In recent years, Kisumu has attracted numerous young people from rural areas; the city is characterized by lack of jobs, low wages, anonymity of townlife, and sharp economic differences between social classes. The study is based on Kisumu court records and analyzes 1802 offenders during 1972 and 1973. The results indicate that the geographic distribution of crime follows Burgess's theory of concentric circles, according to which the number of crimes is highest in a city's center and decreases in the more distant zones. In both years, over 70 percent of all offenses occurred in the center of Kisumu where business establishments (department stores, banks, hotels, clubs) offer numerous opportunities for crime. A second zone of criminal concentration was found in the three older poor localities surrounding the center and characterized by residential deterioration, rooming-houses, homeless persons, gambling places, prostitution and bootlegging. Substantially fewer offenses took place in the zone of 'independent workmen's homes,' the recently established residential areas surrounding the city. In these areas, the originally rural population still adhere to their former values. During 1972, 29 different types of crime were committed; in 1973 40 different types of crime were committed. The study shows that much of the city's criminal activity was related to poverty and argues that the government should provide all inhabitants with equal opportunities in training, education, and employment. The study is supported by detailed statistics and photographs of the urban areas under study. A bibliography is included.