DPS 110 Contemporary Policing Work in Progress

DIPLOMA IN POLICE STUDIES
CONTEMPORARY POLICING TRAINING MANUAL
[110]
Compiled by:-
InspMhukayesango E.
A/InspMoyo D.
A/InspMatare
A/InspZivanai
Sgt Tichivangani
Sgt Munyari
Sgt Mufudza
Unwavering commitment and teamwork made this work possible.

E. Mhukayesango
DEPARTMENT OF POLICE SCIENCE AND LEGAL STUDIES: ZRP TRAINING DEPOT i

PROPOSED COURSE CONTENT
Module Overview
Unit 1: The concepts of contemporary policing.
1.0 Introduction
1.2 What is contemporary policing?
1.3 Background of contemporary policing.
1.4 Contemporary policing in Zimbabwe
1.5 Aspect of contemporary policing.
1.5.1 Community oriented policing.
1.5.2 Human rights and policing.
1.5.3 Vigilantism
1.5.4 Multi-agency policing (Police and other agencies).
1.5.5 Team policing.
1.5.6 Problem oriented policing.
1.5.7 Public relations.
1.5.8 Intelligence-led policing.
1.5.9 Disaster management.
1.5.10 Policing domestic violence.
Unit 2: Criminology
2.0 Introduction
2.1 The nature of criminology.
2.2 The nature of crime and criminal law.
2.3 Causation of crime.
2.4 Theories of criminology.
2.5 Media and crime
2.6 Criminal justice and criminology
DEPARTMENT OF POLICE SCIENCE AND LEGAL STUDIES: ZRP TRAINING DEPOT ii

Unit 3: Sociology and crime.
3.0 Introduction
3.1 The nature of sociology.
3.2 Basic theories in sociology.
3.3 Society and culture.
3.4 Socialization.
3.5 Social deviance
3.6 Social control
Unit 4: Policing and technology
4.0 Introduction
4.1 E-policing
4.1.1 Defining e-policing
4.1.2 e-policing in law enforcement practices
4.1.3 Why e-policing
4.4.4 Impact of e-policing on Police
4.5.5 e-policing in Crime control
4.2 E- Traffic Management
4.2.1 Definition of e-traffic management

4.2.2 e-traffic law enforcement systems
4.2.3 e-ticketing
4.2.4 Benefits of e-traffic management
DEPARTMENT OF POLICE SCIENCE AND LEGAL STUDIES: ZRP TRAINING DEPOT iii
MODULE OVERVIEW
The main aim of this training manual is to inculcate a deeper understanding of contemporary
poling. This course is intended to equip trainees with a thorough appreciation of the dynamics
and trends in modern policing that has resulted from changes in the socio-economic and
technological environments. The manual covers the concept of contemporary policing-focusing
on the background and aspects of contemporary policing;Criminology-looking at the nature of
criminology, the nature of crime and criminal law, causation of crime, theories of criminology,
media and crime, and criminal justice and criminology; Sociology and crime-covering the nature
of sociology, basic theories in sociology, society and culture, socialisation, social deviance, an
social control; and policing and technology-focusing one-policing and e-trafficking.
DEPARTMENT OF POLICE SCIENCE AND LEGAL STUDIES: ZRP TRAINING DEPOT iv

UNIT ONE
THE CONCEPT OF CONTEMPORARY POLICING
1.0 INTRODUCTION
In an effort to understand and appreciate the concept of contemporary policing, this unit
will discuss what is contemporary policing, brief background of contemporary and the
general aspects or features of contemporary policing. It is hoped that at the end of this
course, police trainees will have an appreciation and requisite knowledge and skills of
contemporary policing aspects in modern societies.
1.2 CONTEMPORARY POLICING

It can be noted that the phrase contemporary policing is formed out of two words that is
contemporary and policing. It is therefore paramount that the two terms are defined so as
to deduce the meaning of the phrase contemporary policing.
Definition of terms
Contemporary
According to Merriam Webster dictionary the word contemporary means marked by
characteristics of the present period i.e. modern or current. Whilst Collins English
dictionary state that contemporary things are modern and relate to the present time.
Policing
According to the Cambridge English dictionary (1999), policing includes an array of
activities in different situations, concerned with the preservation of order by the Police.
Policing is also defined as the actions of a person or group in authority in order to ensure
fairness and legality in an area of public life, (Collins English Dictionary, 2018).
Combining the two defined words, the meaning of the phrase contemporary policing can
now be generally deduced as the modern day policing activities, programs and initiatives
DEPARTMENT OF POLICE SCIENCE AND LEGAL STUDIES: ZRP TRAINING DEPOT 1

aimed at fulfilling the mandate of law enforcement officials. The activities thus include
activities or programmes that are implemented either by the police as an organisation or
by individual police officers mandated with themaintenance of law and order in a
country.
Modern policing requires the police to fully understand and appreciate the dynamics of
the ever changing policing environment which now calls for the movement from ancient
type of policing to advanced and contemporary policing. For instance, the earliest police
forces were not constrained by human rights as we know them today. Contemporary
police today work within the confines of the law and limit their actions on the populace
by not violating the rights of the citizens. Today, law enforcement also has much more
sophisticated technology at their disposal such as such as mobile and wireless
technology, high-powered computing, visual and audio technology, detecting machines
and other technological advancements to enhance police work. On the same note, police
today are broken into various divisions and departments (some specialized),whereas in
the past they were essential all in one homogenous group and not specialized.
1.3 BACKGROUND OF CONTEMPORARY

The roots of contemporary policing can be traced and attributed to the works and
philosophy of Sir Robert Peelwho is said and believed to be the father of modern
democratic policing.In early 18th century, attempts by the British government to set up a
police force for London met a lot of opposition. The concept of professional policing was
taken up by Robert Peelwhen he becameHome Secretary in 1822. Peel’s Metropolitan
Police Act 1829 established a full time professional and centrally organized police force
for the greater London area known as the Metropolitan Police.
Sir Robert Peel developed principles to define an ethical police force. The principles
traditionally ascribed to Peel stated that:
 Whether the police are effective is not measured on the number of arrests, but on
the lack of crime.

 Above all else, an effective authority figure knows trust and accountability are
paramount. Hence, Peel's most often quoted principle is "The police are the
public and the public are the police."
The Metropolitan Police Officers were often referred to as “Bobbies‟ after Sir Robert
(Bobby) Peel. They were regarded as the first modern Police Force and became a model
for the police forces in many countries around the world, particularly across the British
Empire and in the United States of America and even todaycountries like Zimbabwe,
South Africa and many others took leaf from Sir Robert Peel’s philosophy.
Basing on Robert Peel principles the purpose of the police is:
 To prevent crime and disorder, as an alternative to their repression by military
force and severity of legal punishment.
 To recognise always that the power of the police to fulfill their functions and
duties is dependent on public approval of their existence, actions and behavior,
and on their ability to secure and maintain public respect.
 To recognise always that to secure and maintain the respect and approval of the
public means also the securing of the willing co-operation of the public in the task
of securing observance of laws.
 To recognise always that the extent to which the co-operation of the public can be
secured diminishes, proportionately, the necessity of the use of physical force and
compulsion for achieving police objectives.
 To seek and preserve public favour, not by pandering to public opinion; but by
constantly demonstrating absolutely impartial service to law, in complete
independence of policy, and without laws; by ready offering of individual service
and friendship to all members of the public without regard to their wealth or
social standing, by ready exercise of courtesy and friendly good humour and by
ready offering of individual sacrifice in protecting and preserving life.
 To use physical force only when the exercise of persuasion, advice and warning is
found to be insufficient to obtain public co-operation to an extent necessary to
secure observance of law or to restore order, and to use only the minimum degree

of physical force which is necessary on any particular occasion for achieving a

police objective.
 To maintain at all times a relationship with the public that gives reality to the
historic tradition that the police are the public and that the public are the police;
the police being only members of the public who are paid to give full-time
attention to duties which are incumbent on every citizen, in the interests of
community welfare and existence.
 To recognise always the need for strict adherence to police executive functions,
and to refrain from even seeming to usurp the powers of the judiciary of avenging
individuals or the State, and of authoritatively judging guilt and punishing the
guilty.
 To recognise always that the test of police efficiency is the absence of crime and
disorder, and not the visible evidence of police action in dealing with them.
It is important to note that the Peelianprinciples are the basis upon which every modern
policeorganisation is built and operating. The land now called Zimbabwe, like any other
African society before European influence, had its systems of upholding and maintaining
societal norms and values. The methods of upholding those norms and values were a way of
policing. Present day policing is also informed by this background, but has also adopted
global standards and worldwide best practices heavily borrowing from Sir Robert
Peel’spolicing principles.
1.4 Contemporary Policing in Zimbabwe

The Zimbabwe Republic Police seeks to cultivate a healthy relationship with the public to
enhance cooperation and ensure effective and efficient policing. It is important to note
that ideals of professional policing are built around the issues to do with police
accountability to the community and full realization that the police are at the service of
the community. In this endeavour the period from 1995 is probably the most traceable
milieu for the ZRP as it is known today. The nation had somehow fully staggered to its
feet from the melancholy of colonialism and every facet of it was to be transformed to
meet the expectations of the majority of communities. ZRP, being one of the critical

enablers of national transformation was not to be left out. Policing for the goodwill of the
public, honouring human rights and good corporate governance remained the driving
force for the transformation. The Zimbabwe Police Organization Development Program
[ZIMPOD] was rolled out to meetthis. The programme comprised three major
components from which the entire organization had to operate, namely,
 Strategic Development,
 Human Resources Development, and the
 Information Systems and Information Technology
This programme was informed by the need for the organization to plan its operations, and
undertake to follow up the fulfillment of these plans accordingly. This gave rise to
management and operational guides such as the Strategic plans at the organizational
level, Tactical Plans at Provincial and District Levels, and Service Plans at operational
levels.Performance audits were also introducedto facilitate the monitoring of
performance. A Service Charter was also put in place, which is basically a pledge by the
police on the quantum and standard of service that they expected to offer to the public.
The Service Charter alsoserves as a yardstick on the five Core Areas of Policing, namely
Response to Calls, Crime, Traffic, Public Order and Reassurance, and Community
Assistance.
In an effort to fully embrace contemporary policing, a number of professionalized police

units were established to handle specific crime areas in order to satisfy the clientele as
well as enhancing police work. These were as follows:-
 The National Anti-Stock Theft Unit [NASTU]
 National Traffic and the Highway Patrol
 Commercial Crimes Unit [CCU]
 Minerals and Border Control Unit now Minerals, Fauna and Flora Unit,
(MFFU)
 Victim Friendly Unit [VFU]
 Tourism Police Unit
 Cycle Patrol Unit

In the same vein, the ZRP introduced community strategies and initiatives through
community policing in effort to complement the concept of contemporary policing.
The ZRP also embraced technology through the Information System and Information
Technology strategy. This strategic guide was instituted to fade the organization into the
ever-changing environment of technology. It became possible to computerise systems
such as the criminal records management system and the human resources management
system to enhance monitoring and accountability.
1.5 ASPECT OF CONTEMPORARY POLICING

1.5.1 COMMUNITY POLICING.
This topic has been fully covered in the foundation courses under community policing,
however, this training manual will highlight on the major aspects of community policing
as an important component in contemporary policing.
1.5.1.1 Community policing defined
Community Policing - Is a philosophy and an organizational strategy that promotes a new

partnership between the people and their police. It is based on the premise that the police
and the community must work together as equal partners to identify, prioritize and solve
contemporary problems such as crime, drug, fear of crime, social and physical disorder
and overall neighborhood decay with the goal of improving the overall quality of life in
their area. (Trojanowicz and Bucqueroux 1994:6)
Community Policingemerged as the dominant direction for thinking about policing. It

was designed to reunite the police with the community. It is a philosophy and not a
specific tactic, a proactive, decentralized approach designed to reduce crime disorder and
fear of crime by involving the same officer in the community on the long term basis
(Peak and Glensor, 1997).

1.5.1.2 Purpose of Community Policing

Community policing can be appreciated from John Alderson Model (1981). He stated
that there are underlying principles to this model.
These are:-
 Need for a social contract to be developed in which both public and police can
come together through the institutions of community policing.
 Make the public feel they are properly policed (reduce fear of crime).
 Emphasis should be on proactive rather than reactive activities.
 Whilst emphasis should be in both efficiency and effectiveness more weight should
be put on effectiveness.
The objectives of our community based policing system involve:

 Cooperative for the prevention of crime.
 United support in reducing fear of crime.
 Creations of trust or its reinforcement in the community.
 Better direction and use of resources.
 Achieving law enforcement objectives by prevention and proactive rather than
solely by reaction.
1.5.1.3 Community policing in Zimbabwe

In addition, the launching of the ZRP Service Charter in 1995-96 was aimed at providing
the public with the minimum standards they should expect from the police in respect of
service delivery.On the other hand, the annual service plans outline operational
/parameters/ targets, which the police aim to achieve. The idea behind is being to:
 Boost the long lost public confidence in the police.
 To bring the people closer to the police.
 To promote problem ownership among communities.
 To facilitate inter-agency approach in crime prevention and management.
To compliment the above, the public order strategy also promotes regular police patrols
and improved area coverage.

1.5.1.4 Community Policing Initiatives and strategies

In Zimbabwe community policing initiatives and strategies involve the following:
 Community Relations Liaison Officers.
 Neighborhood watch scheme.
 Suggestion boxes/ Hotlines
 Business against crime initiatives
 Construction of bases, posts and reporting centers
 Crime Consultative Committees
 Junior calls
 Home Officer Scheme.
 ZRP Media Platforms
1.5.1.5 Benefits of Community Policing
The benefits and impact of community policing in Zimbabwe for the community and the
Zimbabwe Republic Police are as follows.
 Increases potential for impacting crime, fear of crime and quality of life issues
 Coordinates and leverages resources from different stakeholders for effective crime
prevention strategies.
 Increases Trust and Mutual Understanding.
 Strengthen Police-Public interaction
 Promote sharing of information/Increased flow of info
 Creates a network of assistance, guidance and technical support on problem solving
 Flexibility and Relevance of Strategies
 Increased Public Safety
 Fosters diversification and responsibility in policing
 Ensures shared accountability in promoting peace in the community
Community policing is based on the premise that both the police and the community must
work together as equal partners to identify priorities, and solve contemporary problems
such as crime, drug, fear of crime, social and physical disorder, and overall
neighbourhood decay, with the goal of improving the overall quality of life in the area.
Community policing is borne out of the realization that crime management is the ultimate
benefit of society. The advent of the change programme in the ZRP has widened the
frontiers of community participation in policing by involving new stakeholders, which
were previously marginalized. These encompass other government departments, business
entrepreneurs, non- governmental organizations, politicians, diplomats and many others.
However this vast potential is still to be tapped if the control of crime is to be realized.
1.5.2 HUMAN RIGHTS AND POLICING.
In contemporary policing the need to observe human rights is paramount. The issue of
human rights has become a major global concern which calls for law enforcement
officials to adhere to the international and regional principles and standards in human
rights. States adopt human rights treaties and non-treaty instruments, with the intention of
setting minimum human rights standards which must be adhered to and implemented at
the national level by governments. Many different instruments have been adopted within
the framework of the UN and AU. Some of the instruments provide for general human
rights standards, such as the UDHR, ICCPR, and ACHPR. The conclusion of human
rights treaties and the adoption on non-treaty instruments facilitate cooperation by State
for the promotion and protection of human rights. Such cooperation entails an obligation
of State to fulfil in good faith the human rights contained in the treaties and non-treaty
instruments
States implement human rights through their various agency and agencies, including law
enforcement agencies. This is recognized in the Constitution. It has been stated above
that s. 45 of the Constitution provides the State and all executive, legislative and judicial
institutions and agencies of government at every level are bound by constitutional rights.
The police as an important agency of the State that is involved in justice delivery must
play their role by respecting and protecting human rights. Violating human rights cannot
positively contribute to the maintenance of public order and security. On the contrary, it
can make law enforcement difficult and result in deterioration of public order and

security. Violations of human rights by police officials can lead to the following adverse
effects:
 Erosion of credibility and public confidence in the administration of justice

system and in the police;
 The isolation of police from the community;
 Encouraging or exacerbating civil unrest;
 Hampering the effective prosecution of criminal cases;
 Perpetuation of injustice where the guilty go free and the victims do not get
justice; and
 Criticism of the police and the government at the national and international
levels.
On the other hand, respect for human rights by police officials not only ensures that they
act in a manner that is lawful, but it also enhances their effectiveness in law enforcement.
If the police are respectful and mindful of human rights, this can have the following
positive effects:-
 It will build public confidence in the administration of justice system, and in the
police in particular, and foster community cooperation
 It will contribute to the peaceful resolution of conflicts and complaints
 The prosecution of criminal cases is likely to be more successful
 It will contribute to the fair administration of justice
 It will bring the police closer to the community and thus put them in a position to
prevent and solve crimes through proactive policing
This is not however to suggest that the police should necessarily pity suspects or show
weakness when they enforce the law. Human rights can only be fully enjoyed in an
environment where there is rule of law and proper enforcement of the law, and not where
there is a breakdown of law and order or where policing is hampered. Thus in the
performance of their constitutional mandate the police must be guided and bound by the
dictates of human rights as outlined in the Constitution of Zimbabwe.

1.5.3 VIGILANTISM
Robin et al [1990], state that the idea of vigilantism came as a result of police
departments encouraging citizens to look out for one another. As such vigilantism is
based on the assumption of responsibility for community safety and values by
self.Alderson J (1979:84), “Vigilante groups of more responsive nature would develop
and under English common law might lawfully develop in appropriate circumstances.
Appropriate circumstances would include proper recourse to the courts and adherence to
the rule of law.” Some notable examples of such groups include the Neighbourhood
Watch Committees (NWC) in Zimbabwe, the Scorpions of South Africa, and the
Guardian Angels in New York City. The above are crime fighting organizations legally
recognized within their respective countries. However, members of the Community
Watch Program who use illegal means of bringing people to justice are not considered
vigilantes
1.5.3.1 Vigilantism defined

The term vigilantism is derived from the word vigilante which the Oxford English
dictionary defines as, “a member of a self-appointed group of people who try to prevent
crime and disorder in a community where law enforcement is imperfect”.
Minaar (2001, 4) defines vigilantism as a scenario in which individuals in a community

take the law into their own hands and dispense their own punishment on alleged
criminals, who they see not being caught, convicted and sentenced”.
"Vigilantes was the name given to self-appointed law enforcement groups which
appeared…occasionally in older communities where law officers and courts were non-
existent, inefficient or corrupt, and where municipal institutions were disorganised or
where established authorities seemed unable to cope with lawlessness and disorder."
Encyclopaedia Americana, 1985. This implies that vigilantism means taking the law into
one's own hands, by a person who is not a public official in situations where the agents of
the state have failed to act according to the public’s concern

1.5.3.2 Brief history of vigilantism
Vigilantism and the vigilante ethos existed long before the word vigilante was introduced
into the English language. There are conceptual and psychological parallels between the
Dark Age and medieval aristocratic custom of private war or vendetta and the modern
vigilante philosophy.
Vigilantes, in the U.S. are members of volunteer associations known as vigilance

committees, organized for the protection of certain common interests, notably life and
property. Citizens formed vigilance committees to administer summary justice in the
absence of a regular judiciary or when courts were prevented from exercising their
accustomed functions. During the American Revolution, vigilance committees were
formed in many communities to enforce the no importation agreements, which had been
employed by the colonists as a means of resistance to British taxation, and to ferret out
Tories, those who sympathized with the British crown rather than with colonial
independence.
Vigilance groups were also active in border areas, where vigilantes would often capture a
suspect, hold a trial, pass sentence, and execute the accused without actual legal officers
being present. The most notable instance of the use of vigilance committees as a
governmental improvisation occurred in California during 1848 and 1849, when
thousands of people immigrated to the area following the discovery of gold. Because no
legal government yet existed, citizens organized vigilance committees to suppress and
punish crime.
1.5.3.3 Elements that characterise vigilante activities.

Johnson (1996) crafted the six elements that characterised the vigilante activities as
follows: -
 Minimal planning, preparation or premeditation.
 Private agents acting in a voluntary capacity.
 Activity undertaken without the state's authority or support.

 Force is either used or threatened.

 A reaction to the real or perceived transgression of institutionalized norms.
 Aims to offer people the assurance that established order will prevail.
According to Johnson, forms of vigilantism are described as:

 social movements that give rise to premeditated acts of force and corporal
punishment or the threat to use violence or corporal punishment;
 activities that arise as a reaction to transgression of relatively well established,
sometimes institutionalised, norms;
 acts that are focused upon crime and/or social control in the form of providing
security to participants and members of established orders; and
 groups that are seen as constituted outside legal frameworks enforced by the
state.
1.5.3.4 Causes of vigilantism
The failure to uphold law and order reflected badly on the police. Vigilante committees
erupted as a result of the police inefficiency, inadequacy in performing their official
mandate and/or absence of the law enforcement.
Alderson (1979), identified some of the causes of vigilantism as;-
 Lack of public desire for police involvement in their criminal victimisation.

 Lack of belief in police response or ability to do anything. There are of course
considerable dangers where tolerance levels are being exceeded and the public
do not involve police activity or where police are passive, incompetent or simply
lack resources for adequate response.
 The repressive nature of the state agents during election periods and the reactions
and counter-reactions that this drew from various political and community based
groups.

 The fact that the state did not provide services, particularly in respect of safety
and justice that the communities needed.
 The fact that institutions of the state were inaccessible to local communities.
 High crime and weak service delivery.

 Many detectives are ill equipped to deal with their task and most are over-
burdened.
 Weak criminal justice system: - the number of cases resulting in a conviction as a
proportion of the number of cases recorded by the police. The increasing number
of unsentenced prisoners is another clear sign that the criminal justice system is
struggling to process cases.
1.5.3.5 Classes/ groups of people who are interested in supporting vigilantism

 Fundamentalists: those who believed in severe punishment and that society
should punish wrongdoers that courts did not. Men are more willing to participate
in citizen action than women.
 Perceptionists of safety: those who felt less safe at home or in their

neighbourhood were more willing.
 Legal valuers: those who were less supportive of the rule of law and the rights of
the accused.
 Religious groups: Muslims were more likely to get involved.
 Perceptionists of treatment by the police and courts: those who felt they were
treated "unequally" by the police and courts.
 Performance analysts of the police and courts: those who disapprove of the
overall and specific job performance of the law enforcement institutions.
 Young people: younger people are more likely than older people to become
involved.

"Vigilante justice" is sometimes spurred on by the perception that criminal punishment is

either nonexistent or insufficient for the crime. Some people see their governments as
ineffective in enforcing the law; thus, such individuals fulfil the like-minded wishes of
the community.If people are to have confidence in the criminal justice system, they need
to have at least a rudimentary understanding of how the system works. Moreover, if
people are to co-operate with the criminal justice system, they need to have the
confidence for example, to provide the police and prosecution service with information
and evidence against criminals and their activities. Such confidence can be fostered only
by telling the public what the role and duties are of, for example, police officers and
prosecutors.
Persons seen as "escaping from the law" or "above the law" are sometimes the targets of
vigilantism. It may target persons or organizations involved in illegal activities in general
or it may be aimed against a specific group or type of activity, e.g. police corruption.
1.5.3.6 Reasons against vigilantism
The law enforcement agents are against vigilantism for the following reasons:
 Vigilante groups render punishment that often exceeds the crime allegedly
committed andismeted out in the absence of any form of evidence.
 One of the defining features of vigilantism currently is its often harsh and swift
punishment. Vigilante groups do not hesitate to punish a person severely. In fact
punishment is often used to extract confessions
 A vigilante may follow a different definition of a criminal than the local law.
 Vigilantism is generally frowned upon by official agencies (who would otherwise
encourage vigilance on the part of citizens), especially when it gives way to
criminal behaviour on the part of the vigilante.
 A person may choose a role of vigilante as a result of personal experience as
opposed to a social demand.

 The law enforcement argued that vigilante groups lack bonafide law enforcement
power, so they should not punish, carry weapons, chase people, investigate cases
or detain wrongdoers.
1.5.3.7 Benefits of vigilantism as viewed by the public
 Some sections of the society views vigilantism as functional in that:-

 It metes out instant justice in situations where the criminal justice system fails to
do so.
 It induces fear to the “would be” offenders in that if the police do not get them the
vigilante will.
 It adds an extra impetus in the police fight against crime when they encounter
criminal elements in the society.
 It stamps out corruption of government officials and checks on limits of
bureaucratic authority.
 It acts as reserve army to preserve the interest and values of the community.
1.5.3.8 Examples of vigilantism in Zimbabwe

Vigilantism in Zimbabwe is not quiet visible as compared to South Africa. However there
are few groups that have been witnessed by the public such as:-
 Chipangano boys of Mbare who took upon themselves to clear the town ship of
thieves and robbers.
 The green bombers took it upon themselves to control prices in shops during the
year s 2006 to 2008.
 The war veterans groups who repossessed land from former white settlers.
 The public who took upon themselves to clear money changers in 2008.
1.5.3.9 Examples of vigilante groups in different countries

 In 1851 and 1856, San Francisco Vigilance Movement was an example of secret
groups of vigilantes who cleaned up city streets of crime with a segment focused
against immigrants like the Sydney Ducks.

 Formed in 1996, Mapogo a Mathamaga of South Africa provides protection for

paying members of this group. Leaders have been charged with murder, etc.
 Formed since 1998, the Bakassi Boys of Nigeria were viewed as the front men in
lowering the region's high crime when police were ineffective.
 In the early decade of the 2000s, after the September 11 attacks, Jonathan Idema, a
self proclaimed vigilante, entered Afghanistan and captured many people he
claimed to be terrorists. Idema claimed he was collaborating with, and supported
by, the United States Government. He even sold news-media outlets tapes that he
claimed showed an Al Qaeda training camp in action. His operations ended
abruptly when he was arrested with his partners in 2004 and sentenced to 10 years
in a notorious Afghan prison, before being pardoned in 2000
To this end, the police in the charge office have an obligation to provide information to
complainants who report a crime about the likely procedures that will follow. They will
need to inform people about the progress of their case, the anticipated court processes and
the outcome of their case as this may reduce vigilantism. Above all, the police should do
community oriented policing, team policing, stop corruption, follow professional conduct
and ethical standards, engage other agencies and the media in a good and correct way
vigilantism may be reduced.
1.5.4 MULTI-AGENCY POLICING OR POLICE AND OTHER AGENCIES.
Multi agency in policing is the one of the community policing initiatives where
community policing was defined by Albert R Robert (2008) in his book Crime and
Justice as “Partnership with various components of the community to engage their efforts
in dealing with crime”. He further described it as `Use of this partnership to develop
joint crime prevention strategies. The police as an organization do not have all the
required expertise and resources for effective crime prevention, hence the need for
partnership with other agencies.
1.5.4.1 Multi agency cooperation in policing

This is a strategy which is hinged at national level designed to answer community

problems associated with depleted material resources and expert knowledge. The idea is
simply to join and/or engage other materialexternal agencies in an effort to solve societal
problemssuch as disasters or an increase in crime among others. Multi-agency
cooperation is hinged on intelligence led policing where patterns of the problem are
identified first before the cooperating agencies react to the problem. It is also equally
based on the principle of proactive policing. Among other agencies, the following are the
multi agencies which usually work hand in hand with Zimbabwe Republic Police:-
 Zimbabwe National Army,
 Zimbabwe Prison and Correctional Service,
 Interpol
 Zimbabwe Anti- corruption Commission,
 Environmental Management Agency and t
 Zimbabwe national parks.
 Fire brigade
 Zimbabwe National Road Administration,
 Non-Governmental Organisation (NGOs)
It can be noted that the police and these other agency have different back grounds and
horizons in relation to their mandates. But by coming together they share the same goals
of tackling a problem. Eradication of that problem will benefit the agency in one way as
well as the community at large.

