consultative Committee on Crime since 2003. He served on the Community Policing Advisory Board of the Jamaica Constabulary Board from 1998 to 2000, on the Crime Management Advisory Board from 2001 to 2003 and assisted in the establishment of the Criminal Justice Research Unit of the Ministry of National Security and Justice. He has also been responsible for organizing regular Caribbean Conferences on Crime and Criminal Justice, highlighting the important work being conducted at the UWI in the field of crime and criminal research.

In addition, Professor Harriott has been a member of the CARICOM Regional Task Force on Crime, Member of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences, Member of the American Society of Criminology, Member of the United Nations Expert Group on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice and Member of the International Scientific and Professional Advisory Council of the United Nations Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Programme.