About Craig Pinkney
“I’m all about bridging the gap between academia and the streets” - Craig Pinkney
Craig Pinkney is a Criminologist, Urban Youth Specialist, and Chief Executive of SOLVE: The Centre for Youth Violence and Conflict. Craig is an experienced worker and academically holds a BA (Hons) in Youth & Community Development (JNC), Post Graduate Certificate in Teaching and Learning, Post Graduate Certificate in Research, Masters Degree in Criminology and is currently a PhD Researcher in Social Sciences at Birmingham City University.
Craig has over 18 years of experience as an outreach worker, transformational speaker, international gang exit strategist, training facilitator, mediator, mentor and filmmaker. Craig Pinkney is nationally and internationally known for working with some of the country's most challenging young people, potentially high-risk offenders, victims of gang violence and youth who are deemed most hard to reach.
Training and Professional Development
Craig delivers interactive workshops for young people and bespoke training for professionals in Criminal Justice, Education, Community, Health, Social Services, Family Support and Faith Based Organisations. Most of Craig’s workshops and bespoke training is delivered locally and nationally, however he has spoken and trained professionals at a numerous international conferences and events across Europe, the Caribbean and in the United States.
Advisory Roles
Craig is the former UK Lead for the EUGANGS Project, which is a collaborative research project focusing on serious youth violence, in conjunction with universities and private sector organisations across seven European countries. Craig is currently an advisor for several bodies such as the National Youth Agency (UK), The Children’s Society (UK) Police and Crime Commission Office (West Midlands), Norfolk County Council (Children’s Services), Violence Reduction Unit (Birmingham and Nottingham) and the Ministry of Justice in Jamaica. Due to his expertise, Craig is often asked to comment for local and national news, radio and has featured in a number of documentaries.
Research
Craig has authored and co-authored a number of reports, and peer-reviewed academic publications. Craig's research interests include Urban Street Gangs, Youth Violence, Social Media and Street Violence, Trauma, Masculinity, Public Health and Desistance.
SOLVE ONLINE LEARNING CENTRE
In June 2021 Craig launched the SOLVE ONLINE LEARNING CENTRE which is a online learning platform that provides remote video CPD to professionals within Education, Criminal Justice, Social Care, Children's Services, Youth, Community and Families.
SOLVE HOUSING
In 2021 Craig also co-founded ‘Solve Housing’, which is a company that establishes Residential Children’s Homes based in the West Midlands.