1.5.4.2 How the multi-agencies cooperates with the police
CAA ZNA/AIRFORCE ZAC
CITYCOUNCILS
FIRE BRIGADE
ZINARA POLICE ZPSS
VID INTERPOL
ZINARA EMA
NGOs
Interpol
Interpol means International police in full. This is an organization formed by countries in
the Southern Africa in an endeavour to fight crime within the region. Information of
wanted persons is communicated by police in thevarious countries. Interpol helps to
facilitate the arrest of the criminals once information is in the data base and is passed
from one national police to another.
Zimbabwe National Army and Air force of Zimbabwe

In situations where there civil unrest or politically motivated violence and crimes
accompanied by evidence, the police first attempt to handle the situation but if the
situation is demanding and out of hand, the police engages the army to assist. These
national security forces alsopartners with the Police in cases of disasters such as natural
disaster like floods, serious road accidents involving death and injury of many people.
The Air Force provide assistance in cases of floods by airlifting the victims from places
of danger to safety. They also ensure that peace prevails in the country.
Zimbabwe Prison Service

It plays a pivotal in fighting crime. In essence it rehabilitates the deviant behaviour of
members of the public who get convicted. When these people get back into the society

they will be morally upright. In the same vein it reduces recidivism in the society. It helps
the police in that it provides the police with list of names of convicted criminals who are
about to complete their sentences, so that the police will be able to monitor them as soon
as they are out of custody.
City council
In many circumstances, the police do operations in conjunction with the city councils.
Problems of street kids, vendors and touting at bus terminuses among others, are very
common in major cities hence the need for concerted efforts by various stakeholders in
the eradication of these problems.
VID
Vehicle inspection depots work hand in gloves with the police especially in traffic
management and related cases which require expert information. This department makes
traffic scenes manageable because of their expertise in identification of defects of motor
vehicles among other things.
Fire brigade
Police have limited knowledge of managing disasters in which fire is involved. In the
event of such incidences, the police engage the fire brigade who has the required
knowledge and equipment to assist in the management of such disasters. Sometimes fire
is caused by electrical faults therefore attending to such scenes requires skilled personnel
including the fire brigade and ZESA
NGOs
These have even proved to be very useful in the fight against crime. Most of these
organizations fight for human rights. The police work hand in glove with these
organizations in providing education and awareness over problems that would have arise
in the community. Usually the police conduct awareness campaigns with the assistance of
these organisations. The Musasa Project is one good example of such organizations that

deal with cases of domesticviolence against women and children. By working with these
groups’ police, gets information and reported cases of domestic violence.
Zimbabwe National Road Administration

The entity has remarkably contributed to policing by donating state of the art
vehiclessome with fixed machines that detects vehicles moving on road without licenses.
Those caught on the wrong side of the road are having their vehicles impounded. Some of
the impounded vehicles are later turning out to be stolen vehicles. This has actually
improved the recovery rate of stolen vehicles by the CID Vehicle Theft Squad. Also,
ZINARA will collect funds which are then used for the construction of roads; thereby
reducing congestion on the roads, by so doing, the rate of accidents will be reduced.
Environmental Management Agency.
EMA strives to protect the environment with people in mind and for the people so that
there is a clean and healthy environment, which is not harmful and hazardous to health. It
assiststhe police in the investigation and inspection of cases such as high emissions of
gases into the atmosphere and also set out the provision of fines for environmental
crimes. Generally, EMA is a socially responsive environmental service delivery
institution whose mission is to promote sustainable management of natural resources and
the protection of the environment with stakeholder participation.
Zimbabwe National Parks and Wildlife Management agency
This has many departments which partner with police in providing safety to the public
and tourist and also ensure the protection of the natural environment for future
generation. The police combine operations with the National Parks and Wildlife
Management Agency in protecting the flora and fauna through anti-poaching operations.
Zimbabwe Anti-corruption Commission
The Government have ensured, through legislative and other means, that the Zimbabwe
Anti-Corruption Commission has power to recommend the arrest and secure the

prosecution of persons reasonably suspected of corruption, abuse of power and other

improper conduct which falls within the Commission’s jurisdiction. The functions and
duties for anticorruption commission among others are as follows;
 to investigate and expose cases of corruption in the public and private sectors;
 to combat corruption, theft, misappropriation, abuse of power and other improper
conduct in the public and private sectors;
 to promote honesty, financial discipline and transparency in the public and private
sectors;
 to direct the Commissioner-General of Police to investigate cases of suspected
corruptionand to report to the Commission on the results of any such investigation;
Civil Aviation Authority
This is a department which partner with police in terms of natural disasters like plane
accidents. It provides with technology in as far as the field of security is concerned. It is
normally situated at Airport where it observes safety of people.
1.5.4.3 Advantages multi-agency policing.

 Crime is reduced because of the concerted efforts of police and the other agencies.
 Material as well as human resources base is increased by the intervention of
agencies.
 By reducing crime, police – public relations improves.
 There is broadening of focus of what had been traditionally conceived as crime
prevention business.
 The system enhances checks and balances and that means police as an organization
can improve on its weaknesses.
1.5.4.4 Disadvantages
 The system may be less democratic especially where police takes the leading role.

 There is clientele discrimination where other agencies who participate get

preferential treatment from the police.
 Junior members can easily copy bad habits done by other agencies.
 The police would be held responsible for actions of its partner when anything goes
wrong in the operations.
 Classified information may fall into the wrong hands.
It is therefore imperative for the police to incorporate the multi- agency approach strategy
as it fruitfully embraces the concept of promoting synergy and indeed goal achievement.
1.5.5 TEAM POLICING.

According to Whisenand (2001), team policing was introduced in the early 1970s in New
York. It was emphasizing on the delivery of the round the clock decentralized patrol
services by a team of patrol officers consisting of highly motivated people ,conscious
officers usually under the direction of a responsible sergeant working in identifiable
blazers out of a short front located in the highly crime rate in a specific geographical area.
Team policing was introduced as a technique to link the police better to the community
focusing on human relations, language and traditional cultures. It calls for a recognizing
of a patrol force to include one or more quasi-autonomous teams with a joint purpose of
improving total satisfaction of the patrol officers. Nowadays, many police
organisationshave developed tactical teams/squads to execute crime detection, prevention
and investigation operations. These units are thoroughly trained in specific areas of
policing and do police work in combined efforts.
1.5.5.1 Definitions
Team
Roger (2003) state that a team is a group of people working together to achieve a
commonly understood goal. This is supported byWhisenand (2001)who stated that a team
means a group of people working in an interdependent manner to achieve set objectives.
Policing

According to the Collins Concise Dictionary (1998), policing means the techniques and
practice of a police force in keeping order, preventing crime and preserving life of the
citizens.
Team Policing
Taking the two definitions of team and policing, we can deduce that the concept of team
policing is generally intended to strike a balance between the need for police
centralization for efficiency and community needs for police decentralization in order to
increase responsiveness to the problems of citizens.
1.5.5.2 Why teams?
Teamwork has two dimensions that are quality which comes from the heart and
commitment which comes from involvement which altogether produces quality
results.The focus of the team effort is on combining rather than on coordinating
resources. Police services are too complex and the respective technology is too
specialized for any individual to master alone. This then calls for teamwork which has a
potential to provide social and emotional support for its members, producing a more
satisfactory work and productive environment.
As mentioned above that a team has a mixture of people who contribute in different
complementary way thus achieving synergy, a team produces more than the sum of its
individual parts hence a phrase by Whisenand which reads:
T- ogether
E- everyone
A- achieves
M-uch.
Teams createsa supportive atmosphere where people are happy to go at risk,to say what
they really think develop one another’s ideas and commit to any agreed cause of action
even though they may have been differences of opinion.

1.5.5.3 Characteristics of effective and successful teams
These characteristic defines the relationship of the members of a team. They only go sour
when they are not used properly. If every member of a team have a clear idea of what is
expected, the tools to do work and some recognition from other members for his or her
contributions team members can enjoy achieving tasks together. In effective teams;
 Roles are clearly defined

 Team spirit
 All decisions are based on values
There are 3 specific values that seem to identify good working teams which are;
 Task effective-the well functioning group of police officers place a high value on
task effectiveness , with greater emphasis on doing the right things than on doing
things right. The value implies that the team also focuses on the objectives or end
result, rather than only on the team’s ongoing activities.
 Dealing in the present- the effective team focuses on “right here” right now on
emphasis that allows a flexible response to changing conditions within the larger
organizations. The team can make more appropriate decisions when it is
concentrating on what is happening rather than why it is happening.
 Conflict viewed as an asset –conflicts provides to very necessary elements to the
effective work group. First it is the prime source of synergy in systems and
second it is the major source of creativity. For example if a patrol team consist of
members of the police from different sections like Criminal Investigations (CID) ,
Duty uniform branch and Support Unity, there will be a lot of conflicts as each
member will be willing to show his or her expect in terms of investigations.
An effective team agrees on clear, challenging objectives that is everyone in the team
contributes to share understanding of and is committed to the objectives and a leader who
adjust the leadership style along a spectrum from participative to autocratic in the light of
circumstances. It has a mix of people who contribute in different but complementary

ways thus achieving synergy that is a team produces more than the sum of the
individuals’ parts. A good team learns from experience both success and failures by
reviewing its process and thus constantly improving its own performance. Finally a good
team looks hard and plays hard that its members do not only achieve challenging
objectives but enjoy themselves as they do so.
1.5.5.4 Advantages of teams.

 There is no need to blame anyone in the team, solutions are derived from joint
efforts and every team member contributes that is to say responsibility for success is
everyone’s.
 The task is to work together to produce the required solution, this means that
personnel and role conflicts will be eliminated as each officer would be a specialist
and not inclined to feel possessive of a given territory.
 Division of labour and specialization which increases efficiency and effectiveness in
performing tasks
 Cross pollination of ideas for the improvement in working relations
 Team spirit enhances performance by ensuring every member thrives achieve team
objectives than achieving individual objectives.
 Synergy is enhanced as the individual contributions to the task will be measured by
the success of the overall operation done.
 Motivation is enhanced by performance challenging tasks than routine task which
are boring and monotonous.
1.5.5.5 Disadvantages.
 A natural tendency for units to isolate themselves along functional lines may develop
and this could lead to a potentially destructive solution and end up not meeting the
target (objective) of the patrol.
 Problems will also arise with selecting the right officers for different complicated
jobs and with supervising patrol units no longer, geographically restricted.
 Team work depends on people who are willing to function as interdependent
contributors; if they are not willing team work will not be effective.

 Improper assigning of duties can lead to duplication of efforts

 Participation of all members in decision making can lead to slow decision making
processes.
As far as teamwork is concerned in law enforcement, there are many reasons and factors
why officers work together to fight against crime. Effective law enforcement requires
change in the way police functions in order to combine the specialist tasks of highly
trained officers into one unified team which able to perform challenging task in order to
reduce crime and produce a crime free society.
1.5.6 PROBLEM ORIENTED POLICING (POP)
The POP discourse characterises the re-establishment of public confidence which then
necessitates the implementation by the police of what McLaughlin (2007: 122) described
as the ‘high definition sovereign policing’ tactic; the initiative that is meant, not to curb
crime by arresting, prosecuting or punishing the offender but by a re-orientation towards
crime categories that would make a real statistical difference. Instead of arresting an
armed robber it would otherwise be noble that police get guns off the street, curb youth
gang violence, remove drug dealers from the neighbourhood; reduce vehicle related
crimes by breaking the cycle of crime. Police in New York where this type of policing is
more pronounced require that officers respond proactively to crime like people
reoccupying the streets to fix all the broken widows and then preventing anyone from
breaking them again. (Merry, 2006).POP centres mostly on the identification not of
incidents of crimes, but of problems affecting the community and trying to find solutions
that address the root cause of the problem other than reacting to isolated incidents of
crime. Several incidents of crime make up a problem of that particular crime to the
community especially when it becomes more repetitive.
1.5.6.1 POP defined

Problem Oriented Policing was defined by Bohn and Haley (1999), as an approach to
policing in which discrete pieces of police business(each consisting of a cluster of similar
incidents, whether crime or acts of disorder, that are expected to be handled by the
police) are subjected to microscopic examination, drawing on the especially embedded
skills of crime analysts and the accumulated experience of operating field personnel in
hopes that what is freshly learned about each problem will lead to discovery of a new and
more effective strategy for dealing with such problem.
This implies that the POP places greater significance on new responses that are
preventive in nature and are not reliant upon the criminal justice system but engage other
public agencies; the community and the private sector when their involvement has a
potential for significantly contributing to the reduction of a problem. POP carries with it
a commitment to implementing the new strategy, rigorously evaluating its effectiveness
and subsequently reporting the results in ways that will benefit other police agencies and
that will ultimately contribute to the building of a body of knowledge that supports the
further professionalism of the police.The concept of POP has influenced how law
enforcement agencies respond to the communities. Because the approach concentrates on
solving problems rather than solely responding to complaints by citizens, it offers
agencies an opportunity to apply the technique to problems that exist within their
organisations as well as those occurring in their communities.( Bohn and Haley (1999)
1.5.6.2 Characteristics of POP
Bohn and Haley (2002) postulate that POP emphasises on the value of being able to
diagnose the continuing problems that lie behind the repeated incidents that are reported
to police and to design and implement solutions to these problems. Goldstein (1990) as
quoted by Whisenand (2001) outlined the following as characteristics of a police
department practising POP:
 Identifies substantive community problems,

 Inquires systematically into their nature,

 Analyses community interests and special interest in each problem,

 Assesses current responses,
 Takes initiative in implementing solutions,
 Evaluates the effectiveness of solutions.
Many police departments concentrate on one incident at a time as they respond to calls
for service and neglect to assemble into a single picture. Improved crime control can be
achieved by diagnosing and managing problems in the community that produces crime.
1.5.6.3 Problem solving with POP

Problem solving requires a lot more thought, energy, zeal, enthusiasm, analytical ability
and action as opposed to the traditional incident based police responses to crime and
disorders. In full partnership, the police and the community identify core problems,
propose solutions and implement the solutions. Thus community members identify the
concerns they feel are most threatening to their peace and tranquillity, safety and well
being. These areas of concern then become priorities for joint police-community
intervention. All problems should therefore receive early attention from the police and
other stakeholder groups concerned.
For this problem solving process to operate effectively, the police need to devote
time,energy and attention to the discovering of a community’s concerns as they need to
recognise the validity of these concerns. A comprehensive analysis tool for the evaluation
of POP was recommended by the advocates of the policing technique, referred to as the
S.A.R.A approach, short for Scanning, Analysis, Response and Assessment.
Scanning identifies the problem through a variety of sources of information available to

the police, such as calls for service and citizen surveys. The police’s own surveillances of
the environment can also help identify problems.
Analysis requires the thoughtful examination of the nature of the problem. Input from
police personnel and residents pertaining to the problem is important as well as the

collection of data that the department may have about the frequency, location and other
significant characteristics of the problem.
Response –makes use of one or more preferred solutions to the problem, the wide range
of appropriate tactics that the police might adopt as well as stakeholders who need to be
involved. These benefit from creative deliberation or thinking outside the bloc. Input
should come from the police personnel as well as from the residents, experts and other
individuals who have the potential to address the problem thoughtfully.
Assessment evaluates the effectiveness of the expected solution. Agencies must evaluate
the solution as objectively as possible because this step has a bearing on the end result of
the whole POP initiative.
Bohn and Haley (supra), further identified that apart from the SARA approach to the
solving of problems there is what they called the crime triangle. This is a view of crime
and disorder as an interaction among three variables; the victim, the offender and the
location. With POP, solutions can be developed that affect one or more of the three
elements of the triangle erstwhile mentioned. For example, suppose that elderly residents
are being jeopardised by speeding teenagers in automobiles as they walk across the
streets of suburban residential areas. Using the crime triangle analysis might result in the
following Police-Community solutions:
 Using the juvenile court to alter the probation period for offending drivers, (focus
on the offender).
 Installing speed humps in pavements or changing the cycles of traffic signals on
opposite ends of the streets so that motorists cannot build up speed, (focus on the
location).
 Holding safety education classes at centres for senior citizens to educate elderly
residents to use marked crosswalks, (focus on the victim).

Crime in its ordinary sense is best understood as a rational action performed by fairly
ordinary people acting under particular pressures or exposed to specific opportunities and
situational inducements. The POP discourse is therefore centred on the prevention,
reduction and displacement of these opportunities and inducements by way of police
manipulation. McLaughlin (2007) further explained this that, the convergence of the
victim and the offender is made possible by the routine structures of everyday life. Thus
effective problem solving requires an understanding of how offenders and their
targets/victims come together in specific places and times and how these offenders are
not effectively controlled.
Whisenand (2001) gave the ways in which problems may specifically be solved by the
POP technique and postulated that the measure of effectiveness largely depends on the
characteristic of the problem. POP requires that threats to social order be permanently
quelled and problems affecting society be controlled by getting to the roots of the
problems and sometimes by managing the outcomes of the problems where total
extinction is unattainable. In this case the reduction of crime to at least tolerable levels
would be acceptable in the POP discourse. The following are the widely known ways of
problem solving with POP:
 Solving a problem by totally eliminating it,
 Solving the problem by way of reducing its consequences,
 Designing methods to better handle the crime incidents,
 Facilitating, enabling and encouraging the community to maintain its norms
and values governing behaviour,
 Shifting consideration of the problem to other stakeholders who have the
rightful resources,
 Tailor-making responses to problems and acting according to the demands of
each problem.
1.5.6.4 Why the need for POP?

Lack of success.Goldstein (1990) statepostulates that professional crime fighting

strategies were not effective in crime control.
Efficiency has been inefficient. Police management has been preoccupied with the
internal operations and doing things right, the right statistics, training and the right
procedures. POP therefore came into effect to address the question of whether police
were doing the right thing or not.
Scarce resources.Resources are finite and POP therefore establishes that police should
prioritise resources to areas that highly prone to problems.
Reaction.POP encourages pro-activeness, self motivation and initiative on the part of the
police to prevent or reduce community problems.
Communitypartnership.Community and police should partner to foster a systematic and
continuing working relationship between them.
Brain power.POP is dependent upon the ideas of every individual regardless of rank and
status, that is to say it empowers the juniors and good ideas can come from all angles in
the organisation. Most organisations operate as if good ideas come only from the top
management. With POP good ideas are encouraged and rewarded.
Culture.POP requires that old ideas of doing things be carefully replaced with a new and
dynamic culture that can easily adapt to the changing environment. The new ideas of
POP may face a challenge of lack of acceptance and resistance to change because of the
“we have been doing this for years” syndrome deeply entrenched in most police
organisations.
Expanded mission.This is POP’s idea of a much better articulated police mission
expanded to incorporate communities and other stakeholders in the fight against
problems of crime.
1.5.6.5 Advantages of POP.

 McLaughlin ibid, argues that the practise of POP can control and manage virtually
every type of crime in virtually every neighbourhood. No place is unpoliceable; no
crime is immune to better enforcement efforts.
 Moreso, the practise of POP eliminates the need for specialised sections in the
police by the time it starts bearing fruits thereby reducing the problem of resource
constraints.
1.5.6.6 Problems associated with POP.
 Some unintended consequences of POP emanate from the increased communication

with the public. With POP the public has much more direct hand in the definition of
goals of the police and influence on what issues the police will focus on. This can
cause a conflict between what is traditionally of high importance to the police, for
example robberies and violent crimes, and what is prioritised by the community
which may be as mundane as loitering or acts of graffiti. The mismatch of priorities
can hinder cooperation between the police and the public. It can as well make the
police officer’s work more difficult and stressful as he/she is presented with
difficult mandates. (Bohn and Haley, 2002).
 Another possible conflict may exist between proactive implementation of POP and
the need for the traditional incident driven policing. In quieter and more peaceful
times police officers have abundant time to pursue genuine problem solving
initiatives. This is not particularly possible in busier times when the police have to
grapple with the demands of an ever increasing number of calls from the citizens of
the country for incidents of crime, to also have the time to practise POP.
 Complications can also arise if police officers in one department have some
designated to solve community problems or if a few enthusiastic officers commit
themselves to the POP process as they leave others on the scene shift to pick up the
slack of responding to calls of incidents. This can lead to tension and resentment

which can in turn diminish the morale of the members thereby adversely affecting
the POP initiative that depends upon personnel self motivation to work well.
 The problem of abuse of authority can as well result from the fact that POP
heightens consideration and increases the officers’ discretion. Where control is
limited in police officers, the unfettered discretion that POP encourages presents an
opportunity for the abuse of power. With the same token, increased discretion
coupled with the possibility for larger social consequences could make officers
more conservative in their approach to the initiative, perhaps too conservative to
fully achieve POP goals.
1.5.7 PUBLIC RELATIONS.

Public relations started with the evolution of communication and thus for as long as
human beings were communicating there was some form of public relations taking place.
The community that police officers of today policies are much civilised and educated,
gone are the days were police officers need to be brave enough to apprehend criminals
and instilling fear to the public. A police officer of today needs to be able to talk to
people in the language they understand best, be firm and fair and must be able to assist
the members of the public were necessary without him being too much involved in the
matter.
1.5.7.1 Public relations defined
The British Institution of Public Relations (1987) states that, public relations practice is
the planned and sustained effort to establish and maintain goodwill and mutual
understanding between an organisation and its publics. This was supported by one of the
founding fathers of public relations, Frank Jefkins (1992) who defined public relations as
consisting of all forms of planned communication, outwards and inwards, between an
organisation and its publics for the purpose of achieving specific objectives concerning
mutual understanding.
Public relations are a way for an organisation or people to enhance their reputation and
strengthen community relations. It also involves communicating with the media and

through the media to present the clients with the most favourable way possible. The
public are the beneficiaries of the services provided by the Zimbabwe Republic Police
and the media (print and electronic) is used as the channel to market what they expect
from the ZRP. Examples are the launching of the ZRP Service Charter, and many other
ZRP programmes
Through public relations, a favourable image can be moulded which helps to create
goodwill within the community and enhance their confidence. It can give the community
and the media a better understanding of how the organisation, such as the Zimbabwe
Republic Police works. An effective ongoing public relations program educates the
media, analysts, investors and customers about an organisation such as the ZRP.
It is about empowering the people by providing them with knowledge and understanding.
For example journalists and analysts are the conduits of delivering news and creating
perceptions, what they write and say is perceived as more credible and more objective
than other form of promotion. Thus public relations helps guide them in what they write
and say, by helping them to better understand what the ZRP operates.
Public relations in its fundamental nature is about managing reputation and perception
and establishing good relationship with key stakeholders. Its activities are either
proactive, by helping to generate attention and understanding through media awareness or
reactive, in helping to protect an organisation’s reputation during crisis or adverse
publicity. However it is through public relations that feedback is provided pertaining to
the public perception of the organisation.
This is usually done through research on what areas the public is most contented and
discontented. The Zimbabwe Republic Police is always exposed to public scrutiny,
particularly the media therefore they are more concerned about the public opinion. It is
very difficult for the police to do their job without public confidence. As a result the
Community Relations Liaison Officers found at every police station countrywide
conducts Public Opinion surveys quarterly mostly to have comments from the
community on the performance of the police in their respective area of policing.
1.5.7.2 Public Relations at a Police Station

According to the Zimbabwe Republic Police Service Charter, all police stations are
required to draft a service plan document stating how they will be operating in terms of
providing services to the public. As visitors visits the charge office they must be attended
to within a minute of their arrival to enquire how best they can be helped. As they visit
the station some will be in an emotional state.
They should not be kept waiting for long. If their matter is sensitive or embarrassing
discuss it in a private place and possibly refer it to the relevant section such as the Victim
Friendly unit, CRLO, PI or the Anti-stock Theft section wherever the matter can be
effectively dealt with. Scenes of crime should be attended to efficiently and
investigations carried out thoroughly as they are the key success to public relations.
Receipt of correspondence should be acknowledged well in time whether actioned or not.
Complaints against police should be expeditiously investigated and outcome of reports
given to complainants in all cases. Police drivers must be exemplary on the road. Conduct
of all police officers both on and off duty should be unquestionable. Cultural norms,
values and belief of different ethnic groups whom they police should not be
overemphasised.
The police public relations is at times made very impossible during the times of tension,
civil disorders and state of emergencies where police are supposed and required to
implement some restrictions and suspensions imposed by the State. On the other hand
corruption has been absorbed in the veins of most police officer and is crippling the
essential services of the organisation. Inadequate resources have also contributed to
decline of public relations in the organisation despite the frantic effort.
Public relations is a very essential discipline in policing today as it promotes a good

image of the organisation to the people, it also brings the community closer to the police
which makes their work much easier with the assistance of the public. It builds
confidence of the public to the police as the public will became knowledgeable of what
they will be expecting from the police. For easy and better policing, it is the duty of every
member to gain and keep the goodwill and corporation of the public. Therefore public
relations as a discipline play a pivotal role in contemporary policing.

1.5.8 INTELLIGENCE-LED POLICING (ILP)

Vibrant intelligence led policing remains central in enhancing the pro-activity of the
police in the detection and investigation of crime. In view of this, effective monitoring of
activities and intentions of criminals should pre-empt the commission of crime in station
policing areas. While the CID and PI are at the fore front of intelligence gathering, it is
equally the responsibility of every police officer to gather and analyse criminal
intelligence during his/her tour of duty or when interacting with members of the public
and other relevant stakeholders.
Intelligence-Led Policing was originally articulated as a law enforcement operational

strategy that sought to reduce crime through the combined use of crime analysis and
criminal intelligence in order to determine crime reduction tactics that concentrate on
enforcement and prevention of criminal offender activity, with a focus on active and
recidivist offenders. According to Ratcliffe,(2008), it is a business model and managerial
philosophy where data analysis and crime intelligence are pivotal to an objective,
decision-making framework that facilitates crime and problem reduction, disruption and
prevention through both strategic management and effective enforcement strategies that
target prolific and serious offenders. This approach emphasizes Information gathering
through the extensive use of confidential informants, offender interviews, analysis of
recorded crime and calls for service, surveillance of suspects, and community sources of
information.Intelligence officers serve as guides to operations, rather than operations
guiding intelligence.
1.5.8.1 Intelligence-led policing defined

Ratcliff (2003: 3) defined ILP as the application of criminal intelligence analysis as an

objective decision making tool in order to facilitate crime reduction and prevention
through effective policing strategies and external partnership projects drawn from an
evidential base.
According to the International Association of Law Enforcement Intelligence Analysts

(2005), “Intelligence-Led Policing is the model that brings intelligence and analysts to
the forefront of police operations. It promotes the efficient use of resources, the
production of workable crime prevention strategies, and the successful completion of
investigations and prosecution.”
Information- data that has been collected, but not further developed through analysis.
Intelligence- Information that has been evaluated in context to its source and reliability-
Information with added value. The application of analysis therefore transforms
information into intelligence.
Criminal Intelligence- The International Association of Police Chiefs (2003) defined

criminal intelligence as, “information compiled, analysed and/or disseminated in an effort
to anticipate, prevent, or monitor criminal activities”.
1.5.8.2 The Intelligence Cycle

Planning, Direction Needs,

Requirement
Dissemination Collection
Analysis Processing
Exploitation
1.5.8.2.1 The planning, direction, needs requirements
 The identification of specific user needs, which accurately state the problem at
hand.
 Requirements can either be standing requirements (providing information for mid
and long range planning and following a fixed pattern) or spot requirements (
which arise during crisis situations)
 Planning and direction is needed from the time when a requirement for
intelligence is initiated to when feedback on the usefulness of the intelligence is
provided.
 Efficient management and guidance are also necessary to ensure clear and
accurate communication between intelligence activities and to synchronise the
various phases and steps within the cycle.

1.5.8.2.3 Collection
 Collection is the normal response to requirements for intelligence and can involve
systematic and accidental acquisition of intelligence information through a variety
of sources.
 Information can be obtained from both open and covert sources.
 Open sources- People, media reports, telephone directories, company
records, internet searches.
 Covert sources- Surveillance, undercover operations, informers,
recognisance.
1.5.8.2.4 Processing/exploitation
 It entails converting the vast amount of information into usable forms of

information.
 This stage also entails the removal of useless or incorrect information.
 It also involves the orderly arrangement of collected material, concepts and data
so that it forms correlative relationships.
 Processing can involve the following: Document translation; film processing;
decryption; interpretation of information.
1.5.8.2.5 Analysis
 The conversion of the vast amount of information collected into finished

intelligence. It includes integrating, evaluating and analysing all available data
and preparing intelligence reports.
 Analysts, who are subject matter specialists, consider the information’s reliability,
validity, and relevance
 The analyst also forms patterns and hypothesis and in criminal matters, these may
be used to forecast potential criminal activities.

 Evaluation, an important of analysis is the assessment of information for

pertinence, accuracy, and reliability of the source.
1.5.8.2.5.1Crime analysis tools

Crime Pattern Analysis (CPA)
It involves the examination of the nature and distribution of crime within an area, in
order to identify emerging and current trends and patterns, and linked crimes. It
therefore includes: crime pattern identification, crime trend identification and hot spot
analysis.
 Pattern- is an arrangement or order discernible on any crime related
phenomena
 Trend- is a specific type of pattern that assumes a general direction or
tendency.
 Hot spot- a specific location or small area where an unusually high level of
criminal activity is committed by one or more offenders.
General Profile Analysis

 This type of analysis identifies and examines the characteristics of victims, or
common characteristics of offenders displaying particular offending behaviour.
 Examples of general profiles are the examination of the characteristics of serial
murderers, serial armed robbers, serial rapists, or characteristics of repeatedly
attacked individuals or groups of individuals.
Demographic and social trend analysis (DSTA)

 It entails the examination of the nature of demographic changes and their impact
on criminality, as well as the analysis of social factors which might underlie
changing trends of offending patterns.
 DSTA usually depends on the collection of information from openly available
sources and organisations outside policing, for example, unemployment levels,
details of socio-economic status, homelessness levels, population growth,

inward and outward population migration, ethnic origin of the group, age of
individuals living in an area.
Market analysis
 A survey of the criminal market around a given commodity (e.g. Illicit drugs,
stolen vehicles, prostitution).
 Market analysis is used to;
 Outline the level of activity of a market
 Identify emerging market trends
 Understand and explain how and why the market operates
 Assist in the selection of subjects for targeting.
 Identify potential new sources of information.
Crime control methods analysis

It is the evaluation of the investigative or preventative methods and techniques with
the aim of establishing their future usefulness.
Specific profile analysis

It entails identification of the specific characteristics of perpetrators or victims of
specific crimes. Also involves construction of a hypothetical picture of the perpetrator
of a serious crime or a series of offences on the basis of crime scene data, witnesses’
statements and the available information.
Target profile analysis

Embraces a range of analytical techniques, which aim to describe the criminal, his or
her criminal activity, lifestyle, associations, the risk the person poses, and strength
and weaknesses in order to give focus to the investigation targeting each person.
Comparative case analysis

It involves identification of a series of crimes with common modus operandi and
seeking similarities between the offences.

Network analysis
 It consists of dissecting the internal hierarchical structure, management and roles
of individuals within criminal organisations in order to arrive at a complete
picture of an organised crime group.
 Develops and lays out the linkages, associations, and interactions of all known
members of an organised crime group with the other organised crime groups and
operations in their respective jurisdictions.
Telephone record analysis

 It evaluates a data base store of information regarding certain telephone numbers.
 Information can include particulars of area codes, numbers called, the duration of
calls, detailed of incoming calls and the identity of the incoming caller.
 It can be used to indicate the geographical range of the conspiracy.
1.5.8.2.6 Dissemination
It entails the transfer of intelligence from producers to users. The objective here is to
achieve a balance between failing get valid intelligence to users and not overwhelming
users with unintended products.Intelligence information is disseminated under the
following conditions;
 Controlled reporting- in response to specific validated requirements
 Periodic reporting- submitted on a continuing basis at specified intervals.
 Initiative reporting- responses to information needs as understood by a
collection element’s determination of an intelligence gap, or a report that is
considered by its originator to be of immediate, emergency, or critical
importance.
When deciding on which method of dissemination to use, consider the following;
 User requirements- the intelligence product should be prepared in the form
most responsive to the user’s need and compatible with the projected means of
dissemination. The value of intelligence is based on its usefulness to the
command and staff, not to its quantity.

