NCJ Number
184702
Date Published
1997
Length
165 pages
Annotation
This book explores the primordial mechanisms of social control available to the traditional Southern Ewes of Ghana and suggests how they may by used in modern crime prevention.
Abstract
The first chapter provides an overview of the Southern Ewes and their concept of crime. The central notion about criminality in traditional Ewe society conforms with Durkheim's definition of crime in simple societies: "an act which offends strong and definite dispositions of the collective consciousness and which as a consequence evokes punishment." The second chapter describes the mechanism of social control used by the "in-group," i.e., the lineage in traditional society. This mechanism is constituted primarily by the "teaching" and "persuasion" processes of social control. This involves the indoctrination of the individual in the norms and values of the group, beginning from birth and continuing through the significant stages of a person's life. Chapter 3 discusses the political system of the traditional authority that constitutes the public control mechanism. The focus is on the chief and his administrative and judicial roles. Chapter 4 addresses the main activating force around which the traditional mechanisms of social control revolve, namely, the magico-religious system. The norms and values of the society are perceived and taught as instituted by the supernatural, such that they must be followed without modification. Other chapters address the informal mechanism of social control, the impact of social change on the traditional mechanism of social control, the comparative efficacy of the traditional and modern methods of crime prevention, and the relevance of the traditional devices for modern crime prevention. A 76-item bibliography and a subject index