NCJ Number
219880
Journal
Journal of Criminal Justice Volume: 35 Issue: 4 Dated: July/August 2007 Pages: 419-431
Date Published
July 2007
Length
13 pages
Annotation
This study examined the trends, patterns, and socio-spatial conditions and factors that fostered assaultive incidents and behaviors in Accra, Ghana, between 1980 and 1996.
Abstract
Most of the assaults were recorded for the years 1992 through 1996, and most occurred in the city's poor neighborhoods. Most of the assaults involved grabbing, shoving, and fist-fights. The immediate and indirect triggers of the assaults included incidental encounters due to perpetrators and victims being in the same place at the same time, communal living, name-calling, gossip, alcohol use, arguments, disputes related to succession and inheritance, power conflicts, and participation in traditional festivals. Each trigger was associated with specific situations, environments, and types of housing units. Transient areas, poor neighborhoods, and multifamily housing characterized by excessive noise and vulgar language were the major contexts for assaults. The risk for being a victim of assault was highest among females who lived in multifamily homes and young males in transient areas. Most assaults occurred in the early morning (between 6:00 am to 9:00 am) and in the late afternoon (between 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm). Data on assaults, including offender and victim characteristics, were obtained from police and court records. Data on socioeconomic indicators, precinct populations, and housing types were obtained from the Ghana Statistical Service, Accra Metropolitan Authority, Town and Country Planning Department, and the Ghana Real Estate Developers Association. 1 table, 110 references, and appended Ghana Criminal Code with reference to assault and similar offenses