 Urgency- dissemination is not responsive unless the products reach the users in
time to be of operational or planning value. Transmittal of critical, time-
sensitive information should not be delayed.
 Security- disseminates intelligence only to users with a need to know and
strictly within security guidelines. When intelligence impacts on the mission
but security constraints limit dissemination, it should promptly be sanitised and
disseminated.
1.5.8.3 The benefits to the use of the intelligence-led policing.
Jerry Ratcliffe gives ten benefits to the use of intelligence-led policing and these include:
 Supportive and informed command structure;
 Intelligence-led policing is the heart of an organization-wide approach;
 Integrated crime and criminal analysis;
 Focus on prolific and serious offenders;
 Analytical and executive training available;
 Both strategic and tactical tasking meetings take place;
 Much routine investigation is screened out;
 Data are sufficiently complete, reliable available to support quality products that
influence decision-making;
 Management structures exist to action intelligence products and appropriate use of

prevention, destruction and enforcement.
 The above yardsticks all help prevent crime by creating a police force that is more
efficient with the resources available to them.
There is also a growing recognition within policing that external agencies may hold the
key to long term crime reduction. These agencies, such as local councils, housing
authorities, and health and education departments, have a greater potential to impact on a
wider range of causal factors, and the police are well placed as the “gatekeepers” to much
crime information (Ericson and Haggerty 1997).Also as agencies share information

amongst each other this creates a larger network of intelligence which when used
effectively will create a substantial decrease in crime (Ratcliffe, 2003)
1.5.8.4 Problems or issues associated with intelligence-led policing.

 Intelligence-led policing is still in its early stages and therefore lacks a universal
conceptual; framework that can be applied to desperate contexts as the new policing
paradigm.
 Implementation can also be difficult, because it requires police managers to “have
faith in the intelligence process and judgments and recommendations of their
intelligence staff.”
 Some have also questioned whether the foundational ingredients-intelligence-has
been properly considered, given that: police and security professionals already have
to content with “information overload “from the huge databanks that have been
built up in the intelligence process; and increasing raw data is not the same as
generating knowledge or actionable intelligence.
 Finally, intelligence-led policing is part of the larger trend of blurring the distinction
between national security and domestic policing or the state’s military and police
functions, and risks the same perils that have tarnished policing in the past, such as
political interference, violating civil liberties, and a greater potential for the abuse
of police power with the increased secrecy that intelligence work entails.
1.5.9 DISASTER MANAGEMENT.
Disaster, as defined by the United Nations, is a serious disruption of the functioning of a

community or society, which involves widespread human, material, economic or
environmental impacts that exceed the ability of the affected community or society to
cope using its own resources. Disaster management is how we deal with the human,
material, economic or environmental impacts of the said disaster, it is the process of how
we “prepare for, respond to and learn from the effects of major failures”. Though often
caused by nature, disasters can have human origins.
1.5.9.1 Types of Disaster
Natural Disasters

According to the International Federation of Red Cross & Red Crescent Societies Natural
Disasters are naturally occurring physical phenomena caused either by rapid or slow
onset events that have immediate impacts on human health and secondary impacts
causing further death and suffering. These disasters can be:
 Geophysical (Earthquakes, Landslides, Tsunamis and Volcanic Activity)

 Hydrological (Avalanches and Floods)
 Climatological (Extreme Temperatures, Drought and Wildfires)
 Meteorological (Cyclones and Storms/Wave Surges)
 Biological ( Disease Epidemics (COVID 19) and Insect/Animal Plagues)
Man-Made Disasters
Man-Made Disasters as viewed by the International Federation of Red Cross & Red
Crescent Societies are events that are caused by humans which occur in or close to
human settlements often caused as a results of Environmental or Technological
Emergencies. This can include:
 Environmental Degradation
 Pollution
 Accidents (e.g. Industrial, Technological and Transport usually involving the
production, use or transport of hazardous materials)
Complex Emergencies
According to ICRC these complex emergencies are as a result of multiple hazards, or,
more often, a complex combination of both natural and man-made causes which involve
a break-down of authority, looting and attacks on strategic installations, including
conflict situations and war. These complex emergencies are typically characterized by
 Extensive violence
 Displacements of populations
 Loss of life
 Widespread damage to both societies and economies

 Political and Military constraints

 Increased Security
 Need for large-scale, Humanitarian Assistance across Multiple Agencies
1.5.9.2 Aspects of Disaster Management
The International Federation of Red Cross & Red Crescent Societies defines disaster
management as the organisation and management of resources and responsibilities for
dealing with all the humanitarian aspects of emergencies, in particular preparedness,
response and recovery in order to lessen the impact of disasters.
1.5.9.2.1 Disaster Prevention
The United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR) views
Disaster Prevention as the concept of engaging in activities which intend to prevent or
avoid potential adverse impacts through action taken in advance, activities designed to
provide protection from the occurrence of disasters. The World Confederation for
Physical Therapy (WCPT), similarly highlight that while not all disasters can be
prevented, good risk management, evacuation plans, environmental planning and design
standards can reduce risk of loss of life and injury mitigation.
1.5.9.2.2 Disaster preparedness
According to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) (1863) it is the
knowledge and capacities developed by governments, professional response and recovery
organizations, communities and individuals to effectively anticipate, respond to, and
recover from, the impacts of likely, imminent or current hazard events or conditions.
Disaster preparedness refers to measures taken to prepare for and reduce the effects of
disasters, be they natural or man-made. This is achieved through research and planning in
order to try to predict areas or regions that may be at risk of disaster and where possible
prevent these from occurring and/or reduce the impact those disasters on the vulnerable
populations that may be affected so they can effectively cope. Minimisation of loss of life
and damage to property through facilitation of effective disaster response and
rehabilitation services when required is the main way of reducing the impact of disasters.

1.5.9.2.3 Disaster Response / Relief
ICRC, state that this is the provision of emergency services and public assistance during
or immediately after a disaster in order to save lives, reduce health impacts, ensure public
safety and meet the basic subsistence needs of the people affected.Rescue from
immediate danger and stabilization of the physical and emotional condition of survivors
is the primary aims of disaster response/relief, which go hand in hand with the recovery
of the dead and the restoration of essential services such as water and power.
1.5.9.2.3 Disaster Recovery
Vulnerability of communities often continues for long after the initial crisis is over.
Disaster Recovery refers to those programmes which go beyond the provision of
immediate relief to assist those who have suffered the full impact of a disaster and
include the following activities:
 Rebuilding Infrastructure e.g. Homes, Schools, Hospitals, Roads

 Health Care and Rehabilitation
 Development Activities e.g. building human resources for health
 Development Policies and Practices to avoid or mitigate similar situations in future
Coordinated multi-agency response by different stakeholders such as the ZNA/Air Force,

ZRP, NGOs, Business community, and Civic organisation among others is vital to
Disaster Management in order to reduce the impact of a disaster and its long-term results
with relief activities including:
 Rescue
 Provision of security
 Relocation
 Provision food and water
 Provision emergency health care
 Prevention of disease and disability
 Repairing vital services e.g. telecommunications, transport
 Provision temporary shelter

1.5.10 POLICING DOMESTIC VIOLENCE.

Policing domestic violence has emerged a contemporary issue and has attracted global
attention. Years back because of the patriarchal society the family was believed to be a
private domain, this contributed to domestic violence as male battering of women in
intimate relationships was untouched by law which protected it as a home affairs or part
of private sphere of life which did not warrant outside interference. In today’s society, the
issue of domestic violence has been a cause of concern to the governmentand non-
governmental organisations making it a public problem. In view of this, the ZRP has
responded by formulating structures such as the Victim Friendly Unit assigned to police
domestic violence
1.5.10.1 Domestic violence defined
The Zimbabwe Republic Police Human Rights and Policing Resource Book (2001)
defined domestic violence as “aggressive and hostile behavior between members of the
family that results in injury, harm, humiliation and sometimes death”. While the
Domestic Violence Act Chapter 5:16 defines domestic violence as any unlawful act,
omission or behaviour which results in death or the direct infliction of physical, sexual or
mental injury to any complainant by the respondent.
Reid (2006) defined domestic violence as, “violence within family or other close
associations that includes abuse against spouse, lovers, housemaids, children and
parents”.
1.5.10.2 Theories of domestic violence
There are various theoretical perceptions on domestic violence such as feminist theories,
cultural theories, cultural violence theories and human rights theories
Feminist theories
Feminist theory illustrates the way man oppress woman due to the construction of male
power within society and families. Osrim (2002) states that there is a strong belief under
patriarchy that man should have authority in the home and many men feel it is acceptable

to hit a woman. Feminism as a theory or a worldview is not a unified one. Feminists do

not agree on the ways in which we can explain woman’s subordination on how woman
can be emancipated. Feminist theories that have made important contributions are
liberal, Marxist , radical and black feminist, All address the question of what constitutes
the oppression of women and suggests strategies for overcoming the problem.
Cultural theories
The power of traditional norms within African culture is attributed to the wide spread of
incidences of domestic violence. African tradition is seen as direct cause of wife beating
because by customs wife beating is regarded as normal. According to Swisher et al
(1994) family female members traditionally existed in terms of their relationships with
men. As daughters they were subject to control and whim of fathers. Daughters
represented a means of economic or political gain through marital agreements and bride
wealth. Payment of bride price to the wife’s family at the time of their marriage makes
difficult for women to leave abusive husbands as their family of origin will not be willing
or afford to return the amount paid as bride price.
Culture of violence theory
In culture of violence there is a social learning referred to by Wolfgang et al(1967). The

social learning theory according Viljoen (1997) argues that aggressive and violent
behavior in learnt through the process of socialization within the society and family.
Socialisation conceives violence as leant behavior which is reinforced during childhood
as copying mechanism to stress or method to resolve conflict. Individuals learn to
approve of violence in a wide range of situations and view violence as important in
enhancing their owner or reputation
Human rights theories
According to the theory of Natural Rights, the rights belong to men and are thus self
evident truth. They were considered as in-born, absolute, pre-civil and pre-social. They
are inalienable and cannot be removed by any political authority Wolfgang et al (1967).
The theory enables individuals in violent relationships to demand certain specific and

recognized rights granted by the constitution or legislation such as the Domestic Violence
Act.
1.5.10.3 Forms of domestic violence
Physical violence
This is the deliberate application of force to any person’s body which results in, or may
result in a non accidental injury. It involves pushing, slapping, punching, kicking,
stabbing or use of an object or weapon or any use of force that causes pain or injury
Sexual violence
It includes rape, aggravated indecent assault, threats of force to obtain sex or enforce
unwanted sexual attention or behaving in a way that make a person feel like a sex object.
It can involve a female or male of any age, single or married
Emotional or physiological abuse
It involves persistent attack on a person’s self esteem, habitual humiliation, rejection or

constant criticizing often leading to confusion and self doubt.
However the Domestic Violence Act provides a wider scope of domestic violence
manifesting itself as follows:-
 Physical abuse
 Sexual abuse
 Emotional, verbal and psychological abuse
 Economic abuse
 Intimidation
 Harassment
 Stalking
 Malicious damage to property
 Forcible entry into the complainant’s residence where the parties concerned do
not share the same residence

 The unreasonable disposal of household effects or other property in which the

complainant has an interest
 Abuse derived from the following cultural or customary rites or practices that
discriminate against or degrade women:-
- Forced virginity testing

- Pledging of women or girls for purposes of appeasing spirits
- Forced marriage
- Child marriage
- Forced wife inheritance
- Sexual intercourse between fathers-in-law and newly married daughters-
in-law
 Abuse perpetrated on complainant by virtue of complainant’s age, physical or

mental incapacity
 Abuse perpetrated on the complainant by virtue of complainant’s mental illness,
arrested or incomplete development of the mind, psychopathic disorder or
disability of the mind
 Any of the domestic violence described above when it is perpetrated on the
person or property’s representative
1.5.10.4 CAUSES OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
 Unequal power relations between men and women in patriarchal societies.

 History of family violence causing exposing children.(childhood experiences)
 Alcohol and drug abuse
 Economic problem eg low income, poverty, inadequate economic resources
 Lack of communication.
 Influence of the extended families.
 Lack of knowledge, low academic achievements and illiteracy.
 Community sanctions (man having the right to control their wives.
1.5.10.5 EFFECTS OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
The Individual

 Psychological effects such as depression, anxiety, social withdrawal, suicidal

attempts, eating disorders, sexual dysfunction and multiple personality disorder.
 Physical health effects such as HIV /AIDS, STIs, injury, unwanted pregnancy,
headaches, gynecological problem, alcohol/drug abuse, obesity, hypertension etc.
 Fatal outcomes such as suicide, homicide and femicide
The Family
 Injuries that may incur medical expenses and days off at school or work.
 Makes a home a place of fear.
 Marriages break up.
 Causes behavioral, developmental and social problems.
 Death
The Society
 Economy of the country is affected due to unproductively.

 Resources for health system are stretched.
 Time and human resources are lost
 Society embraces a culture of violence.
1.5.10.6 The role of police in relation to domestic violence
This is covered in Section 6 of the Domestic Violence Act chapter 5:16 which provides
that; any police officer shall, after taking into account the relevant factors, arrest without
warrant any person he or she reasonably suspects has committed or is threatening to
commit an act of domestic violence which constitutes a criminal offence towards a
complainant.
In considering whether or not to arrest any person, the police officer shall take this into
consideration:-
 The risk to safety, health or well-being of the complainant.

 The seriousness of the conduct constituting the alleged act of domestic violence.

 any other factor that makes him or her reasonably believe that the person has
committed or threatening to commit an act of domestic violence.
NB- The police officer shall take all reasonable steps to bring the person suspected of
having committed or threatened to commit an act of domestic violence before a
magistrate within forty-eight hours.
1.5.10.7 Enforcement of protection orders
If a police officer has reasonable grounds to believe that the respondent has committed, is
committing or is threatening to commit a breach of the order concerned and it is
necessary or desirable to protect the complainant from serious or substantial harm,
discomfort or inconvenience, he/she shall arrest the respondent in terms of the warrant
concerned an hold in custody until brought before a court not later than forty-eight hours.
1.5.10.8 CHALLENGES IN POLICING DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
 Withdrawal of charges after the police has conducted all the necessary
investigations.
 Unwillingness of parties involved to cooperate or report cases of domestic violence.
 No places of safety to accommodate those displaced by the violence.
 Shortage of resources to properly enforce the Domestic Violence Act.
 Delays in courts finalizing domestic violence cases.
 Police intervention may exaggerate the problem and cause marriage break up.
1.5.10.9 HOW BEST THE POLICE CAN DEAL WITH DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
 Maintaining a Specialized Unit (VFU) to deal with domestic violence

 Mediating the dispute.
 Separating the domestic partners
 Arresting perpetrators
 Applying multi-sectorial approach
 Community involvement.
 Carrying out awareness campaigns.
 Holding counseling session

Policing domestic violence can be a challenging task to the police, all what is needed is a
positive attitude and an interest in an individual. Awareness campaigns, and counseling
sessions are the most effective intervention methods before the Police resort to arresting
offenders in minor cases. Withdrawal of cases is always the result, so the police must
maintain a cordial relationship between the parties in anticipation of the reunification.

UNIT TWO
CRIMINOLOGY
2.0 INTRODUCTION
This part of the module will introduces criminology, the nature of crime and criminal law,
what causes crime, theories of criminology, media and crime and criminal justice and
criminology. The aim is to sensitise trainees on issues relating to crime and criminality and
how society deals or react to crime and criminality.
2.1 OBJECTIVES
By the end of the course students should be able to:-
 Define criminology and outline its nature and scope.
 Explain the nature of crime and criminal law
 Outline and explain what causes crime
 Outline and explain the theories of criminology.
 Explain media and crime
 Relate the concept of criminal justice to criminology
2.2 NATURE OF CRIMINOLOGY

The term criminology was derived from the Latin word crīmen, meaning "accusation"; and
Greek word,-logia which is the scientific approach to studying criminal behaviour. This
implies that criminology is the scientific study of crime. It encompasses a scientific,
systematic, statistical, structural and functional in depth study of crime focusing on the
following among other:-
 What is crime?
 What causes crime?
 Who commit crime and why? (criminal, deviant and delinquent behaviour relating
criminal activities)
 What are the trends of crime and criminal behaviour in the society
 What is the extent and effects of crime in the society?

 What measures are there in place to minimise the prevalence of crime, reform and
rehabilitate the criminals in the society. (criminal justice system/ crime control)e.t.c
Criminologists in their study of the causes of criminal activity blend the areas of social
science, psychology and criminal justice and they investigate how factors such as socio-
economic status, race, and ethnicity can influence crime, as well as reviewing past studies
and the successes or failures rates of specific law enforcement and sentencing. This is
supported by Sutherland (1974) definition of criminology in which he stated that;
"Criminology is the body of knowledge regarding delinquency and crime as a

social phenomena. It includes within its scope the process of making laws,
breaking laws, and of reacting toward the breaking of laws. These processes
are three aspects of a somewhat unified sequence of interactions. The
objective of criminology is the development of a body of general and verified
and principles and of other types of knowledge regarding this process of law,
crime, and reaction to crime."
However, no matter which definition of criminology is embraced, it is important to note

that what constitutes a crime and/or criminal behaviour differs from society to society to
the extent that even criminologists themselves have differing views on crime and
criminality.
The discipline of criminology has evolved in three phases, beginning in the 18th century.
Although crime and criminals have been around for as long as societies have existed, the
systematic study of these phenomena did not begin until the late 1700s. Prior to that time,
most explanations of crime equated it with sin–the violation of a sacred obligation. When
scholars first distinguished crime from sin, they made possible explanations of criminal
behaviour that were not theological (religious). This, in turn, allowed for the dispassionate,
scientific study of why crime occurs. The development of this study is now known as the
era of classical criminology.

The second phase, which began in the 19th century, is referred to as modern criminology.
During this era, criminology distinguished itself as a subspecialty within the emerging
disciplines of psychology, sociology, and economics. Scholars formed criminological
societies and founded criminology journals. Criminologists conducted empirical tests
(observations or experiments) of their theories, rather than relying solely on speculation,
and consequently developed a wide range of theories.
The third phase, beginning in the second half of the 20th century, may best be called
independent criminology. During this period, criminology began to assert its independence
from the traditional disciplines that spawned it. In Western Europe, the United States, and
Canada, criminologists expanded their professional associations and published an
increasing number of journals. A number of universities developed graduate programs in
criminology. Criminological theories have become more multidisciplinary (spanning
various fields of study) because independent criminologists seek to understand crime itself
rather than study crime as one aspect of an overall sociological or psychological theory.
2.2.1 Classical Criminology
The issues of crime and punishment have aroused interest and discussion since ancient
times. Scriptures dating from the 10th century BC prohibit certain acts and provide
consequences for those who disobey these rules. In the 5th century BC Greek
historian Thucydides wrote about the usefulness of the death penalty. With the
development of Christianity in the 1st century AD, questions of crime and punishment
were almost always discussed in religious terms.
Christian thought tended to emphasize personal responsibility for wrongdoing; requiring

penitence (remorse) by the criminal in exchange for salvation, or forgiveness, by God.
Although punishment practices during the Middle Ages (5th century to 15th century) were
often brutal, the church generally had a moderating influence. Christian philosophers
expressed in their writings that the legitimate purpose of punishment was to reform and
salvage the erring sinner.

It was not until the 18th century, however, that penal policy (and thereby the understanding
of crime) was subject to systematic consideration. Authors began to condemn the frequent
use of torture and the widespread imposition of capital punishment (the death penalty) and
other brutal and degrading sanctions (penalties). In 1764 Italian jurist CesareBonesana,
Marchese di Beccaria published Trattodeidelitti e dellepene (1764; translated as Essays on
Crimes and Punishments, 1880). In this work, Beccaria criticized the use of torture and
secret judicial proceedings and advocated abolition of the death penalty. He also argued
that the certainty–rather than the severity–of punishment was a more effective deterrent to
crime. Finally, Beccaria argued that penalties imposed for criminal offenses should be in
proportion to the seriousness of the offense.
Around this same time, British philosopher Jeremy Bentham proposed the systematic
codification (arrangement) of criminal law. Bentham urged lawmakers to base crimes and
punishments on the principle of utility–that is, the greatest good for the greatest number.
He attacked the excessive severity of punishments prescribed in the criminal law. Many of
Bentham's ideas were introduced as legislation into the British Parliament, and his efforts
laid the groundwork for substantial legal reform in the next generation. In part as a result of
Bentham's proposals, the number of crimes in England punishable by the death penalty was
reduced from about 250 at the beginning of the 19th century to 4 by 1861.
The work of these 18th-century legal reformers did not produce an organized body of
knowledge about why and when crime occurs. Rather, it served as the intellectual
foundation for the field of criminology. Beccaria, Bentham, and those who followed them
made crime and criminals a legitimate subject for scientific inquiry.
2.2.2 Modern Criminology
At the beginning of the 19th century, scholars began to apply the concepts and
technologies of the rapidly developing biological and behavioural sciences to the study of
crime. For the first time criminologists developed typologies of crime and criminals and
attempted to identify patterns between these typologies and various biological,
psychological, and social characteristics of offenders.

2.2.2.1 The Italian School
The founding of modern scientific criminology is generally credited to the so-called Italian
school and to the work of its three principal exponents–Cesare Lombroso, Enrico Ferri, and
RaffaeleGarofalo. The first edition of Lombroso's most important
work, L'uomodelinquente (The Criminal Man, 1876), attracted a great deal of attention
because it appeared to demonstrate the feasibility of a genuinely scientific study of
criminal behaviour.
Lombroso asserted that criminals are a distinct physical and biological type. He believed
that the true criminal could be identified by observing certain physical traits, including a
long lower jaw, asymmetric cranium, and other detectable conditions. These traits,
according to Lombroso, did not cause criminal behaviour, but they revealed an inherent
propensity (inclination) to crime. Lombroso taught that the propensity toward crime was
the result of atavism, a reversion to a more primitive state of human development.
One of Lombroso's students, Enrico Ferri, accepted the existence of a criminal type but
also focused on factors other than inherited physical characteristics as predictors of crime.
He considered social factors such as population trends, religion, and the nature of the
family. Ferri also proposed a more elaborate classification of criminal types, including the
born or instinctive criminal, the insane criminal, the passionate criminal, the involuntary
criminal, the occasional criminal, and the habitual criminal. According to Ferri, the last two
types were not innate criminals but rather the products of unfortunate family or
environmental circumstances. By explaining criminal behaviour on the basis of social
factors as well as inherited traits, Ferri expanded the scope of criminology.
Italian lawyer RaffaeleGarofalo's major contribution to modern criminology is the concept

of natural crime, which he argued was the principal concern of criminologists. According
to Garofalo, natural or true crime is conduct that, when evaluated against the average moral
sense of the community, offends the basic altruistic (unselfish) sense of humankind. The
true criminal is one who lacks the basic altruistic sentiments of pity and honesty. Garofalo
believed that the true criminal is a distinct biological or psychic type and that the altruistic

deficiencies were organic or inherited. Still, Garofalo acknowledged that certain forms of
criminal behaviour might be encouraged by social and environmental circumstances.
The Italian school made a valuable contribution to criminology by stimulating thought and
writing about crime and criminals. It focused attention on the offender as an appropriate
object of study, which the 18th-century reformers had not done. Finally, the work of the
Italian school framed the so-called nature-versus-nurture debate (whether biological or
social factors create behaviours) that became a principal theme throughout the
development of modern criminology.
2.2.2.2 Criminology in the United States
Scholars in the United States soon became interested in European thought and writing in
the field of criminology. Two important events in the early development of scientific
criminology in the United States were the National Conference on Criminal Law and
Criminology held in Chicago, Illinois, in 1909 and the establishment of the American
Institute of Criminal Law and Criminology. The institute translated several important
European works not previously available to the English-reading audience. Thereafter,
criminology became a recognized subspecialty of study in many U.S. universities and in
public and private research agencies.
Much of the development of modern criminology beyond that of the Italian school took
place in the United States. The disciplines of psychology and sociology dominated
criminological thought and research throughout the first half of the 20th century. Scholars
developed theories of criminal behaviour that were offshoots of more general
psychological and sociological theories. For example, theories of crime that attributed
criminal behaviour to the social disorganization of urban areas developed as part of more
general theories regarding the relationship of humans to their environment. The same
general theories were used to explain the distribution of other social phenomena such
as mental illness.
During this time period criminologists developed a diverse collection of theories of

criminal behaviour based upon very different disciplinary assumptions. Eventually,

sociology came to dominate the emerging field of criminology in the United States. Most
of the work in criminology was done by sociologists, and most of the more popular
theories emphasized the role of social factors in encouraging criminal behaviour.
The dominance that social science disciplines had over the evolution of criminology in the
United States led to a much greater emphasis on empirical testing than theorizing. The
members of the Italian school and their successors in Europe did very little empirical
testing of theories. Scholarship in Europe followed methods of deduction and argument.
Practitioners of the emerging social sciences in the United States adopted a more scientific
approach to building theory, emphasizing the collection and analysis of data on the social
causes of criminal behaviour.
2.2.3 Independent Criminology
In the late 1960s and early 1970s criminology began to emerge from the more established
social sciences and became a discipline in its own right. The number of instructional
programs in criminology and criminal justice by themselves increased significantly.
Existing professional associations, such as the American Society of Criminology, grew
substantially, new professional organizations such as the Academy of Criminal Justice
Sciences were formed, and the number of criminology journals increased. Much of this
development was due to the availability of government funding for criminological research
and statistical analysis.
The evolution toward an independent criminology freed the discipline from the dominance
of sociology. Theories of criminal behaviour became more multidisciplinary and included
a greater variety of causal factors, including biological, psychological, and sociological
factors. New technologies helped increase the emphasis on empirical testing of theories,
which had begun in the era of modern criminology. Large-scale surveys of victims and
self-report surveys of criminals provided data on crime and criminals independent of police
and correctional records. In keeping with the new multidisciplinary nature of criminology,
public and private funding encouraged the formation of multidisciplinary groups of
researchers to engage in data collections.

2.2.4 The Goals of Criminology
The classical criminologists of the 18th century were primarily concerned with ending
brutality and inequality against criminals by enforcing limitations on government power.
They believed that criminal behaviour was the product of the offender's rational choice,
and that crime could be prevented through the speedy and certain application of penalties
that attached painful and unattractive consequences to such behaviour. Beginning in the era
of modern criminology, the emphasis of the discipline shifted. Criminologists sought to
develop theories to explain why crime occurred. They no longer relied as strongly on
explanations of crime based on the offender's rational choice. Instead, they attributed
criminal behaviour to the motivation to commit crime and the social context that allows
people to pursue criminal inclinations.
Contemporary scholars believe that criminal motivation is the product of one or more of a
complex set of factors. These factors are so numerous and so varied that no system of
classification can describe the current theories of crime causation with complete accuracy.
However, broadly speaking these theories may be considered in one of the following three
categories:
 Theories attributing criminal behaviour to biological or congenital (inherited)

defects of the offender,
 Theories relating crime to psychological factors or mental disorders, and
 Theories relating crime to environmental or social factors.
Many criminologists have suggested theories of multiple causation involving factors from
more than one of these categories.
2.3 THE NATURE OF CRIME AND CRIMINAL LAW

The nature of crime embodies the offences made against the state representing society and
the population. Within this concept is the operation of principles going to the rights of the
victim and the accused in the criminal law process. This criminal law process encompasses
the commission and elements of the crime (actusreus-action of the accused and mensrea-
intention of the accused) and causal link to make out the crime; the criminal investigation

by the police; the criminal trial process under the adversarial system; the standard of proof
beyond reasonable doubt; and the verdict to sentencing options available to the judiciary.
2.3.1 PERSPECTIVES ON THE NATURE OF CRIME

Crime has both legal and societal definitions. Two perspectives that can be used to explain
the nature of a crime from a definitive angle are Legal perspective and Normative
perspective. This is supported by Stephens and Cloete (2004) who distinguished two broad
approaches in which the concept of crime can be defined namely the juridical approach and
the non-juridical approach.
NB- there are various views on crime by different authorities.
2.3.1.1LEGAL PERSPECTIVE/ JURIDICAL APPROACH.

