The police and crime prevention in Lusaka

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Periodical article

Title:	The police and crime prevention in Lusaka
Author:	Mwansa, K.T.
Year:	1991
Periodical:	Lesotho Law Journal: A Journal of Law and Development (ISSN 0255-6472)
Volume:	7
Issue:	2
Pages:	69-92
Language:	English
Notes:	biblio. refs.
Geographic terms:	Lesotho Zambia Southern Africa
Subjects:	crime prevention police law Lusaka (Zambia)
Abstract:	Under Zambian law, the police have a statutory duty to prevent crime and to apprehend offenders. This article examines the extent to which the police in Lusaka, the capital of Zambia, fulfil that dual function, and shows that in both cases their role is peripheral. In the case of arrest, members of the public not only provide information leading to the arrest, but in some cases 'arrest' suspects and hand them over to the police. As for crime prevention, the lack of police action has led to members of the public taking the initiative to prevent crime in the form of vigilantes, 'instant justice mobs' and neighbourhood watch schemes. The article is part of a larger study conducted in Lusaka on property crime and the criminal process between July and December 1989. Notes, ref.