Senegalese adolescents and the need to control theft and criminality

Abstract

To several African nations, the access to international sovereignity has been concomittant with a crisis of values: the pressure of urbanization and industrialization have caused deep frustrations and called for a number of painful adjustments. To sample a measure of the changes that are still in process we asked 950 Senegalese secondary school students to comment upon their attitudes towards the rampant criminality, (particularly theft and murder) in their young nation. Three-quarters of answers were in favour of greater severity, but the remainder advocated tolerance, a sign that the traditional unanimity against criminality is now over.