From a legal perspective, crime can be taken as an action that is prohibited by law or
culpable and can hence attract punishment or sanctions from the state. Hence in this regard,
a crime is an offense because it is defined as so under the law.
Burchell and Hunt (1976) stated that the juridical approach defines crime as violation of
the law for which the state may exact punishment
De Wet and Swanepoel (1975), define a crime as an unlawful activity, that is, an act at
variance with either prohibition or an injunction, and which is punishable by the
authorities. This implies that legally, Crime is the violation of the criminal laws and will
result in punishment.
The Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act [Chapter 9:23] define “crime” means
any conduct punishable by the code or as a criminal offence in any other enactment. This is
supported by Masango (1994) who aptly stated that crime is a conduct which common or
statute law prohibits and expressly or impliedly subjects to a punishment which is
remissible excusable) by the state alone and which the offender cannot avoid by his own
act once he has been convicted.
2.3.1.1.1 Legal Elements of a Crime (Essential Elements)

The juridical elements of crime are:-

 The act (actusreus). It is a wrongful deed that, if combined with the other elements
of a crime, may result in the legal arrest, trial, and conviction of the accused. The
act can either be a commission or an omission
 Guilty mind (mensrea). ‘Mensrea’ literally means “guilty mind”. The mental
design or purpose to commit crime is the essence of intent. The state of mind is
referring to the wilful commission of an act or the omission of an act. Intent
pertains to the state of mind or mental attitude with which a person does an act.
 Unlawfulness of the act. The act should be violating of conflicting the criminal
law. In other words it is an illegal act which is prohibited by the law.
 The element of punishment. This means that after the act (the unlawful act) has
been committed, punishment must be imposed. As mentioned in the juridical
definition of crime punishment is imposed by the State through statutory
provisions. The punishment maybe in form of fine, prison sentence, community
service, among other methods.
(This is covered in depth in Criminal Law)
2.3.1.2 NORMATIVE PERSPECTIVE/NON-JURIDICAL APPROACH

When it comes to the normative perspective, a crime is taken to be a violation of norms
that are prevailing at a given time by the commission or omission of a proscribed
behaviour. Hence in this regard, the behaviour of humans is proscribed by cultural
standards. Hagan (2013) further elaborated that, when exploring the nature as well as
extent of crime, criminologists tend to concern themselves mainly with either the criminal
or the crime he commits rather than the role of the society in relation to criminal behaviour.
As far as the commission of a crime is concerned, the society too is to blame the reasoning
being that the commission of a crime is motivated by a myriad of social conditions.
Stephen and Cloete (2004) provide the non-juridical definition of crime as other forms of
behaviour, not punishable by the state, but deviating from the norms of the society. This
means that crime is defined as any violation of social norms and values as articulated by
the cultures of a given society. The non-juridical elements of crime:-
 Antisocial act;

 Harmful act;
 Harmful to society or next of kin and also harmful to criminal him/herself.
2.3.1.3 HOW DOES AN ACT/OMISSION BECOME A CRIME?

 Certain acts or type of conduct are frowned upon by society. (rape, robbery, theft,
murder)
 As a means of showing that certain acts are detested by society, laws are put in place
(by the State) to prohibit and punish such conduct. Hence the existence of the
Criminal Code and other various statutes.
 As a Society generally we know conduct that is right or wrong, hence a crime would
be a wrong against the society as opposed to a wrong against an individual.
 As a wrong against Society, the State is responsible for prosecuting and punishing
wrongdoers for acts committed against the society. Hence, all criminal cases that are
reported we often hear prosecutors saying “…in case of the State Vs X” as the State
stands in to represent the Society.
 As a society grows or develops crimes also tend to develop and change.
 What was a crime before ceases to be a crime
 These changes are often brought about by democratization of a Country – Zimbabwe
Independence, or introduction of a new supreme law such as the Constitution or even
a changes in societal norms and values as to how we view certain conduct
2.3.2 THE NATURE OF CRIMINAL LAW

 Criminal Law -a set of rules to regulate conduct of people within society. Those who
commit crimes are seen as being a social menace. They cause instability and disorder
within society.
 Burchell and Milton (Principles of Criminal Law) state that the criminal law is a social
mechanism that is used to coerce members of society, through threat of pain and
suffering, to abstain from conduct which is harmful to various interests of society.
Its object is to promote the welfare of society and its members by establishing and
maintaining peace and order.

 The criminal law is a branch of public law. That is the law which is concerned with the
relationship of members of the community and the state.
 Criminal Law is also a branch of Substantive Law. Substantive law defines the content
of the law. Substantive law informs us as to what the law actually is or what constitutes
the law. For instance, The Criminal Law Codification and Reform Act of Zimbabwe
section 47 (1) states; any person who causes the death of another person;
(a) Intending to kill the other person; or
(b) Realising that there is a real risk or possibility that his or her conduct may
cause death, and continues to engage in that conduct despite the risk or
possibility, shall be guilty of murder.
 In its broadest sense criminal law is the branch of national law which defines certain
forms of conduct as crimes, and provides for the punishment of those persons who have
criminal capacity and who unlawfully and with a guilty mind commit a crime.
2.3.2.1 PURPOSE OF CRIMINAL LAW

 The main purpose of the criminal law is to prevent socially intolerable conduct or, at
least, to hold unacceptable conduct within socially acceptable limits.
 By threatening punishment the criminal law tries to suppress anti-social conduct
likely to disrupt society.
 Criminal Law seeks to protect the interest of society against murderous, rapist,
treasonous tendencies within society.
 So the State steps in to criminalize these acts/misconduct and impose criminal
penalties such as Capital punishment, incarceration, fines etc
 These punishments should ideally cause suffering and send a message to would be
offenders within society that certain conduct is against social norms
2.3.2.2 ESSENTIAL PRINCIPLES IN CRIMINAL LAW

Basic principles essential for understanding the criminal law include the concepts of
criminal acts, criminal intent, the concurrence between acts and intent, causality,
responsibility, and defences. (Professors Jerome Hall and Wayne R. LaFave).

 Criminal Act, a crime involves an act or failure to act. You cannot be punished for
bad thoughts. This criminal act is called actusreusin the form of a commission or
an omission.
 Criminal Intent, a crime requires a criminal intent or mensreaCriminal punishment
is ordinarily directed at individuals who intentionally, knowingly, recklessly, or
negligently harm other individuals or property.
 Concurrence, The criminal act and criminal intent must coexist or accompany one
another.
 Causation, The defendant’s act must cause the harm required for criminal guilt,
death in the case of homicide, and the burning of a home or other structure in the
case of arson.
 Responsibility, individuals must receive reasonable notice of the acts that are
criminal so as to make a decision to obey or to violate the law. In other words, the
required criminal act and criminal intent must be clearly stated in a statute. No
crime without law, no punishment without law.
 Defences, criminal guilt is not imposed on an individual who is able to
demonstrate, that his or her criminal act is justified or excused who is the individual
suffered from a disability that prevented him or her from forming a criminal intent.
Generally, criminal law prohibit conduct that causes harm or threatens the public interest;
defines and warns people of the acts that are subject to criminal punishment; distinguishes
between serious and minor offenses; and imposes punishment to protect society and to
satisfy the demands for retribution, rehabilitation, and deterrence. This is supported by
Hagan (2013) who stated that the purpose of the Texas criminal code is to “establish a
system prohibitions, penalties, and correctional measures to deal with conduct that
unjustifiably and inexcusably causes or threatens harm to those individual or public
interests for which state protection is appropriate,”. In Zimbabwe the Criminal Law
(Codification and Reform) Act has the same effect.

NB The laws and perspectives of particular jurisdictions can rightfully define crime.
Norms and values differ from nation to nation as a result certain behaviour may be
prohibited as it will constitute a crime in one nation but will not be a crime in another. For
example homosexuality is allowed in South Africa whilst in Zimbabwe is a taboo and
regarded as a serious offence. It is also important to note that the laws of any society are
not constant as the society itself is not constant therefore the laws changes with time with
new laws being gazetted and put into effect and others being abrogated by disuse due to
lapse of time. For example in Zimbabwe adultery was once a crime but was abrogated by
disuse and is no longer punishable by the state but the aggrieved party can seek remedies
through the civil court.
2.4 CAUSATION OF CRIME
The study of criminology targets why individuals commit crimes and why they behave in
certain situations. By understanding why a person commits a crime, one can develop ways
to control crime or rehabilitate the criminal.
There are many explanations and theories in criminology which explain the causation of
crime. In the causation of crime we are trying to answer these two questions, “What makes
a person turn to crime" e.g. "why did Billy kill his mother" in which it involves motives,
environmental factors, subjective feelings e.t.c. and Kinds of environment theories–“Why
is crime higher in the inner cities?" or “Why does the Zimbabwe have a much higher rate
of crime than other nations?” or “Why is the highest rate of violence in the Southern
states?.There are three major causes of crime which are biological, psychological and
societal factors.
However, it is important to note that even criminologists disagree amongst themselves

about critical and fundamental issues such as nature and definition of crime, what
constitutes criminal behaviour and what causes people to engage in criminality. This arises
from differing orientations of their distinct fields such as psychology, biology, sociology
and many others.

2.4.1 BIOLOGICAL FACTORS

They are certain biological deviation or certain biological factors which may predispose
the individual towards criminal behaviour. According to Stephen and Cloete (2011), the
biological factors which can cause crime are growth and development, physical aberration
and the conditions caused by a disease.
Growth and Development-this is found from birth to old age. Individual will be growing
mentally, physically and intellectually through all the phases of life. And each phase will
be having its own characteristics and changes. More so the influence of people surround
oneself can change the behaviour of a person, and so as to criminal behaviour.
Physical aberrations-normal physical development is needed especially in juvenile so as

for he or she to participate in all activities in life. When a juvenile is fit he or she feels self-
conscious but if physical attributes are marred by deviation he or she fells inferior.
Condition caused by ill health-physical ailments. Poor heath may have psychological
consequences and may lead to criminal behaviour. Poor heath can contribute to poor
educational achievements, feelings of failure and an individual can turn to crime to
compensate.
2.4.2 PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS

These are the individual characteristics that can contribute to behaviour in this case
criminal behaviour.
Self-concept-this is also called the self-image which is the way a person see him or herself
and the perception that she or he forms himself or herself. This may be labelling which
may led to the development of poor self-concept. Some causes may be parental criticism or
criticism from the teacher and from peers. This criticism may result in low self-esteem and
may give rise to criminal behaviour.

Stress-stress is characterized by a general sense of being threatened and feeling of

inadequate and helplessness which can cause emotional and physiological reaction. Some
causes of stress include poverty, family conflict, and health problems etc. If stress occurs
people can change internally or externally hence too many stress factors may lead a person
to commit crime.
Aggression-powerful reactions to the effects of passion and anger hostility which result
from frustration. Aggression is used to remove frustration. Some people get angry quickly
when provoked and may easily turn to violence. Some causes of aggression are family
violence or abuse and due to failure to control the anger this lead to a crime to be
committed.
Depression-the major feature of depression is an intense feeling of misery and symptoms

such as loss of interest, lack of appetite, sleep disorders, weight loss, low self-esteem poor
concentration and many more. This may lead to suicide. According to Stephens &Cloete
(2010), often a person in a state of depression thinks that he or she and her family would be
better off if she or he were died.
MENTAL ABBERATTION
Mental aberration had two major types which are the schizophrenia and Paranoia.
Schizophrenia
Catatonic schizophrenia-this are the people who are hyper active mainly violence outburst
and aggression occurs. They may lead to damage of property and even of injure themselves
or others.
Paranoid schizophrenia- these are hostile and aggression because of their delusion and
hallucinations. They believe that their life is in danger or that they had been called to save
the world from someone.
Paranoia
These have some kind of delusion.

The Jealousy Type–they are convinced that, without any other cause, a spouse or loved one
is unfaithful. They continuously accuse the spouse of unfaithfulness and they attack their
spouse or their loved ones, Murder is possible in this case.
The grandiose type-these believe that they possess some extraordinary ability. They mainly
lead or they are leaders of religious sectors. And they end up abuse their followers to an
extent that they can convince them that they should commit suicide.
PERSONALITY DISORDERS
Personality disorders refer to personality traits which are exaggerated and out of control
and which create problems for others. Such people blame others for their problems and
don’t see the need to change themselves. Some have schizoid personality, paranoid
personality, antisocial personality formerly psychopath or sociopath with antisocial
behaviour which can start at early stage, lying, truancy, resistance to authority, aggressive
sexual behaviour, alcohol and drug abuse at adolescence. And at adulthood an antisocial
can develop poor work performance, inability to accept social norms. They can believe that
hurting or harming, maltreating others is justified.
2.4.3 SOCIETAL FACTORS

Conduct in life of a person is practically determined by the society in which he/she lives.
Therefore, social conditions affect the conduct of a person, just as the economic conditions
affect. It is evident that personality develops in the social environment. If these
environments are of such a nature as to bring out the person inherent qualities which are
already adapted to the present social life. A person begins to inhibit the present social
characteristics by his antisocial conduct when we are under the impression that the person
is behaving as per norms of the society. Some factors include the people’s social
environment, the home/family, school, community, recreational facilities, politics an
economy and many more.
Home and family

All individual have homes and they came from different families. Home is the environment
which exerts a powerful influence on an individual. From birth a child is supported and

natured by the family. His or her personality is being moulded in the family. This will lead
to the development of social and moral character. However this moulding will depend on
quality of parenthood. The parents must provide the following to avoid criminal behaviour,
 Physical and mental adequacy; Marital bond (intact) parents must be together, and
to be role models of their children;
 Security-parents must provide security to their kids, to show love and
understanding to their children and also to provide all the basic needs that is food,
shelter and clothes. Failure to do that will led children to engage criminal
behaviour;
 Religious and cultural adequacy-spiritual aspects to the kids, teaching them the
religious principles and to be aware of both religious and social norms for them to
know the acceptable behaviour;
 Educational and moral development-positive moral influence on children.
Incomplete family
These can also be referred to as broken families in which one or both parents are no longer
at home. This may be caused by divorce, deceased, or one parent in prison. Step
relationship and or illegitimate birth can contribute to criminal behaviour. Most
delinquencies came from broken homes due to lake of discipline on children who left alone
for a lengthy period of time. Step parent conflict at home, on divorced parents , may cause
one parent to influence children against another parent, and since a child would love both
parents he or she can be confused by that mentorship and can end up not listening to.
Economic status of the family

The material welfare of the family, or the condition of family. According to Stephen and
Cloete(2010), investigations show that a large percentage of children coming from poor
and very poor families commit crime”, this maybe caused when people desire luxury in
which some families possess some things in which they don’t have. So they may desire to
possess those things but not having money to buy, and this will lead to delinquency.
Housing Conditions

People living in slam and overcrowding conditions are prone to criminal activities. So
overcrowding is of special importance on developing criminal behaviour. Poor home, bad
buildings may lead a child to lose self-respect when he or she meet new friends in the
street. Same room habitation may cause intimate aspect of married life and this can lead to
early sex misbehaviour and Incest. No enough room to play may cause conflict in the
family so the kids will prefer to go outside and play. If he or she met bad company it leads
to the development of criminal behaviour.
Migratory Families
Most financially unstable families are believed to be very migratory from place to place,
country to country (larger Cities), and children from school to school. This may due to
failure to pay rent or creditors so a child will never learn to face responsibilities. Or when
children move to larger cities they may often get into contact with gangs who deal in
alcohol and drugs as such the child may participate in all these ill-social activities. From
one school to another will require the children the need for new friends, new teacher, new
environment that’s normally called maladjustment. So if a child fail to adapt chances are
that he may be develop delinquency behaviour or truancy.
Parental aberrations
Alcoholism-alcoholic parent or parents can contribute to delinquency among the children,
mainly due conflict and ill-treatment within the family. Children will lose respect to an
alcoholic parent. Criminal activities of parents such as prostitution, thievery may influence
the behaviour of children as they imitate such behaviour.
Peer groups
The detrimental influence of bad company is an important cause of delinquency.
School
Schools as a secondary institution of socialization play an important part in moulding
behaviour. Adjusting to school environments maybe easy or difficult to children this may
cause children to start behaving negatively by indulging in anti-social activities. More so

academic achievement contribute to delinquency, less interest in school work leads to

truancy, bad companion and even school dropout.
Spare time activities

Using spare time constructively will develop sound behaviour patterns whilst enriching
both physical and spiritual being of a person. Wrong kind of entertainment and leisure time
wrongly spend will led to crime.
Media
Media (TV, radio, magazine, phones, whatsapp, Facebook) plays a significant role in the
transfer of moral and values to people.
Politics
Politics have a greater influence in the development of criminal behaviour in some people.
Criminal deviance may start through protesting, influence from the political leader to
destruct property and other infrastructure. Even people may learn bad language, insulting
and vulgar language.
Alcoholism
Many people who commit crime may be under the influence of alcohol. This mainly
happened when people are addicted to alcohol. Juveniles who consume alcohol end up
showing undesirable behaviour. Alcohol contributes largely to the public order crimes.
Class and Religion

Frequently, social conditions within these areas are unfavourable to the development of a
socially desirable personality’s conduct. The mutual relations between parents and their
children are extremely significant. Very strict or too lenient treatment parental discord in
handling the children or favouritism over one or the other of the children have been closely
observed by scholars and regarded to play a very important part in creating a criminal of a
child. It is in the home that most of the behaviour patterns are effectively set and therefore,

better or worse children turn the values and attitudes which find expression in meeting the
tests of later life by which they may be branded as virtuous or criminal.
Population and Crime:

The population of the world is becoming double every thirty five years, adding 70 million
people every year. As a result cities are getting overcrowded and ugly. Naturally this
causes breeding of crime and disease. Unrestricted increase of industrial population is
leading to the breakdown the barrios of society. Hence the population explosion is a
dilemma. We can compare the crime rate along with the growing population.
Overcrowding definitely causes social, moral and mental problems. Modern scientific
investigations have revealed how even rats and cats degenerate in a crowded living
condition. Thus, the population increase and urbanization have together caused serious
problems in establishing healthy urban units and there is now a challenge to healthy human
existence because of prostitution, hurting rioting, thefts looting etc.
Population Density and Crime

There is a co-relation between population and percentage of crime. The highest population
indicates highest crime rate. If population density is high then the crimes rate is also high.
2.5 THEORIES OF CRIMINOLOGY
As highlighted before, criminology deals with the scientific study of criminals and criminal
behaviour. Criminologists attempt to build theories that explain why crimes occur and test
those theories by observing behaviour. Criminological theories help shape society's
response to crime both in terms of preventing criminal behaviour and responding to it after
it occurs. There are a number of theories relating to criminology
2.5.1 CLASSICAL SCHOOL

Classical criminology grew out of a reaction against the barbaric system of law, justice and
punishment that was in existence before 1789. It sought an emphasis on free will and
human rationality. The Classical School was not interested in studying criminals, but rather
law-making and legal processing. Crime, they believed, was activity engaged in out of total

free will and that individuals weighed the consequences of their actions. Punishment is
made in order to deter people from committing crime and it should be greater than the
pleasure of criminal gains. Classical theory emphasized a legal definition of crime rather
than what defined criminal behaviour. The Declaration of Independence and the US
Constitution reflect the Classical movement, thus the law of today is classical in nature.
Simplified, this theory suggests that people think before they proceed with criminal
actions; that when one commits a crime, it is because the individual decided that it was
advantageous to commit the crime. The individual commits the crime from his own free
will being well aware of the punishment.
Two famous writers during this classical period were CesareBeccaria(1738-1794) and
Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832), both led the movement to human rights and free will.
Becceria thought that crime could be traced to bad laws, not to bad people. A new modern
criminal justice system would be needed to guarantee equal treatment of all people before
the law. His famous book, On Crimes and Punishment presented a new design for the
criminal justice system that served all people. His book dubbed him the "father of modern
criminology."
Bentham's concern was upon utilitarianism which assumed the greatest happiness for the
greatest number. Utilitarianism justice wants to punish a criminal whilst punishing them as
it has the greatest benefit to society. He believed that individuals weigh the probabilities of
present and future pleasures against those of present and future pain. Thus people acted as
human calculators, he believed, and that they put all factors into a sort of mathematical
equation to decide whether or not to commit an illegal act. He believed then that
punishment should be just a bit in excess of the pleasures derived from an act and not any
higher than that. The law exists to create happiness for all, thus since punishment creates
unhappiness it can be justified if it prevents greater evil than it produces.
Simplified Choice theory is the belief that individuals choose to commit a crime, looking at
the opportunities before them, weighing the benefit versus the punishment, and deciding

whether to proceed or not. This cost-benefit analysis primarily focuses on the idea that we
all have the choice to proceed with our actions because of the punishment involved; we are
deterred from committing the crime.
2.5.2 POSITIVE SCHOOL
Positivists, unlike the classical reformers, sought to explain the world around them. They
saw behaviour as determined by biological, psychological, and social traits. They focused
on a deterministic view of the world, on criminal behaviour instead of legal issues, and the
prevention of crime through the treatment (or reformation) of offenders.
The use of scientific techniques was important to the positivists. Data was collected in
order to explain different types of individuals and social phenomena. Naturalists and
anthropologists formed the theory of evolution which was a very critical component to the
study of human criminal behaviour by the positivists. Humans were responsible for their
own destinies.
The focus on positivism then is on systematic observations and the accumulation of

evidence and objective fact within a deductive frame work, thus moving from a general
statement to a more specific one. Cesare Lombroso (1835-1909) replaced the notion of
free will and rationality with the notion of determinism. Together with his followers,
Enrico Ferri and RaffaeleGarofalo, he developed the positivist school of criminology
which sought explanations for criminal behaviour through scientific research and
experimentation. Lombroso believed in the "criminal born" man and woman. He
believed they had physical features of ape like creatures that were not fully developed as
humans were. Lombroso measured thousands of live and dead prisoners to prove his
theory. He noted that criminals lacked moral sense, had an absence of remorse and used
much slang. Lombroso later added social and economic factors to his list of crime
causation but said they were second in nature to biological, predetermined factors. His
theory however has been kept alive, not by agreement but by much criticism.
However, in the face of those critics new theories are more sophisticated than those of the
late 19th and early 20th centuries. Current theories rely on specific features of genes or the

brain, rather than appearance, as physical indicators of a propensity toward crime. They
are less deterministic than earlier biological theories, meaning that they recognize the
substantial influence of social factors in addition to or in interaction with biologically
caused predispositions to crime.
Two different types of biological or, more accurately, biosocial theories exist. One set of
theories emphasizes genetic factors–that is, the traits transmitted from parents to offspring.
Other studies emphasize irregularities in neurological development that might undermine
certain self-controls that inhibit criminality. These irregularities may occur in the structure
of the brain or in the chemical composition of the brain.
a) Genetic Factors
The evidence for an association between genetic makeup and criminality comes from
empirical studies of identical twins (who have the same genetic makeup) and adopted
children (who are genetically dissimilar from other family members). These studies
attempt to show that biological inheritance affects the tendency toward criminality
independently of or in conjunction with the social environment.
Studies of the interrelationship between the criminal tendencies of parents and children
have found that children whose parents are involved in crime are more likely to engage in
criminal behaviour than children whose parents were law abiding. This finding is
unsurprising due to a number of sociological factors that influence the children. Studies of
twins provide somewhat more persuasive evidence.
Researchers have compared identical twins to fraternal twins (who share no more genes
than siblings who are not twins). In most studies of twins, the degree of consistency
between the criminality of identical twins is approximately twice that of fraternal twins.
While this evidence is more persuasive than family studies, it is still possible that identical
twins may be treated more similarly in social environments than fraternal twins. Studies of
identical and fraternal twins reared apart would provide more accurate indications of the
relative contributions of biology and socialization. However, such situations are very rare
and only scattered case studies of this type have been done.

Finally, comparisons have been made between the criminal involvement of parents and
their adoptive children and that of the children's biological parents. In most cases
criminality of the biological parent is a better predictor of the child's criminal involvement
than the criminality of the adoptive parents.
The evidence for a link between genetic makeup and a predisposition to criminality
remains inconclusive. New technologies to map DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) may
identify specific gene patterns that are associated with predispositions toward criminal
behaviour.
b). Neurological Abnormalities
The second major type of biological theory of criminality emphasizes the role of
neurological factors. Studies in this area focus on abnormalities in brain functioning that
reduce inhibitions toward aggression.
Abnormalities affecting aggression may occur in the structure of the brain. Researchers
have discovered a positive relationship between aggressive behaviour–including violent
crime–and an impairment of the frontal lobe of the brain's cerebrum. This means that when
researchers look for one factor, either abnormality or aggression, they often find the other
factor as well.
Another type of dysfunction that may be related to aggression is chemical imbalances in

the brain. Human thoughts, behaviour, and emotions depend upon the transmission of
electrical impulses within the central nervous system. The gaps between cells in the
nervous system are called synapses and the chemicals that enable the flow of electrical
impulses across the synapses are called neurotransmitters. Scientists believe that
abnormally low levels of neurotransmitters interrupt the flow of electronic impulses,
thereby short-circuiting emotions such as sympathy or empathy that can inhibit aggressive
behaviour. Researchers have found a relationship between levels of specific
neurotransmitters, such as serotonin, and certain antisocial behaviours, including violence.

2.5.3 CHICAGO SCHOOL (Sociological Perspective)

The theme of the Chicago school focused upon human behaviour as determined by social
and physical environmental factors, rather than genetic, personal characteristics. The
school believed the community to be a major factor on human behaviour and that the city
functioned as a microcosm.
Researchers from this school developed empirical sociology that is, studying humans in
their natural environment rather than an armchair look at the social environment. Chicago
theorists combined data, such as individual cases with population statistics which
constructed an important foundation that has since been the basis for many criminological
theories of today.
Members of this school focused upon the city of Chicago (hence the name) as a source for
many answers to its probing questions. Many scholars of this time believed that
urbanization and mobility into the city was a cause for many of the problems experienced
at the time.
Crime was fostered mainly in the slums. Many unemployed people, male, female, young
and old, became transients. A plethora of social problems emerged, ranging from poor
sanitation, inadequate housing, juvenile gangs, vice, to name a few. People were no longer
closely-knit, nor were communities familiar. Many had no one to turn to during these
troubled times. Crime was mainly fostered in the slum areas, where many of the
immigrants lived. People began to form their own support groups and gangs, which
emphasized deviant values. All of this served as a laboratory for the new sociologists at the
University of Chicago.
The school contributed two methods of study. The first was the usage of official data, such
as census reports, housing/welfare records and crime figures. High areas of crime, truancy
and poverty were applied to different geographical areas of the city. The second method
was the life history, as first studied by early Chicago school theorist, W.I. Thomas. This
contributed a shift away from theoretical abstracts to more concrete approaches of the real

world and real world related phenomena. The process of becoming deviant or criminal was
explained by psycho-social phenomena. They wanted to present human behaviour in its
natural environment, and this is why the Chicago School is often referred to as the
Ecological School.
Further observations by researchers provided a clear analysis that the city was a place
where life is superficial, where people are anonymous, where relationships are transitory
and friendship and family bonds are weak. They saw the weakening of primary social
relationships as leading to a process of social disorganization.
Chicago criminologists clearly saw pathology in the city which led to criminality. Much of
the research conducted by Shaw and McKay illustrated this point. The Chicago School
clearly stressed humans as social creatures and their behaviour as a product of their social
environment. The social environment provides values and definitions that govern
behaviour. Urbanization and industrialization break down older and more cohesive patterns
of values, thus creating communities with competing norms and value systems. The
breakdown of urban life results in basic institutions such as the family, friendships and
other social groups to become so impersonal, almost anonymous. As values became
fragmented, opposing definitions about proper behaviour arise and come into conflict with
other behaviour.
Disorganization is more prevalent in the centre of the urbanized city, and decreases with
distance. Thus, crime developed through frequent contact with criminal traditions, goals
and values that have developed over a period of time in disorganized areas of the city.
Classical School Positive School Chicago School Criminological Theory
Cohen &Felson's Routine Activities

Larry Cohen and Marcus Felson proposed their Routine Activities theory in 1979. It
remained very popular in the 1980s. Their theory is closely linked with the Rational Choice
perspective in that it focuses on the characteristics of crime rather than on the
characteristics of the offender. Cohen and Felson argue that there will always be a vast

supply of crime motivation and that such motivation and supply of offenders remains
constant. They state that three crucial components are necessary for a predatory criminal
act, that is, violent crimes against the person and crimes which an offender attempts to steal
a direct object. These three elements include motivated offenders, suitable targets,
(something worth taking), and the absence of capable guardians, (in order to prevent
would be criminal acts). If one such component is missing, crime is not likely to occur. If
all three elements are present, then the chances for crime increase.
Cohen and Felson argue that the rate in which crime rises is equal to the number of suitable
targets and the absence of individuals to protect those targets. The routine patterns of work,
play, and leisure affect the convergence in time and place of the would be offenders,
suitable targets, and absence of guardians, they argue. The number of caretakers, acting as
guardians, who are at home during the day, has decreased because of an increase
participation of women into the work force. Homes are often left unguarded while both
parents are at work and children are either in day care or at school. Also, the growth of
suburban living and the declining rate of traditional neighbourhoods has decreased the
number of familiar guardians, such as family, neighbours, or friends. Finally, the baby
boom generation coming of age during the years1960 to 1980 resulted in an excess number
of motivated offenders.
Routine Activities states that criminal offenses are related to the nature of everyday
patterns of social interaction. Cohen and Felson used their approach to explain the rise in
crime between the years 1960 to1980. They were concerned with the changes occurring in
society, which they believed led to social-disorganization, which further led to crime
opportunity. Their perspective shows that crime is not solely related to biological and
psychological characteristics, nor to social or economic conditions, but that it is just as
important to concentrate on situational factors which give rise to criminal opportunity.
Routine Activities approach is important to crime prevention and to the changing of
conditions and circumstances in which crime is committed.

