Abstract: Multi-Choice Policing in Africa. By Bruce Baker. Uppsala: Nordiska Afrikainstitutet. Pp. 227. euro31/Sek 290 paper. The issues of crime and security are constant concerns for the rich and the poor in Africa. Bruce Baker, professor of African Security at Coventry University, examines ways Africans ensure communal order, security and peace by police actions that include prevention, deterrence, investigation,... and punishment (p. 5). Noting the importance of effective policing for good governance, democracy, and personal security Baker points out that nowhere in the world, least of all in Africa, is the state capable of meeting all the policing needs. Multi-Choice Policing in Africa surveys the range of methods-formal and informal, legal and illegal, effective and inept, fair and partisan, restrained and brutal-used by African governments, communities, commercial enterprises, ethnic groups, and individuals to provide policing. Surveying policing actions and policies in a wide variety of countries, many where he conducted research, Baker reminds readers of the shortcomings of African policing. In part those shortcomings are a reflection of the over-militarization and over-politicization of policing established during the colonial era and adopted with little modification at independence. In part these shortcomings are a result of modern social, economic, military, and political realities, which foster criminal activity and limit state capacity to combat crime. Impoverished communities and governments, social inequality, youth marginalization, political transitions, structural adjustment programs, rapid urbanization, the easy availability of cheap weapons, and poorly functioning state justice systems are all mentioned as causes for why so many are ill-served by policing in Africa. Poorly equipped, poorly paid, and poorly trained police struggle to cope with the growing challenge of crime and conflict. Unfortunately, at times the police actually become partisans in ethnic or political strife or they sell their services to criminal syndicates. Offering a parsimonious and comprehensive survey of contemporary formal policing, Baker identifies the wide range of policing options used by Africans. In addition to examining government institutions, Baker discusses the plethora of informal policing efforts. These include private security forces organized and funded by businesses and neighborhoods, gangs and vigilantes that both protect and prey upon the people, and ethnic-based bands that alternate between defense and cattle raiding. …
Publication Year: 2008
Publication Date: 2008-01-01
Language: en
Type: article
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