The Caribbean Umbrella Body for Restorative Behaviour (CURB) is a Caribbean network of NGOs working to assist and support crime survivors, prisoners, ex-prisoners and their families. Click Here for a Flash file about CURB or visit our website to Find Out More.

Vote Now in Caribbean RJ Survey.

CURB would like to stimulate discussion in Trinidad and Tobago and other Caribbean jurisdictions as to the manner in which we in the region should implement restorative justice. Cast your vote in our Online RJ Survey on this important topic. Go to our Online Survey to cast your vote.

Search Caribbean RJ Directory.

Need to find a prison ministry or support service for crime survivors in the Caribbean? Then search the Caribbean RJ Resource Directory which lists various agencies which provide support to crime survivors, prisoners, ex-prisoners and their respective families.

Caribbean RJ Events Calendar.

CURB also provides a Caribbean Restorative Justice Events Calendar at our website. This tool will help to network providers of crime victim support, offender support, restorative justice and therapeutic jurisprudence by allowing them to Add their events hosted in the Caribbean for FREE. The calendar is available online Here.

Caribbean RJ Audio Feed.

CURB offers an audio version of our Blog articles and of The Restorative Review for persons "on the go". You can listen to our Blog and this newsletter or download an MP3 file or subscribe to a Podcast from the AudioFeed link on the Newsletter page of our website.

Stop Prison Abuse Blog.

CURB is committed to highlighting and eliminating prison sexual assault and abuse in the Caribbean. We encourage you to visit the Stop Prison Abuse website for more information and subscribe to the Stop Prison Abuse Blog.

Excerpts from the Stop Prison Abuse blog will be included in our monthly newsletters together with news from the restorative justice and criminal justice reform fields. Audio versions of our Stop Prison Abuse project blog posts are available from the News page of the Stop Prison Abuse website.

The CURB Restorative Justice Fund was set up to provide support to primary and secondary crime survivors. For more information about the CURB RJ Fund please visit the RJ Fund Page or download our RJ Fund Brochure.

To contribute to primary and secondary crime survivors via the RJ Fund, please Contact CURB.

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Catherine Ali - Mediator.

Mrs. Catherine Ali is one of the best known practitioners of restorative justice in Trinidad and Tobago. Among her many roles, Mrs. Ali is a part-time Lecturer in the Restorative Justice Course, Criminology and Mediation at the University of the West Indies (UWI), St. Augustine campus.

Her competencies include Human and Social Development, Mediation, Restorative Justice, Gender and Development. She is the holder of a Bachelors degree in Education (University of Southampton, UK), an M. Phil. UWI in empowerment in culture and gender sensitive negotiations.

Catherine has had extensive post-graduate training in Conflict Resolution Theory, Commercial Mediation, Community Mediation, Family Mediation, Victim Offender Mediation, Social Policy Formation and Management and Generic and Family Mediation.

A noted activist for prison reform, in 1997 Catherine organised the First International Conference on Penal Reform and Restorative Justice for local and regional stakeholders.

She is also the leader of the NGO “Alternatives to Custody Group” for prison reform and community based sanctions as alternative options to custodial sentencing. This group lobbied successfully for the Community Services Orders Act (1998) and the Community Mediation Act (1998).

These roles led to her being selected for inclusion on Government Committees for the Implementation of both Community Service and Community Mediation and the Cabinet Appointed Task Force for Prison Reform and Transformation.

The report of the Task Force recommended systematic transformation of the criminal justice system to restorative justice.

Catherine also served as the Director of Community Mediation Centre in Cunupia from 2000-2003. In 2004 she presented a Paper on Restorative Justice Philosophy and Criminal Mediation in Trinidad and Tobago. This was followed by a training session in 2005 for prison ministers and NGO volunteers (COPCAM) in restorative justice and mediation at the Maximum Security Prison in Trinidad.

In April-May of 2007 Mrs. Ali was the visiting scholar at University of Denver to further develop mediation teaching capacity for UWI, St. Augustine, Trinidad.

In June of that year she presented a Paper for the Caribbean Social Work Conference titled “Evaluating Empowerment in an Experimental Restorative Justice Village: Trinidad and Tobago Re-integration Foundation.”

Most recently, in August 2007 she was appointed Mediation Consultant for the purpose of establishing peer mediation in Sacred Heart Primary School and Saba Comprehensive School; to provide conflict resolution skills for teachers, train mediators, establish circles of community support, facilitate policy and procedure development, and set up an integrated Community Mediation Centre for the Island of Saba.

In September, 2007 Catherine was appointed as a Commissioner on the Crime and Justice Commission of Trinidad and Tobago.

Jamaican JPs Trained in RJ.

Silence from TT Prison Commissioner.

Despite a promise made to CURB President, Adrian Alexander, on 28th February 2008 to convene a meeting with stakeholders by mid-March 2008 to discuss prison sexual assault and abuse in Trinidad and Tobago, there has been no word from Prison Commissioner, John Rougier, on the proposed meeting... (Read More OR Listen).

St. Lucian Prisons No Picnic.

Speaking of the food at Borderlais, the woman stated that the prison food was poorly prepared and cited instances where inmates often pick out roaches and flies in their meals... (Read More OR Listen).