One measure of situational crime prevention is target hardening. Target hardening makes it
more difficult for offenders to carry out crimes on specific targets. The use of locked doors,
windows, alarm systems, watch dogs, and community crime watch programs are all
examples of target hardening--making it harder to become a victim of crime.
Social Disorganization
The growth of cultural relativity, that is, the view that cultures are not better or worse than
one another, but simply different, in sociology led to a questioning of the existence of a
universal set of values. The pronounced social changes following World War I and the
Great Depression, included immigration, urbanization, and industrialization into the U.S.
The crowding of large cities and the cultural diversity within them led to a huge urban
development, which was conducive to deviance. An explanation was needed to sort out and
understand these new phenomena. The concept of Social Disorganization is largely
associated with the "Chicago School" of sociology and was based on the work of W.I.
Thomas and Florian Znanieckias well as Clifford Shaw and Henry McKay, to name a
few. Thus, the term social disorganization refers to both an explanation of deviance and a
state of society that produces it. It was the result of intellectual development that had taken
place since 1910 in Sociology. It rooted its explanation of deviance in social norms and
community activities.
Crime was seen as a product of uneven development in society, with change and conflict
which affects the behaviour of those within it. This theory emphasized that society was
organized when people are presumed to have developed agreement about fundamental
values and norms, with behavioural regularity. Social organization, or social order, exists
when there is a high degree of internal bonding to individuals and institutions in a
conventional society. This cohesion consists largely of agreement about goals that are
worth striving for and how to behave and how to not behave. Simply put, social
disorganization is social disorder.
It was believed that social organization involved an integration of customs, teamwork, high
morale, and bonding. This led to harmonious social relationships. Such a group showed

solidarity and homogeneous and traditional behaviour. Social disorganization theorists

believe social disorganization existed in much of city life. They made such a relationship
almost unmistakable. They used the city as their laboratory in which they studied deviance
and crime. They concentrated their research on disorganized local areas, slums or inner-
city areas of high crime, prostitution, suicide and other deviant forms of behaviour. Thus,
in their theoretical framework, social patterns of the urban environment produced social
disorganization, which led to crime and deviance.
Thomas and Znaniecki compared the conditions immigrants had left in Poland with those
they found in Chicago. They also studied the assimilation of Polish immigrants. They
found that older immigrants were not very much affected by the move, due to managing to
continue living as peasants, even in the urban slums. The younger generation did not grow
up on these Polish farms and thus were city dwellers. They had very little traditions of the
Old World and were not assimilated into the new ones. The rates of crime and delinquency
started to rise and Thomas and Znaniecki attributed this to social disorganization, which
they defined as the breakdown of effective social bonds, family and neighbourhood
associations, as wellas social controls in the community. Their study influenced others to
come.
Robert Park and Ernest Burgess introduced an ecological analysis of crime causation.
Ecology is the study of animals and plants and how they relate to one another in their
natural habitat. Park and Burgess then examined area characteristics instead of criminals
for their explanations of high crime. They developed the idea of natural urban areas, which
consisted of concentric zones which extended out from downtown central business district
to the commuter zone at the fringes of the city. Each zone had its own structure and
organization, characteristics and unique inhabitants. This had been known Burgess'
Concentric Zone Theory.
Clifford Shaw and Henry McKay were researchers at the Chicago's Institute for Juvenile
Research and maintained a close relationship with Chicago's Sociology department. They
were interested in Park and Burgess's conception of the "natural urban area" of Chicago

and used this model to investigate the relationship between crime rates--mainly
delinquency--and the various zones of Chicago. They found that the crime rate was
distributed throughout the city, delinquency occurred in the areas nearest to the business
district, that some areas suffered from high consistent delinquency rates no matter the
makeup of the population, that high delinquency areas were characterized by a high
percentage of immigrants, non-whites, lower income famines, and finally, and that high-
delinquency areas had an acceptance of nonconventional norms, which competed with
conventional ones. They collected their data from over 56,000 juvenile court records with
covered a period of time from 1900-1933.
However, there were problems with the concept of social disorganization and these
problems are what contributed to its decline. First, it confused cause and effect. That is, it
described community factors related to crime and deviance, but it must be able to
distinguish the consequences of crime from disorganization itself; it didn't. Many early
social disorganization theorists were not careful in clarifying the concept of
disorganization. Second, social disorganization was rather subjective and judgmental, all
the while pretending to be objective. Observers failed to free themselves from biases and
placed their own value judgments on behaviours. Third, it tried to explain crime as an
almost entirely lower-class phenomenon, and in no way included middle and upper-class
deviance and crime rates. Thus, it was biased, in that it favoured middle-class standards.
Those in the lower strata were assumed to have higher levels of crime rates because their
members lived in the most socially disorganized areas of the city. Fourth, social change
was often confused with social disorganization, and little attention was paid to explain why
some social changes were disorganized and why others were organized. Finally, what is
disorganized? At some times, things may seem like disorganization but at other times, they
may be highly organized systems of competing norms and values. The concept produces a
bit of ambiguity.
Durkheim's Anomie
Emile Durkheim, a French sociologist, introduced the concept of anomie in his book The
Division of Labour in Society, published in 1893. He used anomie to describe a condition
of deregulation that was occurring in society. This meant that rules on how people ought to

behave with each other were breaking down and thus people did not know what to expect
from one another. Anomie, simply defined, is a state where norms (expectations on
behaviours) are confused, unclear or not present. It is normlessness, Durkheim felt that led
to deviant behaviour. In 1897, Durkheim used the term again in his study on Suicide,
referring to a morally deregulated condition. Durkheim was preoccupied with the effects of
social change. He best illustrated his concept of anomie not in a discussion of crime but of
suicide.
In The Division of Labour in Society, Durkheim proposed two concepts. First, that societies
evolved from a simple, non-specialized form, called mechanical, toward a highly complex,
specialized form, called organic. In the former society people behave and think alike and
more or less perform the same work tasks and have the same group-oriented goals. When
societies become more complex, or organic, work also becomes more complex. In this
society, people are no longer tied to one another and social bonds are impersonal.
Anomie thus refers to a breakdown of social norms and it a condition where norms no
longer control the activities of members in society. Individuals cannot find their place in
society without clear rules to help guide them. Changing conditions as well as adjustment
of life leads to dissatisfaction, conflict, and deviance. He observed that social periods of
disruption (economic depression, for instance) brought about greater anomie and higher
rates of crime, suicide, and deviance. Durkheim felt that sudden change caused a state of
anomie. The system breaks down, either during a great prosperity or a great depression,
anomie is the same result.
Merton's Strain Theory

Robert K. Merton, an American sociologist, borrowed Durkheim's concept of anomie to
form his own theory, called Strain Theory. It differs somewhat from Durkheim's in that
Merton argued that the real problem is not created by a sudden social change, as Durkheim
proposed, but rather by a social structure that holds out the same goals to all its members
without giving them equal means to achieve them. It is this lack of integration between
what the culture calls for and what the structure permits that causes deviant behaviour.

Deviance then is a symptom of the social structure. Merton borrowed Durkheim's notion of
anomie to describe the breakdown of the normative system.
Merton's theory does not focus upon crime per say, but rather upon various acts of
deviance, which maybe understood to lead to criminal behaviour. Merton notes that there
are certain goals which are strongly emphasized by society. Society emphasizes certain
means to reach those goals (such as education, hard-work, etc,). However, not everyone
has the equal access to the legitimate means to attain those goals. The stage then is set for
anomie/strain.
Merton presents five modes of adapting to strain caused by the restricted access to socially
approved goals and means. He did not mean that everyone who was denied access to
society's goals became deviant. Rather the responses, or modes of adaptation, depend on
the individual's attitudes toward cultural goals and the institutional means to attain them.
The conformist is the most common mode of adaptation. Such individuals accept both the
goals as well as the prescribed means for achieving the goal. Conformists will accept,
though not always achieve, the goals of society and the means approved for achieving
them. Innovators accept societal goals but have few legitimate means to achieve those
goals, thus they innovate (design) their own means to get ahead. The means to get ahead
may be through robbery, embezzlement or other such criminal acts. Ritualists, the third
adaptation, abandon the goals they once believed to be within their reach and thus dedicate
themselves to their current lifestyle. They play by the rules and have a daily, safe routine.
Retreatists, the fourth fifth adaptation is given to those who give up not only the goals but
also the means. They often retreat into the world of alcoholism and drug addiction. These
individuals escape into a non-productive, non-striving lifestyle. The final adaptation that of
rebel occurs when the cultural goals and the legitimate means are rejected. Individuals
create their own goals and their own means, by protest or revolutionary activity.
Adaptation Means Goal

Conformist Accepts -- Accepts
Innovator Rejects -- Accepts

Ritualist Accepts -- Rejects

Retreatist Rejects -- Rejects
Rebel Revolts/Creates New
`
Subculture Theories
In criminology, subcultures theories emerged as a way to account for delinquency rates
among lower-class males, of these the infamous teenage gang. Subculture theories believe
that the delinquent subcultures emerged in response to the special problems that the
members of mainstream society do not face.
The strain theorists explained crime as a result of frustrations suffered by lower-class

individuals deprived of legitimate means to reach their goals. Cultural deviance theories
assumed that people became deviant by learning the criminal values of the group to which
they belonged to. This laid down the foundation for subculture theories during the 1950s.
A subculture is defined as a subdivision within the dominant culture that has its own
norms, values and belief system. These subcultures emerge when individuals in similar
circumstances find themselves virtually isolated or neglected by mainstream society. Thus
they group together for mutual support. Subcultures exist within the larger society, not
apart from it. The members of the subculture are different from the dominant culture.
The subculture theories we will look at are extensions of strain, social disorganization and
differential association theories. Subculture theories help to explain why subcultures
emerge (extension of strain), why they take a particular shape (extension of social
disorganization), and why they continue from one generation to another (extension of
differential association).
For instance, Marvin Wolfgang and Franco Ferracuti's Subculture of Violence thesis
argues that the value system of some subcultures not only demands but also expects
violence in certain social situations. It is this norm which affects daily behaviour that is in
conflict with the conventional society. Here we will explain the subculture theories
proposed by Albert Cohen, (Subculture of Delinquency), Richard Cloward& Lloyd Ohlin

(Differential Opportunity), Walter Miller (Lower-Class Focal Concerns) and Marvin

Wolfgang & Franco Ferracuti (Subculture of Violence).
To better understand and appreciate subculture theories one must first probe into the
historical time period of the 1950s. The values of the middle class were dominant and
anything else was not considered normal.
Peaking urbanization produced more and more deteriorated cities in America. The suburbs
of the middleclass were emerging. Delinquency was mainly perceived as a problem of the
lower class. The middleclass "we-they" separation led to seeing itself as the far superior
class.
Cohen's Subculture of Delinquency Theory

In 1955 Albert K. Cohen wrote Delinquent Boys. He attempted to look at how such a
subculture began. Cohen found that delinquency among youths was more prevalent among
lower class males and the most common form of this was the juvenile gang. Cohen, a
student of Sutherland and Merton, learned from Sutherland that differential association and
cultural transmission of criminal norms led to criminal behaviour, while Merton taught him
about structurally induced strain.
Delinquent subcultures, according to Cohen, have values that are in opposition to those of
the dominant culture. These subcultures emerge in the slums of some of the nation's largest
cities. Often, they are rooted in class differentials, parental aspirations and school
standards. Cohen notes that the position of one’s family in the social structure determines
the problems the child will later face in life. Thus, they will experience status frustration
and strain and adapt into either a corner boy, college boy, or a delinquent boy.
Corner boys lead a conventional lifestyle, making the best of a bad situation. They spend
most of their time with peers and receive peer support in group activities. These boys are
far and few between. Their chances for success are limited. Cohen argues that their
academic and social handicaps prevent them from living up to middle-class standards.

Delinquent boys, on the other hand, band together to define status. Their delinquent acts
serve no real purpose. They often discard or destroy what they have stolen. Their acts are
random and are directed at people and property. They are a short-run hedonistic subculture
with no planning. They often act on impulse, often without consideration for the future.
Members are loyal to one another and allow no one to restrain their behaviour.
Stealing, in the delinquent gang, serves as a form of achieving peer status within the group,
with no other motive. Cohen declared that all children seek social status, but not everyone
can compete for it in the same way. Reaction-formation, a Freudian defense mechanism,
serves to overcome anxiety, as a hostile overreaction to middle class values can occur. A
delinquent subculture is created to resolve problems of lower-class status.
Much of Cohen's work has been both praised and criticized. It helps to answer questions
that remain unresolved by strain and cultural deviance theories. His notion of status
deprivation and the middle-class measuring rod has been very useful to researchers. His
theory, however, fails to explain why some delinquent subcultures eventually become law-
abiding, even when this social class position is fixed. Later, he expanded his theory to
include not only lower-class delinquents but also variants of middle-class delinquents and
female delinquent subcultures. Cohen's theory stimulated later formations of new theories.
Cloward& Ohlin's Differential Opportunity Theory

In 1959, Richard Cloward noted that Merton's anomie theory specified only one structure
of opportunity. He, however, argued for two and not one. He thus proposed that there are
also illegitimate avenues of structure, in addition to legitimate ones. In 1960 he and Lloyd
Ohlin worked together and proposed a theory of delinquent gangs known as Differential
Opportunity Theory. This theory, like Cohen's theory, combines the strain, differential
association as well as the social disorganization perspectives.
Delinquent subcultures, according to Cloward and Ohlin, flourish in the lower-classes and
take particular forms so that the means for illegitimate success are no more equally
distributed than the means for legitimate success.

They argue that the types of criminal subcultures that flourish depend on the area in which
they develop. They propose three types of delinquent gangs. The first, the criminal gang,
emerge in areas where conventional as well as non conventional values of behaviour are
integrated by a close connection of illegitimate and legitimate businesses. This type of
gang is stable than the ones to follow. Older criminals serve as role models and they teach
necessary criminal skills to the youngsters. The second type, the conflict or violent gang,
is non stable and non integrated, where there is an absence of criminal organization
resulting in instability. This gang aims to find a reputation for toughness and destructive
violence. The third and final type, the retreatist gang, is equally unsuccessful in legitimate
as well as illegitimate means. They are known as double failures, thus retreating into a
world of sex, drugs, and alcohol. Cloward and Ohlin further state that the varying form of
delinquent subcultures depended upon the degree of integration that was present in the
community.
Labelling Theories
A group of labelling theorists began exploring how and why certain acts were defined as
criminal or deviant and why other such acts were not. They questioned how and why
certain people thus became defined as criminal or deviant. Such theorists viewed criminals
not as evil persons who engaged in wrong acts but as individuals who had a criminal status
placed upon them by both the criminal justice system and the community at large. From
this point of view, criminal acts thus themselves are not significant; it is the social reaction
to them that are. Deviance and its control then involve a process of social definition which
involves the response from others to an individual's behaviour which is key to how an
individual views himself. To make this point, let's briefly examine a crucial point made by
sociologist Howard S. Becker, in 1963.
"Deviance is not a quality of the act the person commits, but rather a consequence of the
application by others of rules and sanctions to an offender. The deviant is one to whom
that label has successfully been applied; deviant behaviour is behaviour that people so
label."

Labelling theory focuses on the reaction of other people and the subsequent effects of those
reactions which create deviance. When it becomes known that a person has engaged in
deviant acts, she or he is then segregated from society and thus labelled, "whore," thief,"
"abuser," "junkie," and the like. Becker noted that this process of segregation creates
"outsiders", who are outcast from society, and then begin to associate with other
individuals who have also been cast out. When more and more people begin to think of
these individuals as deviants, they respond to them as such; thus the deviant reacts to such
a response by continuing to engage in the behaviour society now expects from them.
Howard Becker’s Developmental Career Model

Howard Becker’s developmental career model is a social-process approach. Becker argues
that deviance exists in the eye of the beholder, much like beauty. He stresses that no act is
intrinsically deviant, but must be defined as such. Becker’s notion of a developmental
process is that it precedes the attainment of a deviant identity or career. He uses the process
of becoming a marijuana user as an unfolding sequence of steps that lead one to a
commitment and participation in a deviant career. He argues that such an identity occurs
over time, having both a historical and longitudinal course. In his example, for instance,
the person must have access to the drug; must experiment with the drug; the person must
continue to use the drug. Each of these steps involves some subtle changes in the person’s
attitude and perspective, as well as their behaviour, he argues. “The circumstances that
determine movement along a particular path includes properties of both the person and of
the situation,” he states.
Social Control Theories

Theories of social control focus on the strategies and techniques which help regulate
human behaviour and thus lead to conformity and compliance of the rules of society,
including the influences of family, school, morals, values, beliefs, etc.
Does existence of rules guarantee peaceful existence of the group? Who is to ensure
compliance with such rules? Social control theorists are out to study such questions. They
are interested in learning why people conform to norms; they ask why people conform in

the face of so much temptation, peer pressure, and inducement. Juveniles and adults
conform to the law in response to certain controlling forces which are present in their lives.
Thus, they are likely to become criminal when the controlling forces in their lives are
defective or absent.
Social control theorists argue that the more involved and committed a person is to
conventional activities, the greater the attachment to others (such as family and friends),
the less likely that a person is to violate the rules of society.
Social control has its roots in the early part of this century in the work of sociologist E.A.
Ross. Ross believed that belief systems, not specific laws, guide what individuals do and
this serves to control behaviour, no matter the forms that beliefs may take.
Social control is often seen as all-encompassing, practically representing any phenomenon

leading to conformity, which leads to norms. Others see social control as a broad
representation of regulated mechanisms placed upon society's members. In other words,
social control regards what is to be considered deviant, violations of the law, right or
wrong. Social control mechanisms can be adopted as laws, norms, mores, ethics, etiquette,
and customs, which all control and thus define behaviour.
Social control theory is viewed from two perspectives. The macro-social perspective
explores formal control systems for the control of groups, including the legal system such
as laws, law enforcement, powerful groups in society (who can help influence laws and
norms) and economic and social directives of government or private organizations. Such
controls can serve to be either positive or negative.
On the other hand, the micro-social perspective focuses on informal control systems,
which help to explain why individuals conform. It also considers the source of control to
be external, that is, outside of the person.
We will focus on micro-social views of social control while examining the theories of
Travis Hirshi(Social Bonds) and Gresham Sykes and David Matza's Techniques of

Neutralization (Drift Theory).Walter Reckless' Containment Theory is also included

here are a theory of social control, although we can also consider it a self-concept
approach.
Walter Reckless' Containment Theory

In 1961 sociologist Walter C. Reckless proposed Containment Theory, which explains
delinquency as the interplay between two forms of control known as inner (internal) and
outer (external) containments. Containment theory assumes that for every individual a
containing external structure as well as a protective internal structure exists. Both buffer,
protect, and insulate an individual against delinquency. Reckless wanted his theory to
explain not only delinquency, but also conformity.
Containment theory shows that society produces a series of pulls and pushes toward the
phenomenon of delinquency. It suggests that these inner and outer containments help to
buffer against one's potential deviation from legal and social norms and work to insulate a
youth from the pressures, pulls, and pushes of deviant influences.
Of the two, Reckless suggested that inner containments are more important. It is these
inner containments, he argued, that form one's support system. The stronger one's inner
containments, the least likely one would commit crime; the weaker one's inner
containments, the more prone to crime one would become.
Inner containments, simply put, are "self" components. They are the inner strength of one's
personality. These include a good self-concept, strong ego, well developed conscience,
high sense of responsibility, and high frustration tolerance. Outer containments refer to
one's social environment. These are normative constraints in which society and groups use
to control its members. Outer containments include belonging (identification with the
group), effective supervision, cohesion among group members(togetherness), opportunities
for achievement, reasonable limits and responsibilities, alternative ways and means of
satisfaction (if one more ways are closed), reinforcement of goals, norms values, and
discipline.

Internal pushes are personal factors which include restlessness, discontent, rebellion,
anxiety, and hostility. External pulls include deviant peers, membership in a
deviant/criminal gang, and pornography. Finally, external pressures refer to the adverse
living conditions which give rise to crime. These include relative deprivation, poverty,
unemployment, insecurity, and inequality.
Travis Hirschi's Social Bond Theory

Travis Hirschi took his theory to a different approach. He didn't attempt to explain why
individuals engage in criminal acts, but rather why individuals choose to conform to
conventional norms. It is, in a strict sense, not a theory of crime causation, but rather a
theory of pro-social behaviour used so often by sociologists and criminologists to better
explain deviance and criminality.
In 1969 Travis Hirschi presented four social bonds which promote socialization and
conformity. These include attachment, commitment, involvement and belief. He claimed
that the stronger these four bonds, the least likely one would become delinquent. Hirschi
first assumes that everyone has potential to become delinquent and criminal and it is social
controls, not moral values that maintain law and order. Without controls, he argues, one is
free to commit criminal acts.
Hirschi further assumes that a consistent value system exists and all of society is thus
exposed to such a system. Moral codes are then defied by delinquents because their
attachment to society is weak. While Sykes and Matza believe that delinquents share the
same values and attitudes as non delinquents, Hirsch views delinquents as rejecting such
social norms and beliefs.
The first bond, attachment, refers to one's interest in others. One's acceptance of social
norms and the development of social conscious depend on attachment for other human
beings. Hirschi views parents, schools, and peers as important social institutions for a
person. Attachment takes three forms—attachment to parents, to school, and to peers.
While examining attachment to parents Hirschi found that juveniles refrain from
delinquency due to the consequences that the act would most likely produce, therefore

putting such a relationship between parent and child in jeopardy. In some respect, can
argue that this acts as a primary deterrent to engaging in delinquency. Strength, however,
in such a deterrent would largely depend on the depth and quality of the parent-child
interaction. The amount of time child and parent spend together are equally important,
including intimacy in conversation and identification that may exist between parent and
child. While examining the bond with school, Hirschi found that an inability to do well in
school is linked with delinquency, through a series of chain events. He argued that
academic incompetence leads to poor school performance, which leads to a dislike of
school, which leads to rejection of teachers and authority, which results in acts of
delinquency. He argued that one's attachment to school depends on how one appreciates
the institution and how he/she is received by fellow peers and teachers. Hirschi also noted
that he found that one's attachment to parents and school overshadows the bond formed
with one's peers.
The second bond is that of commitment and it involves time, energy, and effort placed on
conventional lines of action. In other words, the support of and equal partaking in social
activities tie an individual to the moral and ethical code of society. Hirschi's control theory
holds that people who build an investment in life, property, and reputation are less likely to
engage in criminal acts which will jeopardize their social position. A lack of commitment
to such conventional values will cause an individual to partake in delinquent or criminal
acts.
The third bond is involvement. This addresses a preoccupation in activities which stress
the conventional interests of society. Hirschi argues that an individual's heavy involvement
in conventional activities doesn’t leave time to engage in delinquent or criminal acts. He
believes that involvement in school, family, recreation, etc., insulates a juvenile from
potential delinquent behaviour that may be a result of idleness.
The final bond is that of belief and it deals with assents to society's value system--which
entails respect for laws, and the people and institutions which enforce such laws. Hirschi
argued that people who live in common social settings share similar human values. If such
beliefs are weakened, or absent, one is more likely to engage in antisocial acts. Also, if

people believe that laws are unfair, this bond to society weakens and the likelihood of
committing delinquent acts rises.
Even with its weaknesses, Hirschi's theory held a position of importance in criminology for
several decades. More than anything, social control theorists want to explain delinquency,
not adult crime per-say. However, since the characteristics of the theory are found present
in adolescents, they are also present in post-adolescent behaviour, argues one critic.
Hirschi's theory remains silent on this analysis. Many other critics have faulted Hirschi's
work because he used too few questionnaire items to measure social bonds. He failed to
describe the chain of events that result in inadequate social bonds. There was also a
creation of an artificial division of socialized verses un-socialized youths. Finally, Hirschi's
theory explains no more than 50 percent of delinquent behaviour and only a 1-2 percent
difference in future delinquency, while it is supposed to explain why delinquency occurs.
Sykes and Matza's Techniques of Neutralization

In the 1960s David Matza, and his associate Gresham Sykes, developed a different
perspective on social control which explains why some delinquents drift in and out of
delinquency. Neutralization Theory, or Drift theory as it is often called, proposed that
juveniles sense a moral obligation to be bound by the law. Such a bind between a person
and the law remains in place most of the time, they argue. When it is not in place,
delinquents will drift.
According to Sykes and Matza, delinquents hold values, beliefs, and attitudes very similar
to those of law-abiding citizens. In fact, they feel obligated to be bound by law. Then, if
bound by law, how can they justify their delinquent activities? The answer is that they
learn "techniques" which enable them to “neutralize" such values and attitudes temporarily
and thus drift back and forth between legitimate and illegitimate behaviours. They maintain
that at times delinquents participate in conventional activities and shun such activity while
engaging in criminal acts. Such a theory proposes that delinquents disregard controlling
influences of rules and values and use these techniques of neutralization to "weaken" the
hold society places over them. In other words, these techniques act as defense mechanisms
that release the delinquent from the constraints associated with moral order.

In Delinquency and Drift (1964), David Matza suggested that people live their lives on a
continuum somewhere between total freedom and total restraint. The process by which a
person moves from one extreme of behaviour to another extreme is called drift, and this is
the very foundation of his theory.
Along with Sykes, Matza rejected the notion that subcultures of delinquency maintain an
independent set of values than the dominant culture. They hold that delinquents actually do
appreciate culturally held goals and expectations of the middle-class, but feel that engaging
in such behaviour would be frowned upon by their peers. Such beliefs remain almost
unconscious, or subterranean, because delinquents fear expressing such beliefs to peers.
Techniques of Neutralization suggest that delinquents develop a special set of justifications

for their behaviour when such behaviour violates social norms. Such techniques allow
delinquents to neutralize and temporarily suspend their commitment to societal values,
providing them with the freedom to commit delinquent acts.
Sykes and Matza's theoretical model is based on the following four observations.
1. Delinquents express guilt over their illegal acts.
2. Delinquents frequently respect and admire honest, law-abiding individuals.
3. A line is drawn between those whom they can victimize and those they cannot.
4. Delinquents are not immune to the demands of conformity.
Thus, Sykes and Matza propose the five Techniques of Neutralization.

 Denial of responsibility. Delinquent will propose that he/she is a victim of
circumstance and that he/she is pushed or pulled into situations beyond his/her
control. ("It wasn't my fault!")
 Denial of injury. Delinquent supposes that his/her acts really do not cause any
harm, or that the victim can afford the loss or damage. ("Why is everyone making a
big deal about it; they have money!")
 Denial of the victim. Delinquent views the act as not being wrong, that the victim
deserves the injury, or that there is no real victim. ("They had it coming to them!")

