Crime and Development in Africa
| Author | Lamin Sesay |
| Published date | 01 July 1977 |
| Date | 01 July 1977 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/000271627743200105 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
42
Crime
and
Development
in
Africa
By
LAMIN
SESAY
Lamin
Sesay
has
served
as
Social
Affairs
Officer
in
the
Crime
Prevention
and
Criminal
Justice
Section
of
the
U.N.
since
1965
and
was
the
Head
of
Services
for
Juveniles
in
the
Republic
of
Sierra
Leone
from
1960-65.
He
has
represented
Sierra
Leone
in
several
international
and
regional
meetings
on
crime
and
social
develop-
ment,
including
the
Third
U.N.
Congress
in
1965.
He
was
educated
at
the
London
School
of
Economics.
ABSTRACT:
By
itself,
development
seems
to
have
nothing
to
do
with
crime.
But
when
considered
as
a
dynamic
process
of
change,
development
and
deviant
behavior
become
in-
separable.
As
the
move
away
from
traditional
society
gains
momentum,
the
traditional
institutions
and
way
of
life
give
way
to
new
ideas
of
social
organization,
behavior,
and
author-
ity,
and
many
see
this
change
as
an
opportunity
to
discard
old
values.
The
situation
is
further
complicated
by
the
rapidity
of
change
which
leaves
little
time
to
adjust
to
development
problems.
Industrialization
accompanied
by
population
redis-
tribution,
dissipation
of
traditional
forms
of
social
control,
social
mobility
and
technological
changes,
and
improved
mass
communication
are
some
of
the
factors
of
development
which
tend
to
increase
opportunities
for
deviant
behavior.
Poor
housing,
disorientation
of
family
life,
unemployment,
rapid
population
growth,
and
special
labor
needs
of
some
enter-
prises
also
are
conducive
to
crime
and
delinquincy.
There
is
a
need
for
a
determined
effort
to
correct
or
remove
the
socio-economic
imbalances
that
are
known
to
be
detrimental
to
development
through
systematic
planning
and
programming.
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