Criminal justice policies in Commonwealth Africa

Trends and prospects

Datos Bibliográficos

ID16766962
AutoresSimon Coldham (autor de correspondencia)
Año2000
Volumen44
Número2
Páginas218-238
Fecha de publicación2000-01-01
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaJournal of African Law (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0221-8553 • E-ISSN: 1464-3731
EditorialCambridge University Press (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1017/s0021855300012225
OpenAlexW2030867422
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas6
Referencias citadas25

This article provides an overview of criminal justice policies adopted in Commonwealth Africa during the last 40 years. It shows that, far from attempting to devise policies appropriate to the needs of a developing contemporary African state, governments have pursued the same policies as their colonial predecessors, based on retribution and general deterrence. The criminal law has been used to secure social and economic objectives and concern about crime levels has led to an erosion of a defendant's rights and the introduction of increasingly harsh punishments. Prospects for the future are gloomy, particularly in states where definitions of criminality are contested

Commonwealth · Criminal justice · Criminal law · Criminology · Deterrence (psychology) · Economic Justice · Political science · Retributive justice · Sociology · State (computer science) · Theory of criminal justice · Crime Patterns and Interventions · Criminal Justice and Corrections Analysis · Law · Psychopathy, Forensic Psychiatry, Sexual Offending