 Condemnation of the condemners. Condemners are seen as hypocrites, or are

reacting out of personal spite, thus they shift the blame to others, being able to
repress the feeling that their acts are wrong. ("They probably did worse things in
their day!")
 Appeal to higher loyalties. The rules of society often take a back seat to the
demands and loyalty to important others. ("My friends depended on me, what was I
going to do?!")
Sykes and Matza further argued that these neutralizations are available not just to
delinquents but they can be found throughout society.
Attempts have been made over the years to verify the assumptions made by Neutralization
Theory, and the results have, thus far, been inconclusive. Studies have indicated that
delinquents approve of social values, while others do not. Other studies indicate that
delinquents approve of criminal behaviour, while others seem to oppose it. Neutralization
Theory, however, remains an important contribution to the field of crime and delinquency.
Social bond theorist, Travis Hirschi, asked an important question: do delinquents neutralize
law-violating behaviour before or after they commit an act? Neutralization theory loses its
credibility as a theory which explains the cause of delinquency if juveniles use techniques
of neutralization before the commission of a delinquent deed and therefore becomes a
theory which simply describes reactions that juveniles incur due to their misdeeds. The
theory does fail on the account that it doesn't clearly distinguish why some youths drift into
delinquency and others do not. The theory remains too abstract and vague to be of any
practical use unless we understand why drift occurs, critics have argued.
Sutherland Deferential Association

The theory was formulated by Edwin Sutherland. He was based on the propositions that an
individual associates with different people or groups of people who have certain influence
on such person’s behaviour. Behaviour is learned in close association with different people
or groups of people so a criminal may learn criminal tendencies, techniques modus operant
from other people. Behaviour is learned through interaction and communication with other
people. It proposed that criminal behaviour is learned, just like anything else. The key
point is that one becomes a delinquent/criminal because of an excess of definitions

favourable to violation of law over definitions unfavourable to violation of law over time,
the duration and intensity of association with others involved in crime further reinforces
one’s own values and behaviour.
Karl Max Conflict Theory

This theory holds the view that crime results from the conflicts in society among the
different social classes, and that laws actually arise from necessity as a result of conflict,
rather than a general consensus. The fundamental causes of crime are the social and
economic forces operating within society while the criminal justice system and criminal
law are thought to be operating on behalf of rich and powerful social elites, with resulting
policies aimed at controlling the poor. The criminal justice establishment aims at imposing
standards of morality and good behaviour created by the powerful on the whole of society.
Focus is on separating the powerful from the have-nots who would steal from others and
protecting themselves from physical attacks. In the process the legal rights of poor folks
might be ignored. The middle class are also co-opted; they side with the elites rather the
poor, thinking they might themselves rise to the top by supporting the status quo. Thus,
street crimes, even minor monetary ones are routinely punished quite severely, while large
scale financial and business crimes are treated much more leniently. Theft of a television
might receive a longer sentence than stealing millions through illegal business practices.
2.5.3.1 SUMMARY ON BASIC THEORIES OF CRIMINOLOGY

 Rational choice theory: People generally act in their self-interest and make
decisions to commit crime after weighing the potential risks (including getting
caught and punished) against the rewards.
 Social disorganization theory: A person’s physical and social environments are
primarily responsible for the behavioural choices that person makes. In particular, a
neighbourhood that has fraying social structures is more likely to have high crime
rates. Such a neighbourhood may have poor schools, vacant and vandalized
buildings, high unemployment, and a mix of commercial and residential property.
 Strain theory: Most people have similar aspirations, but they don’t all have the same
opportunities or abilities. When people fail to achieve society’s expectations
through approved means such as hard work and delayed gratification, they may
attempt to achieve success through crime.
 Social learning theory: People develop motivation to commit crime and the skills to
commit crime through the people they associate with.
 Social control theory: Most people would commit crime if not for the controls that
society places on individuals through institutions such as schools, workplaces,
churches, and families.
 Labeling theory: People in power decide what acts are crimes, and the act of
labeling someone a criminal is what makes him a criminal. Once a person is labeled
a criminal, society takes away his opportunities, which may ultimately lead to more
criminal behavior.
 Biology, genetics, and evolution: Poor diet, mental illness, bad brain chemistry, and
even evolutionary rewards for aggressive criminal conduct have been proposed as
explanations for crime.
2.6 MEDIA AND CRIME

The concept media and crime is aimed at highlighting how the media influence crime and
criminal behaviour in societies. The Fiji Media Watch (2006) stated that a huge influence
is on how mass media portrays crime. A widely known preconception is that a simple
cause and effect relationship between the media and the behaviours and attitudes of the
consumers exists. It is argued that while the media provides a form of entertainment,
relaxation and a form of acquiring knowledge, it can also contribute to the changes in
behaviour, attitudes and the character of individuals and can thus influence or drastically
change the mores of a society as well. That through media, we see images, films, and video
games that justify crimes including, but not limited to: robberies, murders, carjacking, and
other violence.
Researchers in each of the last three decades have produced major research studies on the
role of media violence, especially its influence on children and adolescents. In 1972, the
U.S. Surgeon General commissioned a study, which was followed in 1982 by a

comprehensive study from the National Institute of Mental Health. Ten years later the
American Psychological Association concluded its research. These three diverse groups
with varying approaches and perspectives evaluated all available information. All three
concluded, without reservation, that mass-media violence does indeed contribute to
violence in people regardless of age, gender, race, or ethnicity. According to these studies,
the primary danger lies in the fact that the media portrays violence as normal or acceptable,
and the problem is compounded when the aggressor goes unpunished. Such portrayals lead
to desensitization and a greater likelihood of aggressive behaviour.
There is consistent evidence that violent imagery in television, film and video, and
computer games has substantial short-term effects on arousal, thoughts, and emotions,
increasing the likelihood of aggressive or fearful behaviour in younger children, especially
in boys. The evidence becomes inconsistent when considering older children and
teenagers, and long-term outcomes for all ages. The influence that communications media
has in society is growing more and more every day. Competition among newspapers,
Magazines, cinema, and television pushes the media to develop new ways’ to catch
people’s attention. The fascination of knowing the speed at which news travels around the
world has changed the way in which we view everything around us.
According to Victor Hugo Bolanos (1983),the author of "Impacto de la gran prensa"(the

impact of the press), the message that a communicator or an actor wants to get through the
mind of the viewer is one in which the observer identifies him-self to him. We can easily
see it in young kids at the end of an action movie when they are running around claiming
to be Rambo, Rocky or any other movie hero. Victor(1983),also believed that some of the
crimes that we hear about in the radio or television are the consequence of the violence that
we see in the media since we were young, and he gives an example the cartoons of Walt
Disney in which Donald, Tom and Jerry, Porky or the Roadrunner are the inspiration for
the kids to take into consideration deceitful acts against others, since those are the means
that the characters us to confront their problems, and that these same children learn to
transfer this to friends and Society.
2.6.1 The Media as a cause of Crime

It is a general concern that media has negative effect on attitudes, values and behaviour
especially on young, lower class and uneducated. The media can influence crime by:
 Imitation-providing deviant role models, resulting in copycat behaviour
Bandura’s theory.
 Arousal-through viewing violent imagery.
 Desensitisation-repeatedly viewing violence.
 Transmitting-knowledge of criminal techniques.
 Target of crime-e.g. Theft of plasma TV’s, cell phones e.t.c.
 Stimulating desires-for unaffordable goods-through advertising, even watching
pornography.
 Glamourizing-offending
Merton (1938), suggested that, pressure to conform to the norm can cause deviant
behaviour when the opportunity to achieve by legitimate means is blocked. The media is
instrumental in setting the norm and therefore promoting crime.
Cohen (2010), incited about moral panic which is an exaggerated over reaction by society
to a perceived problem and it is driven or inspired by media. It plays a crucial role in the
social construction of crime and deviance. Distortions and exaggeration by the media
creates a public reaction. This leads to the public labelling certain groups. Moral
entrepreneurs: editors, police officers, politicians, legal profession. The media interest and
exaggerated reporting leads to a social reaction and amplification (a deviancy amplification
spiral), as more interest in fact leads to the identification of more of the offending
behaviour. It is of importance to note how social media through Whatsapp, Twitter,
Facebook platforms e.t.c have positively impacted on crime and criminality in
Zimbabwe.
On the contrary it is also important to note that the media plays an important role in
moulding positive behaviour in our lives. There a number of studies which have found that
exposure to media violence have at most a small and limited negative effect on audiences.
Sociologists note that this link is simplistic because it fails to recognise that audiences
differ in terms of age, social class, IQ and level of education and so do not react in the
same way. Media content fails to appreciate nature of violence caused by a range of factors
e.g. Poor socialisation, bad parenting, peer group influences, mental illness, drugs and
alcohol.
Research to an extent supports the view that media cause fear of crime. Schlesinger &
Tumbler (1992) tabloid readers and heavy users of TV expressed greater fear of going out
at night and of becoming victims. In today’s society even the poorest have media access,
the media present people with images of a materialistic ‘good life’ as a goal to which they
should strive. Stimulating the sense of relative deprivation and social exclusion felt by
marginalised groups who cannot afford the goods.
2.7 CRIMINAL JUSTICE AND CRIMINOLOGY

Criminal justice is essentially the application of criminology. While criminology is the
study of crime, criminal justice describes the societal response to crime. The criminal
justice system is comprised of multiple components that enforce laws, investigate crimes,
try and punish criminals, and rehabilitate those who are convicted. Police officers, judicial
officers and correctional officers are integral components of the criminal justice system.
Thus in Zimbabwe, we have the ZRP, ZPCS and the Courts as major players in our justice
system.
2.7.1 The nature of criminal justice and criminologyE

In studying crime and criminality criminologists combine the areas of social science,
psychology and criminal justice and they investigate how factors such as socio-economic
factors, race, and ethnicity can influence crime, as well as reviewing past studies and the
successes or failures of specific law enforcement and sentencing. The famous definitions of
criminology by Sutherland (1974) aptly illustrate how criminal justice relates to
criminology where he said, "Criminology is the body of knowledge regarding delinquency
and crime as a social phenomena. It includes within its scope the process of making laws,
breaking laws, and of reacting toward the breaking of laws. These processes are three
aspects of a somewhat unified sequence of interactions. The objective of criminology is the
development of a body of general and verified and principles and of other types of
knowledge regarding this process of law, crime, and reaction to crime."
However, is important to note that how criminal justice relates to criminology can be
traced back to the era of classical criminology which can be identified as the foundation or
keystone of the criminal justice system and all other criminological endeavours. During
this era the issues of crime and punishment aroused interest and discussion. Scriptures
dating from the 10th century BC prohibit certain acts and provide consequences for those
who disobey these rules. In the 5th century BC Greek historian Thucydides wrote about the
usefulness of the death penalty. With the development of Christianity in the 1st
century AD, questions of crime and punishment were almost always discussed in religious
terms.
Christian thought tended to emphasize personal responsibility for wrongdoing; requiring

penitence (remorse) by the criminal in exchange for salvation, or forgiveness, by God.
Although punishment practices during the Middle Ages (5th century to 15th century) were
often brutal, the church generally had a moderating influence. Christian philosophers
expressed in their writings that the legitimate purpose of punishment was to reform and
salvage the erring sinner.
It was not until the 18th century, however, that penal policy (and thereby the understanding
of crime) was subject to systematic consideration. Authors began to condemn the frequent
use of torture and the widespread imposition of capital punishment (the death penalty) and
other brutal and degrading sanctions (penalties). In 1764 Italian jurist CesareBonesana,
Marchese di Beccaria published Trattodeidelitti e dellepene (1764; translated as Essays on
Crimes and Punishments, 1880). In this work, Beccaria criticized the use of torture and
secret judicial proceedings and advocated abolition of the death penalty. He also argued
that the certainty–rather than the severity–of punishment was a more effective deterrent to
crime. Finally, Beccaria argued that penalties imposed for criminal offenses should be in
proportion to the seriousness of the offense.
Around this same time, British philosopher Jeremy Bentham proposed the systematic
codification (arrangement) of criminal law. Bentham urged lawmakers to base crimes and
punishments on the principle of utility–that is, the greatest good for the greatest number.
He attacked the excessive severity of punishments prescribed in the criminal law. Many of
Bentham's ideas were introduced as legislation into the British Parliament, and his efforts
laid the groundwork for substantial legal reform in the next generation. In part as a result of
Bentham's proposals, the number of crimes in England punishable by the death penalty was
reduced from about 250 at the beginning of the 19th century to 4 by 1861.
2.7.2 IS CRIMINOLOGY AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE THE SAME?

Criminology is simply defined as the study of crime. It is related to sociology, and
criminologists are social scientists who are engaged in studying various aspects of crime.
Criminologists explore possible causes of crime, measure the effectiveness of crime
prevention and punishment, and propose new methods for addressing crime. Criminal
justice is about addressing crime. This field refers to the institutions dealing with crime.
That includes the police who detect crime, the jails detaining criminal suspects, the courts
where criminal acts are prosecuted and the correctional facilities overseeing punishment. In
actual fact criminal justice is like the real-world application of the theory that
criminologists study and explore.Much of the work of criminal justice professionals
focuses on the application of what criminologists study in theory. In short criminology is
the study of crime, while criminal justice describes the societal response to crime.
2.7.3 OBJECTIVES OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE

There are five objectives that the criminal justice system endeavour to achieve these are:-
Retribution – Criminals ought to suffer in some way. This is the most widely seen goal.
Criminals have taken improper advantage, or inflicted unfair detriment, upon others and
consequently, the criminal law will put criminals at some unpleasant disadvantage to
"balance the scales." People submit to the law to receive the right not to be murdered and if
people contravene these laws, they surrender the rights granted to them by the law. Thus,
one who murders may be executed himself. A related theory includes the idea of "righting
the balance."
Deterrence – Individual deterrence is aimed toward the specific offender. The aim is to
impose a sufficient penalty to discourage the offender from criminal behaviour. General
deterrence aims at society at large. By imposing a penalty on those who commit offenses,
other individuals are discouraged from committing those offenses.
Incapacitation – Designed simply to keep criminals away from society so that the public
is protected from their misconduct. This is often achieved through prison sentences today.
The death penalty or banishment has served the same purpose.
Rehabilitation – Aims at transforming an offender into a valuable member of society. Its

primary goal is to prevent further offense by convincing the offender that their conduct was
wrong.
Restoration – focuses on how to heal the harm caused by crime. It advocates for the
rehabilitation of offenders through reconciliation with the victims and the community
affected by the crime. This is a victim-oriented theory of punishment. The goal is to repair,
through state authority, any injury inflicted upon the victim by the offender. For example,
one who embezzles will be required to repay the amount improperly acquired. Restoration
is commonly combined with other main goals of criminal justice and is closely related to
concepts in the civil law, i.e., returning the victim to his or her original position before the
injury.
2.7.4 Models of the Criminal Justice Systems

The criminal justice system comprise two models i.e. the ‘due process’ and the ‘crime
control’ model. These models consist of challenging crime and allowing the right justice
to be issued. Briefly, the ‘due process’ model was designed to make sure individuals had
their rights portrayed and that they had a fair trial to defend themselves in court while the
‘crime control’ model was established to try and ensure that weak criminal cases were
dealt with quickly and “discarded at the earliest opportunity” and the larger and more
important cases would be dealt with leading to a conviction and punishment as soon as
possible (Packer, 1968). Both models are significant to the criminal justice system and
play a major role in identifying crimes and interpreting the criminal justice system. The
criminal justice system is a complicated system and is constantly changing due to new laws
and awareness of crimes.
The due process model is the understanding that a person who has come into contact with
one of the criminal agencies cannot have their rights rejected without appropriate legal
measures. Therefore any individual who is being or has been charged with a crime, they
have several rights in which the criminal agencies have to uphold as the individual is
protected under human rights which could be said to co-inside and relate to the due process
model. Packer (1968) describes the due process model as having less faith in the criminal
agencies, such as the police, and believes that among few criminal cases mistakes can
happen and additionally, there is a chance of agencies acting corruptly or dishonestly. For
that reason, this is why Packer believes this model is useful as it limits the coercive powers
of the criminal agencies and if there is an occurrence of any mistake or corruption, an
individual has the right to defend them self. Therefore, the main aim of the due process
model is to establish a system that an individual is innocent until proven guilty in court
(Packer, 1968).
The crime control model is a model, that Packer (1968), describes as the part of the
criminal justice system which condemns individuals for doing an action which is seen as
criminal. Packer describes this model as prioritizing in the convictions of individuals who
have committed a criminal act and not waiting for the courts to decide. In his theory,
Packer believes that this model is concentrated on the conviction and would risk the
conviction of innocent people to achieve its goal. The crime control model can therefore be
said to be the scheme set to punish people and make a difference towards society in
reducing crime and showing the public that by these arrests and convictions, it may show
the criminal justice system being effective and beneficial to society.
These models are both essential in tackling crime and trying to reduce crime. Both models
try to tackle crime and punish the people who have committed a deviant act. However,
both models do this in different ways and how they approach a person who has committed
a criminal act is contrasting. For example, the crime control model would say a person is
guilty until proven innocent by the courts, whereas the due process model would say that
an individual is innocent until proven guilty. A difference which can be noticed is that the
due process model believes that policing is the most effective way to tackle crime and it is
essential in maintaining justice amongst society. However the crime control model believes
that policing has a negative effect on society and more should be done to convict those
who have committed crimes and reduce criminal activity.
2.7.5 Theories of Criminal Justice

Criminal justice theories, like all social science theories, provide useful tools that help
explain human behavior and social phenomena. They offer important insights that shape
practical applications and inform policy. Criminal justice encompasses several distinctive
theoretical explanations for the causes and consequences of crime and criminal behavior,
but three primary perspectives dominate the field. These are restorative, retributive and
transformative.
Restorative Justice
Unlike classical criminal justice theories that focus primarily on punishment as a deterrent
to crime, the restorative justice perspective seeks to repair the harm caused by crime.
Restorative justice offers an approach that centers on community-based responses to crime
by providing opportunities for redemption for offenders and encouraging reconciliation
with victims. The theory encompasses both individual and social approaches, placing
victims at the center of crime control and positioning community members as facilitators in
this process.
Restorative justice theory rests on the fundamental principle that the people most directly
harmed by crime should be the ones to participate in its resolution. Offenders must take
responsibility for their criminal activity and the harm it has inflicted. Accountable to both
the victims and the community, offenders must engage in a process with victims to
determine how to make amends and provide restitution to the victims with the goal of
reintegration of both offenders and victims within the community.
Over the last 40 years, restorative justice theory has informed criminal justice policies to
reduce recidivism, address the needs of victims, and improve public safety within
communities. The principles of the theory have been applied to prison rehabilitation
programs and conflict resolution initiatives in schools and social service agencies. The
application of restorative justice in criminal cases allows victims to testify at sentencing
hearings about the impact of the crime on their lives and gives them a role in the decision-
making process to hold offenders accountable.
Some common restorative justice applications include family interventions and mediation
and peacemaking circles. Family intervention and mediation programs use skill-building
methods to address acts of juvenile violence against family members. Peacemaking or
"talking circles" rely on the practice of "deep listening" and dialogue between offenders
and victims to develop trust and understanding. This process culminates in sentencing
circles that include the participation of judges, probation officers, defense counsel,
prosecutors, and community stakeholders.
Retributive Justice
Retributive justice theory argues that everyone who commits a criminal act deserves to
suffer a punishment, administered by courts of law, and that the severity of this punishment
should be in proportion to the harm caused by the crime committed. It is therefore morally
wrong to punish innocent people for crimes they have not committed, and is unacceptable
to inflict disproportionately large or severe punishments not warranted by the damage
caused by the crime. Retributive justice theory posits that deterrence provides the
foundation for the criminal justice system and for maintaining law and order.
Contemporary versions of retributive justice theory emphasize rational choice and

deterrence. These approaches argue that humans make rational choices to either abide by
society's laws or to violate them. Individuals may decide to commit a crime because it
brings them pleasure or satisfies their wants and needs. The theory argues that punishments
must cause enough pain to outweigh the pleasure derived from committing the crime. The
principle of deterrence rests on the assumption that, if punishment is certain, severe, and
swift enough, individuals will weigh the costs and benefits and then choose to refrain from
committing crimes, thereby maximizing pleasure and minimizing pain.
Retributive justice theory posits that deterrence provides the foundation for the criminal
justice system and for maintaining law and order. The major focus of retribution rests on
the nature of the crime itself and accountability for the offenders rather than the effect of
the crime on the victims. Deterrence provides the justification for contemporary policies
that impose maximum prison terms and mandatory sentences.
Programs such as Scared Straight that arrange encounters in correctional facilities between
juvenile offenders and convicts serving life terms operate on the premise that scare tactics
and threats will deter these young offenders from continuing criminal activity and avoid
prison terms. Boot camps and shock incarceration programs also use fear, strict
disciplinary techniques, and brief periods of incarceration to deter offenders from further
criminal activity.
Transformative Justice
Transformative justice theory challenges the focus on punishment that underscores
retributive justice and moves beyond the offender-victim dynamic advocated by restorative
justice models. The theory incorporates a structural approach that examines the root causes
of crime and inequality within social, political, and economic systems.
Transformative justice theory provides a critique of the criminal justice system as

essentially unjust. The theory faults traditional approaches to crime for separating victims
and offenders, revictimizing the victim, and transforming offenders into victims of the
unjust criminal justice system.
This perspective argues that "crime" is defined and framed by the state through the
criminal justice system. State control perpetuates injustices toward people of color,
communities, women, people with disabilities, immigrants, the poor, and other
marginalized and oppressed groups.
Rather than looking at offenders and victims as distinct entities, transformative justice
recognizes that an individual may have caused harm and suffer from harm. Transformative
approaches strive to improve the quality of life for victims, offenders, and the community
by addressing the social and economic inequalities that cause crime.
This theory advocates for deinstitutionalizing criminal justice by empowering people and
communities rather than institutions to make their own decisions about violence,
accountability, and healing. Proponents of transformative justice approaches oppose all
forms of violence, including state-sanctioned and individual actions, punishment,
institutionalization, and imprisonment. Transformative justice activists advocate for the
end to all state policies that allow retributive and punitive practices, including the death
penalty, torture, and the abolition of prisons. Instead, they propose community and
government programs based on accountability, forgiveness, healing, and inclusive
education.
Transformative justice approaches have begun to influence social policies beyond criminal
justice. Activists working to address inequities in areas such as environmental safety,
corporate responsibility, consumer economics and debt, labor-management relations, and
family law apply methods based on mediation, negotiation, and community circles to
resolve conflicts and build responsibility, trust, and inclusion.
2.7.6 SOCIAL CONTROL THEORIES

In addition to the above criminal justice systems theories, the systems and procedures of
any criminal justice system of a society should identify with the following social control
theories which help to regulate human behaviour and conduct thus lead to conformity
and compliance to the rules and regulation of the society.
Social control theorists are interested in learning why people conform to norms; they ask
why people conform in the face of so much temptation, peer pressure, and inducement.
Juveniles and adults conform to the law in response to certain controlling forces which are
present in their lives. Thus, they are likely to become criminal when the controlling forces
in their lives are defective or absent.

Social control theory is viewed from two perspectives. The macro-social perspective
explores formal control systems for the control of groups, including the legal system such
as laws, law enforcement, powerful groups in society (who can help influence laws and
norms) and economic and social directives of government or private organizations.
On the other hand, the micro-social perspective focuses on informal control systems,
which help to explain why individuals conform. It also considers the source of control to
be external, that is, outside of the person.
To this end, we focus on views of social control while examining the theories of
 Travis Hirshi(Social Bonds)
 Gresham Sykes and David Matza's Techniques of Neutralization (Drift Theory)
 Walter Reckless' (Containment Theory)
NB-(Refer to the previous notes on Theories of Criminology)
2.8 SUMMARY
It is paramount to note that criminology is the scientific study of crime and is premised on
the understanding and appreciation of the following factors among others:-
 What is crime?
 What causes crime?
 Who commit crime and why? (criminal, deviant and delinquent behaviour relating
criminal activities)
 What are the trends of crime and criminal behaviour in the society
 What is the extent and effects of crime in the society?
 What measures are there in place to minimise the prevalence of crime, reform and
rehabilitate the criminals in the society.
Criminology blends the areas of social science, psychology and criminal justice i.e. how
factors such as socio-economic status, race, and ethnicity can influence crime.
2.9 ACTIVITY PLAN
 Define criminology and outline its nature and scope.

 Explain the nature of crime and criminal law
 Outline and explain what causes crime
 Outline and explain the theories of criminology.
 Explain media and crime
 Relate the concept of criminal justice to criminology
2.10 REFERENCE
 Alexander, L., (2013), You Got What You Deserved,Criminal Law and Philosophy,New
York: Cambridge University Press
 Alexander, L., K. Ferzan, & S. Morse, (2009), Crime and Culpability: A Theory of
Criminal Law, New York: Cambridge University Press.
 Berman, M., (2011), Two Kinds of Retributivism,Philosophical Foundations of Criminal
Law, New York: Oxford University Press.
 Criminal procedure and evidence Act (1996) Chapter 9:07 revised edition 1996,
Government printers, Harare, Zimbabwe
 Feltoe G. (2004) A Guide to the Criminal Law in Zimbabwe Legal Resources
Foundation, Harare Zimbabwe
 OSISA (Olivier, Louise), “Constitutional Review and Reform: And the Adherence to
Democratic Principles in Constitutions in Southern African Countries”, 2007
 Zimbabwean Constitution number 2013
 Robert Lilly, Francis Cullen, and Richard Ball (2006) Criminological Theory: Context
and Consequences (4th edn). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
 Wayne Morrison (1995) Theoretical Criminology: From Modernity to Post-Modernism .
London: Cavendish.
 John Tierny (2006) Criminology: Theory and Content (3rd ed). Essex: Pearson
 Curzon LB (1991) sixth edition. Criminal law
 Freda Adler et al (2007) sixth edition. Criminology. McGraw Hill
 Stephen E.Barka (2012) fifth edition.Criminology.A sociological understanding. Prentice
Hall.
 Tonry M (2008) Learning from the Limitations of Deterrence Research. Crime and
Justice.
 Tonry M et al (2005) Crime punishment. Crime and justice.
 Rene van Swaanigen (1997) Critical Criminology: Visions from Europe. London: Sage.
 Sutherland, E.H., 1934. Principles of Criminology, (2nd Edition), Lippincott:
Philadelphia.
Ronald L. Akers and Christine S. SellersCriminological Theories: Introduction, Evaluation,

Application, 5th edition
UNITTHREE
SOCIOLOGY AND CRIME
3.0 INTRODUCTION
This unit introduces sociology covering the nature of sociology, basic theories in
sociology, society and culture, socialisation, social deviance and social control. It hoped
that by the end of the course trainees will be in a position to articulate how different
societies operate and what is their functional role in these societies.
3.1 OBJECTIVES
By the end of the course trainees should be able to:
 Define and outline the nature of sociology
 Outline and explain the basic theories in sociology
 State and explain the concept of society and culture
 Explain socialisation.
 Explain social deviance
 Outline and explain social controls in sociology
 State why it is important for law enforcement agents to study sociology
3.2 NATURE OF SOCIOLOGY

The first social scientist to use the term sociology was a Frenchman by the name of
Auguste Comte who lived from 1798-1857. As coined by Comte, the term sociology is a
combination of two words. The first part of the term is a Latin, socius- that may variously
mean society, association, togetherness or companionship. The other word, logos, is of
Greek origin. It literally means to speak about or word. Thus, the etymological, literal
definition of sociology is that it is the word or speaking about society. In simple terms
sociology is the study of society and culture or the study of society. Although the term
“sociology” was first used by the French social philosopher Auguste Comte, the discipline
was more firmly established by such theorists as Emile Durkheim, Karl Marx and Max
Weber (Nobbs, Hine and Flemming, 1978).
Sociology is a discipline that belongs to what conventionally is called the social science.
The term sociology literally means the science of society; for the term itself in its direct
sense denotes that. Sociology as an academic discipline arose in the first half of 19th
century (in 1837) as a special science dedicated to unravel the fundamental laws governing
the societal phenomena and human social relationship with primary interest in analyzing
the problems and societies of the modern, western world. It has, thus, conventionally been
accepted to associate sociology with the study of the modern, industrialized societies of
western world. Sociology is about people.
The scope of sociology is extremely wide ranging, from the analysis of passing encounter
between individuals on the street up to the investigation of global social processes The
discipline covers an extremely broad range that includes every aspect of human social
conditions; all types of human relationships and forms of social behaviour (Indrani, 1998).
Sociologists are primarily interested in human beings as they appear in social interaction
and the effects of this interaction on human behaviour. Such interaction can range from the
first physical contacts of the new born baby with its mother to a philosophical discussion at
an international conference, from a casual passing on the street to the most intimate of
human relationships (World Book Encyclopedia1994. Vol. 18, PP. 564-567). Sociologists
are interested to know what processes lead to these interactions, what exactly occurs when
they take place, and what their short run and long run consequences are. The major systems
or units of interaction that interest sociologists are social groups such as the family or peer
groups; social relationships, such as social roles and dyadic relationships, and social
organizations such as governments, corporations and school systems to such territorial
organizations as communities and schools (Broom and Selzinki, 1973).
Sociologists are keen to understand, explain, and analyze the effect of social world, social
environment and social interaction on our behaviour, worldviews, lifestyle, personality,
attitudes, decisions, etc., as creative, rational, intelligent members of society; and how we
as such create the social reality.
The concepts “society and “culture” are central in sociology. Society generally refers to the
social world with all its structures, institutions, organizations, etc around us, and
specifically to a group of people who live within some type of bounded territory and who
share a common way of life. This common way of life shared by a group of people is
termed as culture (Stockard, 1997). Society is a group of people who live within some type
of bounded territory and who share a common way of life and Culture is common way of
life shared by a society or a group. Thus, sociology may be generally defined as a social
science that studies such kinds of phenomena as:-
 The structure and function of society as a system;
 The nature, complexity and contents of human social behaviour;
 The fundamentals of human social life;
 Interaction of human beings with theirexternal environment;
 The indispensability of social interactions for human development;
 How the social world affects us, etc.
A more formal definition of sociology may be that it is a social science which studies the
processes and patterns of human individual and group interaction, the forms of
organization of social groups, the relationship among them, and group influences on
individual behaviour, and vice versa, and the interaction between one social group and the
other (Team of Experts, 2000).
3.2.1 Levels of analysis in sociology

 Micro-sociology: Analyzing small scale social phenomena
 Macro-sociology: analyzing large-scale social phenomena
 Meso-sociology: analysis of social phenomena in between the micro- and macro-
levels.
Within these general frameworks, sociology may be divided into specific sub-fields on the
basis of certain criteria. The most important fields of sociology can be grouped into six
areas (World Book Encyclopedia, (1994).
• The Field of Social Organization and Theory of Social Order: focuses on
institutions and groups, their formation and change, manner of functioning,
relation to individuals and to each other.
• Social Control: Focuses on the ways in which members of a society influence one
another so as to maintain social order. The origins of the concept of Community
Policing.
• Social Change: Focuses on the way society and institutions change over time
through technical inventions, cultural diffusion and cultural conflict, and social
movements, among others.
• Social Processes: Focuses on the pattern in which social change takes place, and
the modes of such processes.
• Social Groups: Focuses on how social groups are formed, structured, and how
they function and change.
• Social Problems: Focuses on the social conditions which cause difficulties for a
large number of persons and which the society is seeking to eliminate. Some of
the problems may include: juvenile delinquency, crime, chronic alcoholism,
suicide, narcotics addiction, racial prejudice, ethnic conflict, war, industrial
conflict, slum, areas, urban poverty, prostitution, child abuse, problem of older
persons, marital conflicts, etc.
3.3 THEORIES OF SOCIOLOGY

There are three major theoretical perspectives in sociology that have provided an overall
framework for sociological studies. These are structural functionalism, socialconflict
theory and symbolic interactionism. There are also theories that have emerged
challenging these major ones.
The Structural-Functionalist Theory

This is one of the dominant theories both in anthropology and sociology. It is sometimes
called functionalism. The theory tries to explain how the relationships among the parts of
society are created and how these parts are functional (meaning having beneficial
consequences to the individual and the society) and dysfunctional (meaning having
negative consequences). It focuses on consensus, social order, structure and function in
society.
The structural-functionalist theory sees society as a complex system whose parts work
together to promote solidarity and stability; it states that our social lives are guided by
social structure, which are relatively stable patterns of social behaviour (Macionis, 1997).
Social structure is understood in terms of social functions, which are consequences for the
operations of society.
All social structure contributes to the operation of society. The major terms and concepts
developed by anthropologists and sociologists in this theory include (or the theory focuses
on): order, structure, function (manifest or direct functions and latent or hidden, indirect
functions), and equilibrium. Those hold this view ask such questions as: what hold society
together? What keeps it steady? The Structural functionalist theory pays considerable
attention to the persistence of shared ideas in society. The functional aspect in the
structural-functionalist theory stresses the role played by each component part in the social
system, whereas the structural perspective suggests an image of society wherein
individuals are constrained by the social forces, social backgrounds and by group
memberships. Many of the great early founding sociologists such as August Comte, Emile
Durkheim and Herbert Spencer and later American sociologists like Talkot Parsons and
Robert K Merton. Structural -functionalist theorists in modern sociology are more likely to
follow in the tradition of the writings of particularly Emile Durkheim, who is regarded as
the pioneering proponent of this perspective (Hensiln and Nelson, 1995).
After dominating sociology and anthropology for a long time, this theory was challenged
by its main critics, notably those who proposed the social –conflict theory (see below). The
theory was attacked for its emphasis on stability and order while neglecting conflict and
changes which so vital in any society.
The Social Conflict Theory

