NCJ Number
90002
Date Published
1979
Length
262 pages
Annotation
Contrasting trends in robbery and burglary over the 1966-75 period in Nairobi and Mombasa, Kenya, and Abidjan, Ivory Coast, demonstrate that economic development does not necessarily promote property crime because of intervening local contextual moderators of a historical, cultural, and social structure nature.
Abstract
Sources for this study were unpublished and official police records, relevant government and private materials, and personal interviews. The analysis showed that armed robbery rates rose with increasing development and urbanization in Mombasa and Nairobi, but decreased in Abidjan. Moreover, the hypothesis that armed robbery increases more than burglary with developmental processes was supported by the Kenya data but rejected by the Ivory Coast statistics. Factors which contribute to the Ivory Coast's relative peace and low armed robbery rates include the French approach to colonialism which promoted assimilation to French culture and deemphasized urbanization, the fact that almost one-third of Abidjan's population are foreign Africans, the strict and pervasive Islamic value system, and the lower use of prisons. In contrast, English colonialism in Kenya was largely divisive and violence-ridden, culminating in the 1950-62 Mau Mau guerilla war, and emphasized urban development. Kenya's imprisonment rates were also higher. Finally, Nairobi with a very low percentage of Muslims has the highest robbery rate, while Mombasa with a larger Muslim population has lower rates. A detailed study of the Nairobi data demonstrated that armed robbery represented a greater commitment to a criminal career than burglary. Recommendations for future research, tables, a sample data collection form, research correspondence, footnotes, and approximately 120 references are provided.