NCJ Number
45076
Journal
Contemporary Crises Volume: 2 Issue: 1 Dated: (JANUARY 1978) Pages: 83-96
Date Published
1978
Length
14 pages
Annotation
THE GROWING CRIME PROBLEM IN NIGERIA IS ANALYZED AND EXPLAINED IN TERMS OF THE COUNTRY'S DEVELOPING CAPITALIST ECONOMY AND ITS INEQUALITIES IN THE CREATION AND ENFORCEMENT OF LAWS.
Abstract
WHEN A COUNTRY IS UNDERGOING RAPID TECHNOINDUSTRIAL CHANGE, CERTAIN SOCIAL PROBLEMS, PARTICULARLY CRIME AND DELINQUENCY, EMERGE OR ARE AGGRAVATED. POLICE REPORTS AND SOCIOLOGICAL RESEARCH INDICATE THAT CRIME IS INCREASING IN NIGERIA. THE COUNTRY IS FOLLOWING A PARTICULAR LINE OF DEVELOPMENT, IMITATIVE OF WESTERN NATIONS, AND ONE NEED ONLY OBSERVE THE PATTERNS OF THESE NATIONS A FEW DECADES AGO TO FORESEE THE PROBLEM. MOST THEORIES OF CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR DO NOT EXAMINE THE POLITICAL AND SOCIOECONOMIC ORDER IN ITS ENTIRETY. A RADICAL CRIMINOLOGY VIEW PROVIDES A TOTAL CONCEPTUALIZATION OF THE CRIME PROBLEM; WITH THIS APPROACH, QUESTIONS OF CRIME AND ITS CONTROL ARE AS POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC AS THEY ARE SOCIOLOGICAL. THE TYPE OF SOCIOECONOMIC ORDER WHICH A SOCIETY OPERATES DICTATES IN LARGE PART THE TYPE, MAGNITUDE, AND SERIOUSNESS OF THAT COUNTRY'S CRIME PROBLEM. SIMILARLY, THE FORM, EMPHASIS, AND EXTENT OF SUCCESS OR FAILURE OF SOCIAL CONTROL AND CRIME PREVENTION PROGRAMS IS IN LARGE PART A FUNCTION OF THE OPERATIVE ORDER. THE CAPITALIST ECONOMY IS INHERENTLY CRIME PRODUCING, BECAUSE IT CREATES THE 'ECONOMIC MAN' WHO ACCUMULATES WEALTH AND PROPERTY AT THE EXPENSE OF OTHERS AND BECAUSE IT FOSTERS UNEMPLOYMENT; MARGINAL AND MEANINGLESS EMPLOYMENT; AND OBVIOUS, RELATIVE, AND UNACCEPTED PROVERTY. THE EFFICACY OF ANY SOCIETY'S SOCIAL CONTROL SYSTEM LARGELY DEPENDS ON THE PROPORTION OF ITS POPULATION THAT IS ENABLED TO PARTICIPATE, OR BELIEVES IT IS ABLE TO PARTICIPATE, IN THE SOCIOECONOMIC LIFE OF THAT SOCIETY. A SUBSTANTIAL DEGREE OF CONFORMITY SHOULD THEREFORE NOT BE EXPECTED IN A COUNTRY LIKE NIGERIA WHERE A MAJORITY OF THE POPULATION DOES NOT REALLY PARTICIPATE IN THE WEALTH, POWER, AND PRESTIGE THAT ARE THE CONSTITUENTS OF ITS CAPITALIST SYSTEM. LAWS, AND CRIMES CONSTITUTED BY THEIR VIOLATION, ARE LARGELY DEFINED BY THOSE IN POWER. THE UNPUNISHED CRIMINALITY OF THE 'HAVES,' ESPECIALLY THE WIDESPREAD CORRUPTION IN GOVERNMENT, TEACHES THE MAN IN THE STREET THAT 'CRIME PAYS AT THE TOP.' HE SEES NO MORAL DISTINCTION BETWEEN HIS CRIME AND THAT OF A GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL. THE MAJORITY OF LAWS IN NIGERIA ARE PROPERTY-RELATED OR PROPERTY-PROTECTIVE. CRIMES OCCUR MOST IN CITIES WHERE WEALTH, POWER, AND PRESTIGE ARE CONCENTRATED AND WHERE THE GAP BETWEEN THE 'HAVES' AND THE 'HAVE NOTS' IS WIDEST AND MOST OBVIOUS. NOTES ARE PROVIDED.