This theory is also called Marxism; to indicate that the main impetus to the theory derives
from the writings of Karl Marx. This theory sees society in a framework of class conflicts
and focuses on the struggle for scarce resources by different groups in a given society. It
asks such questions as what pulls society apart. How does society change? The theory
holds that the most important aspect of social order is the domination of some group by
others, that actual or potential conflicts are always present in society. The writings of Karl
Marx are generally in the spirit of conflict theory, and Marxism influences most of conflict
theorists in modern sociology.
The theory is useful in explaining how the dominant groups use their power to exploit the
less powerful groups in society. Key concepts developed in this perspective include:
conflict, complementation, struggle, power, inequality, and exploitation. Although this
theory gained fame in recent decades, it came under sharp criticism, for its overemphasis
on inequality and division, for neglecting the fact of how shared values and
interdependence generate unity among members of society; it is also criticized for its
explicit political goals. Another critique, which equally applies also to structural
functionalism, is that it sees society in very broad terms, neglecting micro-level social
realities (Macionis 1997).
Symbolic Interactionism
This theory was advanced by such American sociologists as Charles Horton Cooley (1864-
1929) William I Thomas (1863-1947) and George Herbert Mead (1863-1931) in early 20th
century. This perspective views symbols as the basis of social life. Symbols are things to
which we attach meanings. The theory stresses the analysis of how our behaviours depend
on how we define others and ourselves. It concentrates on process, rather than structure,
and keeps the individual actor at the centre. According to symbolic interactionism, the
essence of social life and social reality is the active human being trying to make sense of
social situations. In short, this theory calls attention to the detailed, person-oriented
processes that take place within the larger units of social life (Calhoun et al, 1994; Henslin
and Nelson, 1996; Soroka, 1995).
As indicated above, there are contemporary sociological theories that have emerged in
recent decades that have heavily influenced sociological and anthropological thinking.
These include the following:
Feminism
This theory takes as its central theme the place and facts of women’s underprivileged status
and their exploitation in a patriarchal dominated society. Feminist sociology focuses on the
particular disadvantages, including oppression and exploitation faced by women in society.
This theory ranges from liberal feminism, which recognizes inequalities but believes that
reform can take place without a fundamental restructuring of the social system, to radical
feminism, which advocates the fundamental need for societal change (Marcus and
Ducklin, (1998)
Social Exchange Theory

This theory focuses on “the costs and benefits which people obtain in social interaction,
including money, goods, and status. It is based on the principle that people always act to
maximize benefit. However, to receive benefits, there must always be an exchange process
with others” (Marcus and Ducklin, (1996)
Public Choice Theory: This theory states that collective organizations such as political
parties act rationally to maximize their own benefits. It argues that individual differences
are best resolved by collective involvement within organizations. The role of the state is
important in arbitrating between large-scale interests.
Rational Choice Theory: This theory assumes that individuals will operate in rational
way and will seek to benefit themselves in the life choices they make.
3.4 SOCIETY AND CULTURE

3.4.1 The Concept of Society
The term society as mentioned earlier is derived from a Latin word socius. The term
directly means association, togetherness, gregariousness, or simply group life. The
concept of society refers to a relatively large grouping or collectivity of people who share
more or less common and distinct culture, occupying a certain geographical locality, with
the feeling of identity or belongingness, having all the necessary social arrangements or
insinuations to sustain itself. Calhoun et al (1994) stated that, "A society is an autonomous
grouping of people who inhabit a common territory, have a common culture (shared set of
values, beliefs, customs and so forth) and are linked to one another through routinized
social interactions and interdependent statuses and roles." Society also may mean a certain
population group or a community.Contemporary sociologists frequently use the network
conception of society. This approach views society as overlapping, dynamic and fluid
network of economic, political, cultural and other relations at various levels. Such a
conception is analytically more powerful and reflects the reality especially in the context of
modern, globalizing world.
Basic Features of a Society

 A society is usually a relatively large grouping of people in terms of size. In a very
important sense, thus, society may be regarded as the largest and the most complex
social group that sociologists study.
 As the above definition shows, the most important thing about a society is that its
members share common and distinct culture. This sets it apart from the other
population groups.
 A society also has a definite, limited space or territory. The populations that make up
a given society are thus locatable in a definite geographical area. The people consider
that area as their own.
 The people who make up a society have the feeling of identity and belongingness.
There is also the feeling of oneness. Such identity felling emanates from the
routinized pattern of social interaction that exists among the people and the various
groups that make up the society. (Henslin and Nelson, 1995; Giddens, 1996; Calhoun
et al., 1994)
 Members of a society are considered to have a common origin and common
historical experience. They feel that they have also common destiny.
 Members of a society may also speak a common mother tongue or a major language
that may serve as a national heritage.
 A society is autonomous and independent in the sense that it has all the necessary
social institutions and organizational arrangements to sustain the system.
However, a society is not an island, in the sense that societies are interdependent. There
has always been inter-societal relations. People interact socially, economically and
politically. It is important to note that the above features of a society are by no means
exhaustive and they may not apply to all societies. The level of a society’s economic and
technological development, the type of economic or livelihood system a society is engaged
in, etc may create some variations among societies in terms of these basic features.
Conceptualizing Society at Various Levels

As indicated above, in a general sense and at an abstract level, all people of the earth may
be considered as a society. The earth is a common territory for the whole world's people.
All people of the earth share common origin; inhabit common planet; have common bio
psychological unity; and exhibit similar basic interests, desires and fears; and are heading
towards common destiny (Calhoun, et al., 1994).
At another level, every continent may be considered as a society. Thus, we may speak of
the European society, the African society, the Asian society, the Latin American society,
etc. This may be because, each of these continents share its own territory, historical
experiences, shared culture, and so on.
At a more practical level, each nation-state or country is regarded as a society. For

example, the people of Zimbabwe, Kenya or Japan are considered as a society. Going far
farther still, another level of society is that within each nation-state, there may be ethno
linguistically distinct groups of people having a territory that they consider as their own.
They are thus societies in their own right. Example, the Tonga, Ndebele and Shona people
etc..
Types or Categories of Societies

Sociologists classify societies into various categories depending on certain criteria. One
such criterion is level of economic and technological development attained by countries.
Thus, the countries of the world are classified as First World, Second World, and Third
World;
 First World Countries are those which are highly industrially advanced and
economically rich, such as the USA, Japan, Britain, France, Italy, Germany, and
Canada and so on.
 The Second World Countries are also industrially advanced but not as much as the
first category.
 The Third World societies are thus which are least developed, or in the process of
developing. Some writers add a fourth category, namely, Fourth World countries.
These countries may be regarded as the "poorest of the poor" (Giddens, 1996).
Another important criterion for classifying societies may be that which takes into account
temporal succession and the major source of economic organization (Lensiki and Lensiki,
1995). When societies modernize they transform from one form to another. The simplest
type of society that is in existence today and that may be regarded the oldest is that whose
economic organization is based on hunting and gathering. They are called hunting and
gathering societies. This society depends on hunting and gathering for its survival. The
second types are referred to as pastoral and horticultural societies. Pastoral societies
are those whose livelihood is based on pasturing of animals, such as cattle, camels, sheep
and goats. Horticultural societies are those whose economy is based on cultivating
plants by the use of simple tools, such as digging sticks, hoes, axes, etc. The third types
are agricultural societies. This society, which still is dominant in most parts of the
world, is based on large-scale agriculture, which largely depends on ploughs using animal
labour. The Industrial Revolution which began in Great Britain during 18th century, gave
rise to the emergence of a fourth type of society called the Industrial Society. An
industrial society is one in which goods are produced by machines powered by fuels
instead of by animal and human energy. Sociologists also have come up with a fifth
emerging type of society called post-industrial society. This is a society based on
information, services and high technology, rather than on raw materials and
manufacturing. The highly industrialized which have now passed to the post-industrial
level include the USA, Canada, Japan, and Western Europe.
3.4.2 The Concept of Culture

Before going any further, it may be important to note that common people often misuse
the concept of culture. Some misconceptions about the term culture include:-
 Many people in the western world use the term culture in the sense that some
people are more "cultured" than others. This basically emanates from the idea
associated with the root word of the term culture, “kulture” in German, which
refers to “civilization". Thus, when one is said to be “cultured”, he or she is said
to be civilized. For sociologists and anthropologists, "culture includes much more
than refinement, taste, sophistication, education and appreciation of the fine arts.
Not only college graduates but also all people are ‘cultured’” Kottak (2002: 272).
 A second commonly used misconception is that which equates “culture" with
things which are colorful, customs, cloths, foods, dancing, music, etc. As Kottak
argues, “… many [people] have come to think of culture in terms of colorful
customs, music, dancing and adornments clothing, jewelry and hairstyles….
Taken to an extreme, such images portray culture as recreational and ultimately
unserious rather than something that ordinary people live everyday of their lives
not just when they have festivals”
The concept of culture is one of the most widely used notions in sociology. It refers to the
whole ways of life of the members of a society. It includes what they dress, their marriage
customs and family life, art, and patterns of work, religious ceremonies, leisure pursuits,
and so forth. It also includes the material goods they produce: bows and arrows, plows,
factories and machines, computers, books, buildings, airplanes, etc (Calhoun, et al, 1994;
Hensiln and Nelson, 1995).
The concept of culture has been defined by hundreds of times by sociologists and
anthropologists, emphasizing different dimensions. However, most often scholars have
focused on the symbolic dimension of culture; that culture is essentially symbolic.
Basic Characteristics of Culture

 Culture is organic and supra-organic: It is organic when we consider the fact that
there is no culture without human society. It is supra organic, because it is far
beyond any individual lifetime. Individuals come and go, but culture remains and
persists. Calhoun (1994).
 Culture is overt and covert: It is generally divided into material and non-material
cultures. Material culture consists of any tangible human made objects such as
tools, automobiles, buildings, etc. Non-material culture consists of any non-
physical aspects like language, belief, ideas, knowledge, attitude, values, etc.
 Culture is explicit and implicit: It is explicit when we consider those actions
which can be explained and described easily by those who perform them. It is
implicit when we consider those things we do, but are unable to explain them, yet
we believe them to be so.
 Culture is ideal and manifest (actual): Ideal culture involves the way people ought
to behave or what they ought to do. Manifest culture involves what people
actually do.
 Culture is stable and yet changing: Culture is stable when we consider what
people hold valuable and are handing over to the next generation in order to
maintain their norms and values. However, when culture comes into contact with
other cultures, it can change. However, culture changes not only because of direct
or indirect contact between cultures, but also through innovation and adaptation to
new circumstances.
 Culture is shared and learned: Culture is the public property of a social group of
people (shared). Individuals get cultural knowledge of the group through
socialization. However, we should note that all things shared among people might
not be cultural, as there are many biological attributes which people share among
themselves (Kottak, (2002).
 Culture is symbolic: It is based on the purposeful creation and usage of symbols;
it is exclusive to humans. Symbolic thought is unique and crucial to humans and
to culture. Symbolic thought is the human ability to give a thing or event an
arbitrary meaning and grasp and appreciate that meaning Symbols are the central
components of culture. Symbols refer to anything to which people attach meaning
and which they use to communicate with others. More specifically, symbols are
words, objects, gestures, sounds or images that represent something else rather
than themselves. Symbolic thought is unique and crucial to humans and to culture.
It is the human ability to give a thing or event an arbitrary meaning and grasp and
appreciate that meaning.
Culture thus works in the symbolic domain emphasizing meaning, rather than the
technical/practical rational side of human behaviour. All actions have symbolic content as
well as being action in and of themselves. Things, actions, behaviours, etc, always stand
for something else than merely, the thing itself.
Elements of Culture
Culture includes within itself elements that make up the essence of a society or a social
group. The major ones include: Symbols, values, norms, and language (Henslin and
Nelson, 1995; Calhoun et al. 1994).
Symbols
Symbols are the central components of culture. Symbols refer to anything to which people
attach meaning and which they use to communicate with others. More specifically,
symbols are words, objects, gestures, sounds or images that represent something else rather
than themselves. Symbolic thought is unique and crucial to humans and to culture. It is the
human ability to give a thing or event an arbitrary meaning and grasp and appreciate that
meaning. There is no obvious natural or necessary connection between a symbol and what
it symbolizes.
Language
Language, specifically defined as a system of verbal and in many cases written symbols
with rules about how those symbols can be strung together to convey more complex
meanings, is the distinctive capacity and possession of humans; it is a key element of
culture. Culture encompasses language, and through language, culture is communicated
and transmitted. Without language it would be impossible to develop, elaborate and
transmit culture to the future generation.
Values
Values are essential elements of non-material culture. They may be defined as general,
abstract guidelines for our lives, decisions, goals, choices, and actions. They are shared
ideas of a groups or a society as to what is right or wrong, correct or incorrect, desirable or
undesirable, acceptable or unacceptable, ethical or unethical, etc., regarding something.
They are general road maps for our lives. Values are shared and are learned in group. They
can be positive or negative. For example, honesty, truth – telling, respect for others,
hospitality, helping those in need, etc are positive values. Examples of negative values
include theft, indecency, disrespect, dishonesty, falsehood, frugality, etc. Values are
dynamic, meaning they change over time. They are also static, meaning they tend to persist
without any significant modification. Values are also diversified, meaning they vary from
place to place and culture to culture. Some values are universal because there is bio-
psychological unity among people everywhere and all times. In other words, they emanate
from the basic similarity of mankind’s origins, nature and desires. For example, dislike for
killing people, concepts and practices of disease management, cleanliness, personal
hygiene, cosmetics, incest taboo, etc.
Norms
Norms are also essential elements of culture. They are implicit principles for social life,
relationship and interaction. Norms are detailed and specific rules for specific situations.
They tell us how to do something, what to do, what not to do, when to do it, why doing it,
etc. Norms are derived from values. That means, for every specific norm, there is a general
value that determines its content. Individuals may not act according to the defined values
and norms of the group. Therefore, violation of values and norms and deviating from the
standard values and norms are often common. Social norms may be divided into two.
These are mores and folkways
 Mores: Are important and stronger social norms for existence, safety, well-being
and continuity of the society or the group or society. Violation of, and deviation
from these kinds of norms, may result in serious reactions form the groups. The
strongest norms are regarded as the formal laws of a society or a group. Formal
laws are written and codified social norms. The other kinds of mores are called
conventions. Conventions are established rules governing behaviour; they are
generally accepted ideals by the society. Conventions may also be regarded as
written and signed agreements between nations to govern the behaviours of
individuals, groups and nations.
 Folkways: Are the ways of life developed by a group of people. They are detailed
and minor instructions, traditions or rules for day-to-day life that help us function
effectively and smoothly as members of a group. Here, violating such kinds of
norms may not result in a serious punishment unlike violating mores. They are less
morally binding. In other words, folkways are appropriate ways of behaving and
doing things. Examples may include table etiquette, dressing rules, walking,
talking, etc. Conformity to folkways usually occurs automatically without any
national analysis and is based upon custom passed from generation to generation.
They are not enforced by law, but by informal social control. They are not held to
be important or obligatory as mores, or moral standards, and their violation is not as
such severely sanctioned. Although folkways are less binding, people have to
behave according to accepted standards. Some exceptional behaviours are regarded
eccentric behaviours. Folkways are distinguished from laws and mores in that they
are designed, maintained and enforced by public sentiment, or custom, whereas
laws are institutionalized, designed, maintained and enforced by the political
authority of the society. Folkways in turn may be divided into two sub types:
fashion and custom.
 Fashion: Is a form of behavior, type of folkways that is socially approved at a
given time but subject to periodic change. Adherents combine both deviation
and conformity to norm of a certain group.
 Custom: Is a folkway or form of social behavior that, having persisted a long
period of time, has become traditional and well established in a society and
has received some degree of formal recognition. Custom is a pattern of action
shared by most or all members of a society. Habit is a personality trait, where
as the custom is a group trait. Fashion and customs can be differentiated in
that while custom changes at slower rate, fashion changes at a faster rate.
Culture Variability
Cultural variabilityrefers to the diversity of cultures across societies and places. As there
are different societies, there are different cultures. The diversity of human culture is
remarkable. Values and norms of behaviour vary widely from culture to culture often
contrasting in radical ways (Broom and Sleznki, 1973). For example, Jews do not eat pork,
while Hindus eat pork but avoid beef. Cultural diversity or variability can be both between
societies and within societies. We use the concept of subculture to denote the variability
of culture within a certain society. Sub culture is a distinctive culture that is shared by a
group within a society (Stockard, 1997). We call it sub culture, because groups (with their
sub cultures) exist within and as a smaller part of the main, dominant culture. Examples of
subculture could be the distinctive culture of university students, street children and
prostitutes in Harare, etc.
Ethnocentrism, Cultural Relativism and Culture Shock

Ethnocentrism-We often tend to judge other cultures by comparison with our own. It is not
logically possible and proper to underestimate or overestimate or judge other cultures on
the basis of one's cultural standard. Ethnocentrism, in general, is an attitude of taking one's
own culture and ways of life as the best and the centre of all and on the other hand,
regarding other ethnic groups and cultures as inferior, bad, full of errors, etc. It is the
tendency to apply one's own cultural values in judging the behaviour and beliefs of people
raised in other cultures. It is a cultural universal. People everywhere think that familiar
explanations, opinion, and customs as true, right, proper and moral. They regard different
behaviour as strange or savage (Macionis, 1997; Hensllin and Nelson, 1995)
Cultural Relativism-Every society has its own culture, which is more or less unique. Every
culture contains its own unique pattern of behaviour which may seem alien to people from
other cultural backgrounds. We cannot understand the practices and beliefs separately from
the wider culture of which they are part. A culture has to be studied in terms of its own
meanings and values. Cultural relativism describes a situation where there is an attitude of
respect for cultural differences rather than condemning other people's culture as uncivilized
or backward (Stockard, 1997). Respect for cultural differences involves:
 Appreciating cultural diversity;
 Accepting and respecting other cultures;
 Trying to understand every culture and its elements in terms of its own context and
logic;
 Accepting that each body of custom has inherent dignity and meaning as the way of
life of one group which has worked out to its environment, to the biological needs
of its members, and to the group relationships;
 Knowing that a person's own culture is only one among many; and
 Recognizing that what is immoral, ethical, acceptable, etc, in one culture may not
be so in another culture.
Culture Shock-Culture shock is the psychological and social maladjustment at micro or

macro level that is experienced for the first time when people encounter new cultural
elements such as new things, new ideas, new concepts, seemingly strange beliefs and
practices. No person is protected from culture shock. However, individuals vary in their
capacity to adapt and overcome the influence of culture shock. Highly ethnocentric
people are exposed widely to culture shock. On the other hand, cultural relativists may find
it easy to adapt to new situations and overcome culture shock (Henslin and Nelson, 1995).
3.5 SOCIALIZATION
The Concept of Socialization:
In any society there are socially recognized ways in which the norms and values of the
society are inculcated in the human infant who comes into this world as a biological
organism with animalistic needs or impulses. Individuals learn group-defined ways of
acting and behaving, and what they socially learn becomes part of their personality.
Socialization is a process of making somebody social and fully human. Or more

appropriately, it is a process whereby individual persons learn and are trained in the basic
norms, values, beliefs, skills, attitudes, way of doing and acting as appropriate to a specific
social group or society. It is an on-going, never ending process- from cradle to the grave.
That means an individual person passes through various stages of socialization, from birth
to death. Thus, we need socialization as infants, preschool children, schoolboys/girls,
pubescents, adolescents, adults and older persons.
From the point of view of individual persons, especially a newly born baby, socialization is
a process whereby a biological being or organism is changed into a social being. In terms
of the group, society or any professional organizations, socialization is a process whereby
the organizations', social groups' and society's structure and well-being are kept and
sustained. It is the process whereby the culture, skills, norms, traditions, customs, etc., are
transmitted from generation to generation – or from one society to another.
Socialization may be formal or informal. It becomes formal when it is conducted by

formally organized social groups and institutions, like schools, religious centres, mass
media universities, work places, military training centres, internships, etc. It is informal
when it is carried out through the informal social interactions and relationships at micro-
levels, at interpersonal and small social group levels. The most important socialization for
us is that we get through informal agents like family, parents, neighbourhood and peer
group influences. It has a very powerful influence, whether negative or positive, in our
lives.
The process of socialization, whether it is formal or informal, is vitally important to both

individuals and society. Without some kind of socialization, society would cease to exist.
Socialization, thus, can be labelled as the way by which culture is transmitted and
individuals are fitted into the society's organized way of life.
The Goals of Socialization

In terms of individual persons, the goal of socialization is to equip him or her with the
basic values, norms, skills, etc, so that they will behave and act properly in the social group
to which they belong. Socialization has also the following specific goals (Broom and
Sleznki, 1973):
 To inculcate basic disciplines by restraining a child or even an adult from
immediate gratification; a child who is toilet-trained will delay relieving himself/
herself until the proper environment is created.
 To instill aspirations;
 To teach social roles;
 To teach skills;
 To teach conformity to norms; and
 To create acceptable and constructive personal identities.
Despite the inculcation of values and norms is significant in the process of social
integration, we need to also note that social values are not equally absorbed by members
of a society or group. The integrative function of socialization is also not equally
beneficial to all people. There is always the question of whose values have to be
inculcated? This question particularly becomes crucial in an increasingly globalizing
society. Hence, the ideological role of socialization with the issues of differential power,
control, domination and conflict become important.
Major Types of Socialization
There are different types of socialization; the major ones include: primary or childhood
socialization, secondary or adulthood socialization, de-socialization and re-
socialization. (Calhoun et al, 1994; Henslin and Nelson, 1995; Soroka, 1996; Macionis,
1997)
Primary or Childhood Socialization

This is also called basic or early socialization. The terms "primary", "basic" or "early" all
signify the overriding importance of the childhood period for socialization. Much of the
personality make-up of individuals is forged at this period in life. Socialization at this stage
of life is a landmark; without it, we would cease to become social beings. The human
infant who is a biological being or organism is changed into a social being mainly at this
early stage. Hence, children should be appropriately socialized from birth up to particularly
five years of age, because this period is basic and crucial one. A child who does not get
appropriate socialization at this stage will most likely be deficient in his/her social, moral,
intellectual and personality development. Some grew up developing anti-social attitudes,
aspirations and practices.
Secondary or Adult Socialization

While socialization is an overbidding issue for children and adolescents, it is a never-
ending process that continues throughout life. Secondary or adult socialization is
necessitated when individual take up new roles, reorienting themselves according to their
changes social statuses and roles, as in starting marital life. The socialization process at this
stage may sometimes be intense. For example, fresh recruit graduates entering the world of
work to start their first jobs, there are quite many new roles to be mastered. Intense adult
socialization may also occur among immigrants. When they go to other countries, they
may need to learn the language, values, norms, and a host of other custom and folkways,
coupled with experiencing economic hardships may prove to be truly stressful and most
challenging. Although it may be fairly stated that childhood socialization experiences what
kind of people we become, the challenges of socialization thus continues in late adolescent
and adult stages. This happens to be so particularly in the context of fast changing world in
complex societies.
Re-socialization and De-socialization

In the lives of individuals, as they pass through different stages and life experiences, there
is the need for re-socialization and de-socialization. Re-socialization means the adoption
by adults of radically different norms and life ways that are more or less completely
dissimilar to the previous norms and values. Re-socialization signifies the rapid and more
basic changes in the adult life. The change may demand abandonment of one life way with
a new one, which is completely different from, and also incompatible with, the former.
This quite so often happens as adult life in modern societies demands sharp transitions and
changes. De-socialization typically precedes re-socialization. De-socialization refers to
stripping individuals of their former life styles, beliefs, values and attitudes so that they
may take up other partially or totally new life styles, attitudes and values. The individuals
have to abandon their former values and take up new ones in order to become part of the
new social group.
De-socialization and re-socialization often take place in what is called total institutions,
which are an all encompassing and often isolated from the community. They demand a
thorough de-socialization of the new entrants before they assume full-fledged membership.
Total institutions include: mental hospitals, prisons, religious denominations and some
other political groups, and military units. In each case, persons joining the new setting have
first to be de-socialized, before they are re-socialized. Re-socialization may also mean
socializing individuals again into their former values and norms, after they rejoin their
former ways of life, spending a relatively longer period of time in total institutions. This is
because they might have forgotten most of the basic values and skills of the former group
or society. This kind of re-socialization may also be regarded as reintegration, helping the
ex-community members renew their memories of their former life ways, skills, knowledge,
etc.
Agents and Components of Socialization

Agents of socialization are the different groups of people and institutional arrangements
which are responsible for training new members of society. Some of them could be formal,
while others are informal. They help individual members get into the overall activities of
their society. There are three components to socialization process. There is the socializee
who could be either a newborn child, a recruit to the army or the police force or a freshman
in a college or an intern in medical service. Then again there are the socialisers who may
be parents, peer groups, community members, teachers or church members. Both the
socializee and the socialiser interact with one another not in a vacuum but in a social
environment which plays an important role in the socialization process. These different
socializing environments are called socialization settings. The most socializing agencies
are the family, peer relationships, schools, neighbourhoods (the community), the mass
media, etc.
The institution of family is generally regarded as the most important agent of socialization.
In the process of socialization, the most important contacts are between a child and his/her
parents and siblings. The contacts could also be between the child and surrogate parents
when actual parents are not available. Besides the child's parents, there are other agents of
socialization (in modern societies) such as day-care-centers, nurseries and kindergarten, as
well as primary and secondary schools and universities. It seems that these various agents
of socialization have partially taken over the function of the parents, particularly in modern
societies, where women are increasingly leaving their traditional home-based
responsibilities by engaging in employment outside home.
The school represents a formal and conscious effort by a society to socialize its young.
Other than parents and schools, peer groups play very significant roles in the socialization
process. Sometimes, the influence of the peer group, be it negative or positive, can be as
powerful as that of parents. The peer group may transmit prevailing societal values or
develop new and distinct cultures of its own with peculiar values.
The mass media such as television, radio, movies, videos, tapes, books, magazines and
newspapers are also important agents of socialization. The most crucial effect on children
comes from television, as studies show. The effects are both negative and positive.
Negative impact seem to be greater that parents and other concerned bodies worry about
the way television is socializing children. For example, studies show that watching
violence on television can encourage aggressive behaviour in children.
Types and Functions of Social Institutions

There are many principles around which institution are organized. The five social
institutions of major significances are:
 Economic institutions: those that deal with economic and property relations;
 Polity and law: Those that are concerned with social control with politics and law
government, the police, court, etc;
 Religious institutions: Those concerned with the supernatural magic and religion;
 Family: those based on principles of kinship, meaning, social relations created by
descent and marriage; and
 Educational institutions: those that deal with the need for training individuals in the
roles, values, skills, knowledge, attitudes etc which are associated with being a
citizen and a worker.
The Family
The family is the most important social unit in any society. It is the building block of any
society. The family fulfils two basic functions. These are reproduction and socialization.
Society reproduces or recreates itself through the family. Children are born in the family to
join the society. Parents play the roles of nurturing, caring for, teaching and training
children; children are expected to play the roles of good and teachable trainees. The way
parents nurture, train and care for their children vary according to forms of family
organization. Nuclear family is a dominant form of family organization in modern,
industrialized and urban societies. It usually consists of husband wife and dependent
children. In traditional, agrarian and rural societies, Extruded family form dominates. It
consists of husband, wife/ wives, their children, and other relatives (Henslin and Nelson,
1995; Calhoun et al.1994)
Economic Institution
Every society needs to make effective use of the scarce resources. Goods and services have
to be produced to meet the basic needs such as food, clothing, shelter, etc. Economic
institutions are responsible for organizing the production, exchange, distribution and
consumption of goods and services.
Religious Institution
This asocial institution is responsible for meeting (providing) spiritual needs of the
members of the society. There are puzzling questions about the meaning of the human life,
human destiny, the universe, and other questions. Religion and related institutions like
magic provide explanations for these puzzling paradoxes of life and provides meaning and
purpose for life. It helps people to cope with purposelessness, meaninglessness and sense
of alienation and frustration. These institutions also help members of society conform to
social values and norms, and play their expected social roles appropriately. They also
provide a sense of social solidarity among members of society.
Institution (Government and Law)

These social institutions are responsible for protecting the society from internal disorder,
crime and chaos; as well as from external threats and invasion. They are responsible for
maintaining peace and order at micro and macro levels; enforcing social control; and
maintaining the welfare and well-being of society.
Educational Institution
This social institution is responsible for providing training for the members of society. It
serves as centre of knowledge production, exchange, and distribution. Generally,
educational institutions are responsible for the vertical and horizontal transmission of
material and non-material cultures. Vertical transmission means over time from one
generation to another generation; whereas horizontal transmission means over geographical
space or from one society to another. Educational institutions also play the role of
preparing members of society for the statuses and roles that re associate with being good
citizens and workers, holding various occupations.
It is important to note that social institutions may be functional for some and dysfunctional
(meaning positively harmful and damaging) for other individuals and groups in a society.
This is partly because they often exist and operate in the context of class division and
social stratification, unequal access to power and resources. From this point of view, social
institutions may not be functional to all members of society equally. They may exist to
promote the interests and privileges of some sections of society.
3.6 Social Processes

As members of a society or different societies interact with each other, different social
processes take place. As there are processes in the natural world, social processes are
bound to take place in the organized life of society. In the social system, these social
processes are necessary for the very life, existence and smooth functioning of the system.
Sociologists are interested in studying and analyzing these repetitive forms or patterns of
behaviours, actions, and reactions.
Social processes are certain repetitive, continuous forms of patterns in the social systems
that occur as individuals, groups, societies, or countries interact with each other. They are
interaction patterns or modes, among members (individual) within a society or a group
involving particular repetitive features, occurring both at micro and macro levels. They
help us interpret and understand our social behavior.
Modes of Social Processes

Social processes may be manifested in a number of ways. There are generally five modes
of social processes. These are competition, conflict, cooperation, accommodation and
assimilation. These are universal modes; they take place at micro and macro levels. One
mode of social process may balance another; e.g., competition by cooperation. One may
also yield another they take place in an unending cycle. For example, competition may
yield conflict.
Competition-Competition as a social process seems to be more pronounced than others. It

is real in our day-to-day interpersonal encounters, as well as in the global situations.
Competition is the process whereby individuals, groups, societies, and countries make
active efforts to win towards getting their share of the limited resources. It is an impersonal
attempt to gain scarce and valued resources of wealth, land, health care services, etc. As a
result of competition, stratification, physical separation and so on may happen in a given
society. Competition involves struggle, efforts, decisions, actions, etc., to survive.
Competition is balanced by cooperation.
Cooperation-Cooperation is a social process whereby people join hands towards achieving

common goals. Competition is more likely to occur in advanced, modern, industrialized
societies than in traditional, homogenous societies where cooperation appears to be more
important.
Conflict-In the process of competition for power (which could be economic, social, and
political) and resources, conflict is bound to take place. Conflict involves disagreement and
disharmony, which results due to differences in ideology, living standard, and other social
factors. It is a universal phenomenon, an ever- present reality, taking place both at micro
and macro levels. Conflict involves clash of interest between individuals in a social group
like in a family or between groups or societies. It results due to power imbalance, due to
unfair distribution of resources. Here, it produces social class and stratification. Conflict
may be between males and females, youngster and older generation; between different
religious, ethnic and, political groups.
Accommodation-People may decide to consciously avoid the source of conflict thereby

arriving at an agreement to live accepting one another, co-exist at relative peace, avoiding
overt conflict. Accommodation is a social process whereby people try to accept one
another, avoiding the sources of conflict to live in peaceful coexistence. It is a conscious
adjustment and compromise among conflicting groups so that they can live with one
another without overt conflict.
Assimilation-Assimilation is a social process whereby a group of individuals learns and

accepts the values, norms, etc., of another group and becomes sometimes virtually identical
with the dominant groups. Assimilation involves the acceptance or the internalizing of the
larger or dominant group's culture, values and life styles by the smaller or minority group.
Assimilation could imposed or voluntary. In this age of globalization there are
westernization processes, whereby peoples of the Third World are taking up the values,
notions and practices of the Industrialized West.
Social Stratification
Social stratification is one of the outcomes of them continuous occurring of social
processes. Every society is segmented in to different hierarchies. In virtually all societies,
some people are regarded as more important than others (more worthy of respect than
others), either within the society as a whole or in a certain situations. Social stratification is
the segmentation of society into different hierarchical arrangement or strata. It refers to the
differences and inequalities in the socioeconomic life of people in a given society. It
represents the ranking of individuals or social positions and statuses in the social structure.
The term is borrowed from geology where it is used to explain the hierarchical
arrangement of rocks and mineral in the earth’s surface. When applied to the world of
people, it refers to hierarchical arrangement of people into different classes or strata which
is the division of a population into two or more layers, each of which is relatively
homogenous, between which there are differences in privileges, restrictions, rewards and
obligations (Macionis, 1997; Henslin and Nelson, 1995;Calhounet al 1994).
The Importance of Studying Social Stratification

The study of social stratification is particularly important for sociologists. Some of the
reasons for this may include (Giddens, 1995):-
 To investigate the class membership of individuals in society with the aim of
understanding the type of life people live. That is, knowing what type of life
individuals in a given social group or stratum live is very important for sociological
analysis.
 To explore the bases for the assignment of individuals into various hierarchies of
the social structure. What are the bases for stratifying individuals into a specific
stratum?
 To understand the relationship between individuals assigned into different

hierarchies. What kind of interaction and relationship exist between individuals
located into different strata?
 To investigate the relationship between individuals or groups belonging to the same
hierarchy. What kinds of relationship exist between people in the same stratum?
 To understand what type of social system gives rise to what or which types of
hierarchies. That is, the type of social stratification varies across cultures, times and
types of social systems.
Social Change
Social change may be defined as the alteration or transformation at large scale level in the
social structure, social institutions, social organization and patterns of social behaviour in a
given society or social system. Social change can also be defined as the alteration,
rearrangement or total replacement of phenomena, activities, values or processes through
time in a society in a succession of events. The alteration or rearrangement may involve
simple or complex changes in the structure, form or shape of the social phenomena.
Sometimes it may mean the complete wiping out of the phenomenon and their total
replacement by new forms (Calhoun et al, 1994).
Some minor changes that take place in the lives of individuals and small, limited groups
may not be regarded as social changes although these kinds of changes may be the
manifestations or effects of changes that are taking place at larger scale. Changes in the
material and non- material contents of a culture also may not be regarded as social
changes. However, it is very difficult to separate social changes from cultural change.
Because the two are usually interdependent, social change may usually introduce cultural
changes, and vice versa.
Some of the basic characteristics of social change are the following (Indrani, 1998; Team
of Experts, 2000):-
 Social change occurs all the time. Its process may be imperceptible and can be
cumulative, i.e., one may not easily perceive the processes of social change,
although it is always taking place.
 There is no society that is static and unchanging. All societies are susceptible to
social change. In other words, social change is a universal phenomenon (it is
everywhere and anywhere). It is spread both over time and space.
 Change occurs both at micro-level and macro-level. The point here is that while
social change often refers to noticeable changes in social phenomena, we must not
lose sight of the fact that small changes in minor relationships can also be
significant.
 The influence of change in one area can have an impact on other related areas.
That is, social change is contagious, like infectious diseases.
 Social change has a rate; it can be rapid or slow.
2.7 SOCIAL DEVIANCE AND CRIME

Deviance is behaviour that members of a group or society see as violating their norms.
Definition of deviance varies according to groups. Whether an action or behaviour is
considered deviant depends on time, place and social situations (Henslin and Nelson,
1995).
There are psychological and sociological explanations of deviance. Psychological theories

focus on the personality of individuals. Certain genetic and biochemical abnormalities lead
individuals to commit deviance and criminal acts. Sociological theories focus on the forces
beyond the individual.
Differential Association Theory-maintains that people learns deviant acts through

socialization;
Structural Strain Theory-maintains that deviance occurs when conformity to widely
accepted norms of behaviour fails to satisfy legitimate, culturally approved desires.
Anomie Theory-explains deviance in a way related to the principles of social

disorganization. It offers a general explanation of a number of forms of deviance, including
crime, alcoholism, drug addiction, suicide, and mental disorders. Anomie theory accounts
for both social organization conducive to deviance and the origins of deviant motivations,
although its implications for social organization have received less attention than the other
aspects (Messner, 1988). While Shaw and McKay emphasized how deviance results from
social disorganization, Merton claimed that deviance results from a particular kind of
social organization. Anomie theory advances the core idea that elements in society’s
structure promote deviance by making deviant behaviour a viable adaptation to living in
the society.
Conflict Theory-stresses the pluralistic nature of society and the differential distribution of
power among groups. Some groups wield social power, according to this body of theory,
so they can create rules, particularly laws that serve their own interests. In the process, they
often exclude the interests of others from consideration. In this respect, the conflict
perspective conceives of society as a collection of groups with competing interests in
conflict with one another; those with sufficient power create laws and rules that protect and
promote their interests (Quinney, 1979).
Control Theory, every person is naturally prone to make deviance, but most of us
conform to norms because of effective system of inner and outer control. It is those who
have less effective control who deviate.
Labelling Theory states that behaviors are deviant when and only because people label
them as such (Caffrey and Mundy, 1995).
NB: these theories are fully covered in unit two. (Refer)
In general biologists and psychologists look into the individual, while sociologists look
outside of the individual for explanations of why people commit deviance and crime.
However, often asked questions in relation to deviance are:
 Is deviance related to social change and conflict?
 Is deviance a reflection of an imbalance of values and norms in society?
 Do rules, norms, and laws better define deviance than simply observing the
reactions of others to behavior?
 What is the role of power in creating and maintaining deviance?

 Do people learn to be deviant from others?
These questions are hard to answer because sociologists have not arrived at any single,
generally accepted, theory that explains all forms of deviance. Several important theories,
however, have been developed and they suggest that one can understand deviance only by
comprehending the various structures and processes under which deviance comes about
and is sustained.
3.8 SOCIAL CONTROL

In any human society, there are deviations from the accepted norms of a society or group.
This movement away from the accepted social standards is called social deviance. Each
society or group expects and attempts to ensure conformity of its members to its norms.
Those members of a society or a group who abide by the rules and norms of the society (or
the group) are called conformists, while those who don't are called non-conformists.
A society or a group applies some formal and informal mechanisms to achieve conformity.
Individuals may not act according to the defined values and norms of the group. Therefore
violation of values and norms and deviating from the standard values and norms are often
common and calls for social control mechanisms. This is attributable to the birth of the
concept of community policing and the adoption of community policing initiatives such as
Neighbourhood Watch Committees, Business against Crime Forum, Crime Consultative
Committees as well as traditional myths and stereotypes against crime in the Zimbabwean
communities. Formally, we have in existence the criminal justice system which includes
the ZRP, judiciary and the Zimbabwe Prison and Correctional Services as well as the army
and intelligence services among others.

Social control is thus simply defined as all the mechanisms and processes employed by a
society to ensure conformity. In other words, social control is any cultural or social means
by which restraints are imposed upon individual behaviour and by which people are
initiated to follow the traditions and patterns of behaviour accepted by society. It is,
simply, a means by which conformists are rewarded and non-conformists are punished.
Types of Social Control

There are two major types of social control mechanisms. These are: negative and positive
social control mechanisms.
Negative Social Control: This involves punishment or regulating behaviour of deviants. A

deviant is a person whose views and actions are different in moral or social standards from
what is considered normal or acceptable in the context of a certain social group. This social
control may be at micro/ informal level and macro/ formal levels. Micro/ informal level
social control occurs at the level of small groups such as peer groups, family, and
interpersonal relationships. Examples of negative social control at micro levels include:
simple gossip or backbiting, a simple frowning, reprimanding, pinching, beating,
ridiculing, scolding, ostracizing, etc. The punishments can be in the psychological, social
or physical/ material forms. Punishments at macro or formal level include: fining, firing,
demotion, imprisonment, banishment or excommunication, capital punishment and so on.
Positive Social Control: These mechanisms involve rewarding and encouraging those who
abide by the norms. It involves rewarding the model behaviour. The informal psychosocial
reward mechanisms include simple smiles, saying encouraging word, shaking hands,
thanking, showing appreciation, etc. Formal positive social control mechanism may
include giving awards, promoting to a higher level of status, etc.
Social Control Theories
Social control theorists are interested in learning why people conform to norms; they ask
why people conform in the face of so much temptation, peer pressure, and inducement.
Juveniles and adults conform to the law in response to certain controlling forces which are
present in their lives. Thus, they are likely to become criminal when the controlling forces
in their lives are defective or absent.
NB- On social control theories please refer to Unit Twor (Theories of Criminology)
focusing on the following theories:-
 Social Bonds Theory (Travis Hirshi)
 Drift Theory (Gresham Sykes and David Matza's Techniques of Neutralization)and
 Containment Theory (Walter Reckless)
It is important to note that there are so many theories relating to social control by
different authors. Trainees are encouraged to research and read further on this item.
3.9 SUMMARY
In conclusion it is important for recruits to understand and appreciate why law
enforcements agencies should study sociology. The following facts answer this question:-
 Crime is a social phenomenon emanating from the society
 Deviance and criminality are undesired conduct or elements in the society i.e. those
who commit crime are from the society.
 Laws, rules and regulations that govern people’s conduct are promulgated by the
society.
 Law enforcement agencies (the police, judiciary and prison and correctional services)
were established to enforce the laws, rules and regulation that govern people’s
conduct within the society.
 Therefore it is paramount for law enforcement agencies to study sociology and
criminology to understand:-
 Societal values and cultures
 What is crime?
 What causes crime?
 Who commit crime and why? (criminal, deviant and delinquent behaviour
relating criminal activities)
 What are the trends of crime and criminal behaviour in the society
 What is the extent and effects of crime in the society?
 What measures are there in place to minimise the prevalence of crime,
reform and rehabilitate the criminals in the society. (criminal justice system/
crime control) e.t.c
This is largely informed by societal dynamics in the political, economic, social,
technological, ethical and legal environs as enunciated by various criminological and
sociological theories.
3.10 ACTIVITY PLAN
 Define and outline the nature sociology.

 Outline and explain the basic theories in sociology.
 State and explain the concept of society and culture.
 Explain socialisation.
 Explain social deviance.
 Outline and explain social controls in sociology.
 State why it is important for law enforcement agents to study sociology.
3.11 REFERENCE
 Bilton, Tony, et al. 1996. Introducing Sociology. Third Edition. London: Macmillan
 Broom, Leonard and Philip Selznick 1973. Sociology. A Text with Adapted
Readings. Fifth Edition. New York: Harper and Row Publishers.
 Caffrey, Susan and Gary Mundy. Eds. 1995. The Sociology of Crime and Deviance:
Selected Issues. Kent: Greenwich University Press.
 Calhoun, Craig, et al. 1994. Sociology. 6th Ed. New York: McGraw Hill.
 Chapman, Steve. 2000. Revise AS Sociology. London: Letts Educational
 Donald, D.G. 1984. Mastering Sociology. London: Macmillan.
 Giddens, Anthony. 1996. Sociology. 6th Edition. London: Macmillan
 Henslin, James M. and Adie Nelson. 1995. Sociology: A Down-to-Earth Approach.
Canadian Edition. Scarborough, Ontario: Allyn and Bacon
 Howard, Michael C and Janet D.H.1992. Anthropology. Understanding Human
Adaptation. New York: Harper Collins
 Indrani, T.K. 1998. Textbook of Sociology for Nurses. New Delhi: Jaypee Brothers
 Jones, Russell, A. 1995. Research Methods in the Social and Behavioral Sciences.
Second Edition. Sunderland, Massachusetts, Sinauer Associates, Inc.
 Kirby, et al. 2000. Sociology in Perspective. London: Heinemann
 Kottak, Conrad P. 2002. Anthropology. The Exploration of Human Diversity. 9th ed.
Boston: McGraw- Hill.
 Lensiki, Gerhard, Patrick Nolan and Jean Lensiki, 1995. Human Societies An
Introduction to Macrosociology. Seventh Edition. New York: McGraw-Hill.
 Mann, Peter, 1976. Methods of Sociological Inquiry. Oxford: Basil Blackwell
 Marcus, Martin and Alan Ducklin. 1998. Success in Sociology. London: John
Murray Publishers Ltd.
 Moore, Stephen. 2001. Sociology Alive! Third Edition.London: Nelson Thomas Ltd.
 Team of Experts, 2000. Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of Sociology. New Delhi:
Animol Publications.
 The New Encyclopedia Britannica (Micropedia) 1991. Vol.10, PP.928-929
 Torres, Carlos A. and Theodore R. Michele. 1998. Sociology of Education.
Emerging Perspectives. Albany: State University of New York Press.
 Word Book Encyclopedia. 1994. Vol. 18, PP. 564-567
UNIT FOUR
POLICING AND TECHNOLOGY
4.0 Introduction
Technology and policing have been interconnected for decades, dating back to the advent
of the telephone, the automobile, and the two-way radio. Today, technology seems to be
advancing as much more sophisticated technologies such as mobile and wireless
technology, high-powered computing, visual and audio technology, detecting machines
and other technological advancements have been embraced by many police organisations
to increase efficiency and effectiveness. To this end, this chapter intends to look at e-
policing and e-traffic management focusing mainly on the impact of these technological
aspects in policing.
4.1 E-POLICING
With the pace at which technology is advancing coupled by the sophistication in criminal
behaviour and crime trends, there is need for police agencies to move in time with the
sands of technology. The police need to be conscious of e-policing and adapt to the ever
changing world of technology in order to enhance operational and administrative
efficiency.
4.1.1 E-policing defining
E-Policing can be defined as the utilisation of technological devices in order to record,

store, analyse and share policing information. This is supported by Tripathi(2007) who
defined e-policing astransaction of services and information between the police and
citizens by means of internet. It can also be viewed as automation of manual processes of
capturing, storing and analysing policing data which involve creating national database
such as Case Docket Management, Crime Statistics, Crime Intelligence and Motor
Vehicle Clearing Certificates.
4.1.2 E-policing in law enforcement practices
Traditionally, police practices and procedures are governed by laws and departmental
rules that are enforced by the courts and the police hierarchies respectively. The
predominant mode of control is deterrence through legislation and rule-making,
investigation and enforcement, criminal sanctions and organisational discipline.
However, the new managerialism in policing has transformed the traditional police force
into organisations with mission statements, business plans, marketing strategies and a
new emphasis on crime management, customer service and performance measures (Chan
1997; O’Malley and Palmer 1996; Leishman, Loveday and Savage 1996). Ackroyd et al.
(1992) call it the ‘entrepreneurial revolution’ in policing.
Under this new order, police are being scrutinised internally by management systems,
surveillance technologies, internal audits and investigations, and externally by watchdog
agencies, public complaints systems and central auditors, and through the budgetary
process. Thus, part of the maintenance and upgrading of information technology in
policing is designed to meet the requirements for information under the new management
and accountability systems.
4.1.3 Why e-policing
The e-Policing application enhances reporting of crime or searching of useful information

through a centralized police data base system via text messaging. This promotes personal
security and public security through virtual policing. The centralized data base system
improves report generation for police planning and operations. This method further
strengthens cooperation, trust and information sharing between the police and the
community.
Since there are different policing strategies which if added result in a major challenge for
Police command; and once pursued simultaneously and aggressively, the different
strategies would require significant changes in the mission, objectives, technologies and
basic administrative arrangement of the Police. This is where e-policing finds its vital
role as part of an integrated strategic approach in electronic collection, storage and
information sharing. The optimization of ICT systems to enhance information collection,
storage and sharing must ensure that issues of change management as well as business re-
engineering are addressed in the Zimbabwe Republic Police for effective e-policing
system. Application of e-policing systems enables the police to use websites, e-mail and
fax as either alternative or additional methods of communicating with residents, Boondao
and Tripathi (2007). E-policingplaysa critical role of information sharing and information
management(Liu and Hu, 2005).The expected benefit with implementing this concept
includes;
 Improved police -community relationship,
 Increased prevention and reduction of crime incidents,
 Enhanced emergency service (991) applications which allow community to
reduce their own risk, and enhance response from the Police or other
authorities mandated to respond.
 Allows authorities to send instant alerts to the community in matters of
public safety
4.1.4 Impact of e-policing on Police

Implementing and rolling out e-Policing Programme demands an extension of the
traditional police service with the more efficient, transparent, and more citizen-centered
business process and underlying technical infrastructure (Liu and Hu, 2005). The success
of e-Policing will depend on multiple factors such as appropriate telecommunication
infrastructure, business process re-engineering, and integration of ICT, citizen
participation, and readiness for change.
Implementation of the e-policing paradigm offers a number of benefits to the police. Its
application is an essential part of the transformation process of these agencies, because it
enhances their ability to tackle challenges imposed by the 21st century criminal
enterprises.The paperwork issue Police agencies, like other large bureaucracies, are still
very paper-intensive organisations in which substantial amounts of time are spent on
completing reports, and considerable organisational resources are expended on

administering paper flowsand storing and maintaining records. ‘Too much paperwork’
has been a common source of complaint by police and is often cited by them as an
explanation for why they are unable to spend more time on policing tasks such as
conducting patrols and investigating crimes. As noted above, managers and supervisors
also frequently give this as a reason for not enforcing accountability requirements more
strongly. Information technology has often been held out as providing a solution to the
paperwork problem in policing and other bureaucracies by streamlining administrative
processes (such as by eliminating the need for multiple forms and multiple entry of data),
making information easier to retrieve and reducing the number of hard copy records that
must be generated and maintained by organisations.
4.1.5 E-policing in Crime control
Information technology has enabled police to do some existing tasks better such as
recording and following-up on offence details, enforcing warrants and running criminal
history checks.It has also led to a more problem-oriented police service or better
proactive policing. E-policing enables ‘intelligencedriven patrols’, ‘hot spots’, repeat-
offender analysis, and proactive crime investigations. However in Zimbabwe it has not
yet led to major changes on how the Zimbabwe Republic Police deals with crime and
disorder issues.The Zimbabwe Republic Police lacks the necessary resources and
expertise to realise this potential of being more proactive and alsothat the ‘technological
frame’ of traditional police culture tends to see information as useful only if it leads to
arrests
4.2 E- TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT
There used to be police officers who had to arrest the offender, and securing evidence
physically. Nowadays, policing had changed as the police want to keep the pace with the
changing technology. Advances in technology have led to the development of affordable
and reliable equipment that can improve vehicle detection, location and control, to aid the
management of traffic. The use of technological development has an impact on the
settlement of traffic violation cases to replace manual ticket system. With the e-traffic
ticket system, the drivers violating the traffic will be recorded through the application of
the police. The implementation of e-traffic ticket is an effort to make people obey traffic
rules so as to create an orderly traffic culture based on CCTV recordings as valid
evidence.
4.2.1 E-traffic defined

The application of new technology designed to monitor, control, and manage the flow of
traffic in real time on a transportation network through traffic detection, communication,
traffic control and information processing technologies.
4.2.2 E-traffic Management Systems

E-traffic management systems shall mean technologies such as, traffic detectors,
electronic message signs, CCTV, to collect information, manage traffic, quickly detect
incidents, dispatch the proper response and provide motorists advanced notice of
congestion. It seeks to reduce, or at least contain traffic congestion in urban environments
by improving the efficiency of utilization of existing infrastructures. E-traffic
management system is required to ensure traffic flows smoothly.
The e-ticket application, is integrated with the courts and prosecutors, the judge will give
the verdict, and the prosecutor will execute the verdict. The process of ticketing is done
based on the CCTV recordings that have been installed. All installed CCTVs will be
connected and controlled directly with automatic traffic control system. Motorists passing
through the CCTV installed area, if it is indicated to be in violation, the CCTV will
automatically capture the image of the offender complete with the licence plate, of the
vehicle used, during the offence, so it is easy to be tracked. After being caught by CCTV,
the captured image will be processed by the related party and then the ticket will be sent
to the vehicle owners’ address according to its licence plate, with CCTV record as valid
evidence. If the vehicle owner has received a ticket, the vehicle owner can pay the
penalty through the bank, and then proof of payment can be brought to the nearest police
station.
4.2.2.1 E-ticketing or e-citation

Is a faster and more efficient way to generate reports in the patrol vehicle, capturing
drivers’ licence information electronically, by scanning the drivers’licence barcode, and
or barcodes from registrations or other forms, officers can complete their reports easily,
quickly and error-free.
Benefits of e-ticketing includetransparency and accountability that manifest in the

attitude and actions of police officers in carrying out their daily duties, especially in the
discipline of traffic violations. E-ticketing is very efficient. Without the use of paper, all
acts of traffic violations are recorded by the digital system thereby reducing the cost of
paper, as a proof of infringement. By utilizing technology, the whole process of speeding
tickets will be more efficient and also effective also helps the police in administrative
management. Through this e-ticket the community will know all the information about
the actions that can be categorized as a traffic violation as well as the punishment
associated with it. So it is expected that the public is aware of the law and does not violet
anymore.
4.2.2.2 Closed circuit television(CCTV)

CCTV is a useful tool for the surveillance of traffic conditions at key or congested
junctions and usually forms a part of the equipment in use at traffic signal control centres.
It is also in widespread use for security monitoring of public roads in shopping and
business districts where it has proved successful in deterring street crime and car theft or
vandalism as well as improving people’s perception of personal safety.CCTV can also be
used to improve security at car parks, tollbooths, bus and rail stations as well as less busy
areas where vulnerable road users could havesecurity concerns. These include remote bus
and tram stops, subways, Park and Ride sites, etc. CCTV installations can also be used to
monitor access controls, traffic lanes restricted to certain classes of vehicle (QBCs, bus
lanes, etc.) and other more general traffic restrictions which would otherwise require a
high level of enforcement activity. Automatic number plate recognition techniques

(ANPR) using cameras linked to computer analysis packages can now provide a number
of opportunities to help manage traffic:
 measure average speed between two points for enforcement of speed limits
 determine origin and destination information relating to vehicle routes
 improve enforcement of traffic restrictions
 by use with speed cameras
 assist with automation of toll collections
4.2.2.3 Automatic Debit and Pre-payment System

These systems have been developed to collect toll or other charges such as car parking
fees without requiring drivers to stop. In traffic management terms, the main benefits of
such systems are to speed up the collection of fees and minimise delays and congestion.
The most common applications are for tollbooths on motorways, tunnels and bridges or
for the collection of parking fees. However, they can be applied to road pricing and
congestion charging schemes. The simplest systems use a "smartcard" which is manually
inserted into a barrier machine and either debits an account held with the operator or uses
up prepaid units held electronically on the card. In more sophisticated systems the vehicle
either has a "smartcard" mounted in the window which can be read by external electronic
equipment, or they have an internally mounted electronic device which triggers a signal
that can be read by the external equipment.
4.2.3 Benefits of e-traffic management

 It increasingly enables inter-agency sharing of information.
 It enables the smart cities to manage the bigger picture of the mobility ecosystem.
 It reduces time consumption in policing.
 It reduces the use of paperwork, and its related costs.
 It reduces the physical contact and discretion of police officers, improves
transparency and thereby reduces corruption.
 By using barcode readers, it becomes easy to determine the use of fake documents
and licences.
 Use of barcode readers also reduces time of investigations.

 Traffic speed controls deters drivers from reckless driving and unnecessary
speeding.
 The use of CCTV in data collection makes prosecution easy, as evidence will be
readily available.
 Automatic Number Plate recognition ensures that, wanted persons, and those who
defaulted in paying their fines, are easily detected and tracked.

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DIPLOMA IN POLICE STUDIES

CONTEMPORARY POLICING TRAINING MANUAL

Unwavering commitment and teamwork made this work possible.

DEPARTMENT OF POLICE SCIENCE AND LEGAL STUDIES: ZRP TRAINING DEPOT i

PROPOSED COURSE CONTENT

Unit 1: The concepts of contemporary policing.

DEPARTMENT OF POLICE SCIENCE AND LEGAL STUDIES: ZRP TRAINING DEPOT ii

Unit 3: Sociology and crime.

Unit 4: Policing and technology

4.2 E- Traffic Management

4.2.1 Definition of e-traffic management

DEPARTMENT OF POLICE SCIENCE AND LEGAL STUDIES: ZRP TRAINING DEPOT iv

THE CONCEPT OF CONTEMPORARY POLICING

1.2 CONTEMPORARY POLICING

DEPARTMENT OF POLICE SCIENCE AND LEGAL STUDIES: ZRP TRAINING DEPOT 1

1.3 BACKGROUND OF CONTEMPORARY

DEPARTMENT OF POLICE SCIENCE AND LEGAL STUDIES: ZRP TRAINING DEPOT 2

DEPARTMENT OF POLICE SCIENCE AND LEGAL STUDIES: ZRP TRAINING DEPOT 3

of physical force which is necessary on any particular occasion for achieving a

1.4 Contemporary Policing in Zimbabwe

DEPARTMENT OF POLICE SCIENCE AND LEGAL STUDIES: ZRP TRAINING DEPOT 4

In an effort to fully embrace contemporary policing, a number of professionalized police

DEPARTMENT OF POLICE SCIENCE AND LEGAL STUDIES: ZRP TRAINING DEPOT 5

1.5 ASPECT OF CONTEMPORARY POLICING

1.5.1.1 Community policing defined

Community Policing - Is a philosophy and an organizational strategy that promotes a new

Community Policingemerged as the dominant direction for thinking about policing. It

DEPARTMENT OF POLICE SCIENCE AND LEGAL STUDIES: ZRP TRAINING DEPOT 6

1.5.1.2 Purpose of Community Policing

The objectives of our community based policing system involve:

1.5.1.3 Community policing in Zimbabwe

DEPARTMENT OF POLICE SCIENCE AND LEGAL STUDIES: ZRP TRAINING DEPOT 7

1.5.1.4 Community Policing Initiatives and strategies

1.5.1.5 Benefits of Community Policing

1.5.2 HUMAN RIGHTS AND POLICING.

DEPARTMENT OF POLICE SCIENCE AND LEGAL STUDIES: ZRP TRAINING DEPOT 9

 Erosion of credibility and public confidence in the administration of justice

DEPARTMENT OF POLICE SCIENCE AND LEGAL STUDIES: ZRP TRAINING DEPOT 10

1.5.3.1 Vigilantism defined

Minaar (2001, 4) defines vigilantism as a scenario in which individuals in a community

DEPARTMENT OF POLICE SCIENCE AND LEGAL STUDIES: ZRP TRAINING DEPOT 11

1.5.3.2 Brief history of vigilantism

Vigilantes, in the U.S. are members of volunteer associations known as vigilance

1.5.3.3 Elements that characterise vigilante activities.

DEPARTMENT OF POLICE SCIENCE AND LEGAL STUDIES: ZRP TRAINING DEPOT 12

 Force is either used or threatened.

According to Johnson, forms of vigilantism are described as:

1.5.3.4 Causes of vigilantism

Alderson (1979), identified some of the causes of vigilantism as;-

 Lack of public desire for police involvement in their criminal victimisation.

DEPARTMENT OF POLICE SCIENCE AND LEGAL STUDIES: ZRP TRAINING DEPOT 13

 High crime and weak service delivery.

1.5.3.5 Classes/ groups of people who are interested in supporting vigilantism

 Perceptionists of safety: those who felt less safe at home or in their

 Religious groups: Muslims were more likely to get involved.

DEPARTMENT OF POLICE SCIENCE AND LEGAL STUDIES: ZRP TRAINING DEPOT 14

"Vigilante justice" is sometimes spurred on by the perception that criminal punishment is

1.5.3.6 Reasons against vigilantism

DEPARTMENT OF POLICE SCIENCE AND LEGAL STUDIES: ZRP TRAINING DEPOT 15

1.5.3.7 Benefits of vigilantism as viewed by the public

 Some sections of the society views vigilantism as functional in that:-

1.5.3.8 Examples of vigilantism in Zimbabwe

1.5.3.9 Examples of vigilante groups in different countries

DEPARTMENT OF POLICE SCIENCE AND LEGAL STUDIES: ZRP TRAINING DEPOT 16